Chapter by Chapter

And An Update

2011-05-10T06:09:00.000-07:00

So, I'm getting this update out of the way before I jump back on Blogger in a more routine-fashion next Monday. I was gone a tad bit longer than I had anticipated, but at least this time it was only two weeks longer as opposed to like…six months.

For those who read my pre-departure post about vertigo and how it was messing up everything in my life, here is the update for that. While I am most definitely plagued by allergies and the unnatural pollen and ragweed counts of southern Georgia, it was not the only reason I had vertigo.

Allergy involvement- inflammation of sinuses and one very aggravated nerve in my right ear from fluid back up.

Stress involvement- inflammation of life creating vertigo symptoms.

When I last posted the vertigo was mostly a constant thing with varying degrees of absurdity throughout the day but it seemed to have a distinct pattern. I'm happy to report that while it is not completely gone, it is at least better. I don't seem to have it to the strength and length that I had it a month ago. I am still only able to write in the mornings but as that random hour of four in the afternoon approaches it's not so bad anymore. I'm not as tipsy in the mornings and I have reduced the medication needed to control the vertigo. Stress levels aren't so much down as they are better managed. All in all, there has been progress made on the two contributing factors.

While it's not over and I am still working on getting it further under control, I did make progress on the WIP in April. Not as much as I had hoped but I still averaged my 10k a month and am now at 40k. I've hit another chunk in WIP that is highly demanding and I am going to have to blog fewer days a week. Actually, until July it will be Mondays and the possible Wednesday or Thursday blog depending on how the week is going.

So that is my update: Vertigo 60% better, WIP 10k longer and I'll be back next Monday with something more exciting to say =P

Thanks for hangin' in there with me, I cherish you all. I won't be able to respond this week as we have a semi-unexpected visitor coming and I have a ton of stuff I need to accomplish but come Monday I'll be able to visit your blogs.

So, folks, how was April!? Any progress, new stuff to share?

Verti-GO Away!

2011-03-29T19:13:00.000-07:00

Okay, Folks. Here's the deal. I've had the unfortunate "luck" of having vertigo since October. And by that I mean, it's everday. Some days are okay, other days are horrid.
I wake up in the morning and I feel tipsy-turvy for about an hour and then I feel mild vertigo until about 4 in the afternooon, and that's when it gets horrid. Why? We don't know yet. I am seeing another specialist this coming Friday and hopefully I will have a more solid answer for my constant "sea legs" and why it gets worse at a certain time of day. That seems to be the hiccup in my diagnosis. Sigh.

Transition:
I am at a critical point in my WIP and it is demanding my full attention and speed. I HAVE to utilize the hours of the day that I'm allowed to write. I can hardly tolerate to write in the afternoon and evening. So, I am unplugging until May. I hope to have my vertigo under control with the help of this new specialist, and I hope to have about 20k (if not more) done on the WIP.

Good News: WIP has a title!!! House of Sand.

I WILL BE BACK IN MAY! Actually, May 2nd is my 1 year anniversary here on Blogger and I can't miss that!!
I will be lurking and will attempt a few post during the next month as well as commenting when I hit a writers block and/or a "good" vertigo day. But, I'm not leaving for long and will be back before you know it. If you want/need to get in touch with me, use the email address provided over there on the right, or follow me on Facebook. FB is the quickest way to get me, and my updates.

So until May, here's me signing out. Wish me luck in both the vertigo and WIP progress. Love you all! I will miss you for 30 days. But, I will come back swingin' and will have my 1 year celebration in style =D

A Tribute To Inspiration

2011-03-24T20:44:00.000-07:00

For my Grandmother, Honey. You are the soul of my imagination.

credit

I'd sit in your kitchen. Always wrapped in your blanket.

Worn thin. Worn cape. Worn hero. Worn safety if need be.

You'd laugh and say, "Worn too old." Then a smile, "Still beautiful for a rag."

A crack in the modesty of a worn wooden door.

All the beautiful fragrances of my world sleep then wake with the creak of its hinge.

As a child I wondered, how you made the wind blow.

I still wonder how the wind finds that worn chair.

You'd pour your coffee or maybe wine or maybe some other thing.

Each morning a surprise. Each morning the same.

I'd sit in your kitchen. And you'd tell your stories.

Stories I never believed. Stories of your renegade streak. Stories of glory days.

Worn tales of times told too many. Tales of mystery. Tales of love.

Star struck and laughing. Stories of wonder.

Tales I now tell. Eyes beaming, like mine. Disbelief in the strange yet true recount of a life lived.

I'd sit in your kitchen. Stretching with the rising sun.

I'd say, "let's see the day."

You'd say, "let the day see us."

We'd lay in your backyard. I'd pick a blade of grass and dare a whistle.

You'd make music and pick more.

On our backs, you'd say, "There's no room in my shoes for toes like these."

Glorious toes you'd say. The feet of warriors. The legs of the strong.

The heart of a daydreamer with no hours to waste on logic. Always magic.

Always more than eyes can see. Where whispers are loud on the wings of Monarchs.

I sit in my kitchen. A blanket worn thin, worn cape, worn beautiful for a rag.

I crack the door. I find your wind.

You know, It's growing now. Worn patches of winter waning to green.

I picked a blade. I willed it to make music like the minstrels of your garden.

I think I saw your face in a cloud, turned spaceship, turned dragon, turned cloud again.

I wiggled my toes. The strength of a warrior. The heart of a seamstress with words to weave.

Then the wind. A whisper. A tale. A story. Always yours, and your renegade streak.

With quick fingers, and blanket worn cape, worn perfect, worn tales I now tell, turned new.

Turned and living through me.

I miss you.
I love you.

Where is the soul of your inspiration?

A Toasty Tip/Update

2011-03-22T20:14:00.000-07:00

So, okay, I said this week I was going to focus on villains. Trust me, I am. They are going into my work like crazy. Let me break it down a little. We all know the VS, right?

1. Man vs Man
2. Man vs Himself
3. Man vs Nature
(I'm adding a fourth)
4. Man vs Creature

In my WiP I have: Man vs Man, Himself and Creature. If I threw nature in there, I don't think MC's would survive the story. My MC's have some evil stacked against them, as well as their own inner conflict about the world around them and the choices they are forced to make. So while I am too fried to discuss the awesomeness of villains and the importance of a strong Antagonist in stories, just know I am battling everything BUT nature and that should prove my point and stance on a strong antagonist. Thankfully, nature is being kind. Whew!

Just over a year ago (wow, where did the time go) I didn't outline, which was okay, my characters are kind enough to write my plot for me some of the time. However, my biggest issue was staying on point with the word count. So I devised a little equation and it is proving to be SUPER helpful in my work.

The Equation: For a new author in YA fantasy the word count should be roughly 70k (or so I'm told, I know this just a rough estimate) This is how I broke it up between my two POV's. Like I didn't have enough problems writing a ton of conflict and action scenes, I am also alternating. Needless to say, I HAD to have some sort of structure! Here is how I divided up my current WiP

Toasty Tip for Word Count!

I wrote my first two chapters. Each one came out to about 2k.
70 divided by 2 = 35 scenes/chapters.
I then broke out the index cards, jotted down scenes I needed and came up with a nice division between the two MC's.
But wait, I continued my equation into the different acts.
70 divided by 4= 17.5. So at 17,000 words I started to wrap up act 1 and got ready for act 2. I am allowing act 2 an extra 10k. It seems restrictive but really, it has liberated me and I stay focused. I know, I kind of glazed over when I read my math stuff. Me and Math hate each other, with this one exception.

So where am I currently? I'm closing in on the halfway mark. I am right where I need to be. YAY!

Seeing as I am a recovering pantser, I also found that if I edit as I go there are two things that happen.
1. The feedback I get from three very awesome people help shape the upcoming chapters. They also reign in my urge to stray.
2. My revisions at the end will be FAR less.

So while it has taken me three months to get to 30k, I have a solid foundation and today I am allowing for a pat on the back. 10k a month aint bad!

Questions: Do you have a system for word count? Any WiP progress? AND, in the interest of Villains, what is your main "versus" Man vs Man? Let me know!

Where There is a Hero...

2011-03-20T20:48:00.000-07:00

There MUST be a Villain. I've been discussing with my husband and a certain other really awesome friend of mine (you know who you are) about the importance of a strong Antagonist. I've read books recently that have left me fairly unsatisfied because there was no sense of an Antagonist. I started thinking about Disney Villains and just how in YOUR FACE some of them are. Granted, they are cartoons but when I think about it, they have some of the most rockin' Antagonists of all time. I can't seem to pick one out of the bunch which one I love more than the others but if I must choose, I have to run with Hades. How funny and interactive was that character!? He was funny and yet he had some serious consequences for Hercules. Which kind of brings me to a point. The Villains are INTERACTIVE and they don't just lurk in the shadows. They show themselves and let their voices be heard, they plot, they scheme, and make for some of the best dialogue and action sequences. I personally love when the Antagonist is "In My Face" because it adds depth to the story. I want to know them just as much as I know the Protag. Granted, it depends on the story, of course. But if you have room to let your Antagonist interact with the Hero, I say go for it!
So this week will be about the Villains and why we all love to hate them (or love to love them and possible hate to love them)

To start the week. It's simple:
Who is your favorite Villain and Why? What about them drew you in?
(doesn't have to be Disney)

Disclaimer: This week I will be semi-unplugged because I have some serious writing to do, but I will be in the sphere, promise. My posting will be shorter, but take note...I love me some Villains and wish I had more time to dedicate to them this week.

CONTEST ALERT: Ali Cross is having a super awesome Beyonder's Prize Contest. If you don't know about the book or the author go check out her blurb and how it sort of mixes with my post. A world WITHOUT heroes? Crazy, and here I thought there needed to be a villain. ;)

Umm...don't asky why this photo is here lol.

Turn off the GPS

2011-03-17T19:18:00.000-07:00

This week has been fully dedicated to action scenes, yes, but more specifically the "Chase." I gave myself an unfortunate challenge in my current WiP. I have to constantly construct new escape/chase scenes. My characters are built and trained to handle them, and I guess you could kind of call them the "extreme sports version" of escape artistry. Why I gave myself this challenge, I don't know. But I would like to round out the week in honor of my characters and discuss one last, very important, thing: Directions.

Directional Phrasing should be used to get from A to B. This is what happens when directions fail.

If you can't read it, Google suggested that the most efficient way to get to Sussex Station is to swim the Atlantic (all 3,426 miles of it.) I don't think I would be out of line to say, that's anything but effecient. Fail! If you write your scenes with too many directions it will sound like someone turned on the GPS in your car. If you don't have enough, you'll wind up turning left into a ditch. In chase scenes you will need directions. It will become a thorn in your side, but here are a few directions you can cut from your prose and keep your work clean of the GPS.

Words like: around, up, down, back, front, are typically unnecessary in most circumstances. They can clog a sentence and slow down the scene.

1. I turned around to face him. VS I faced him.
2. I sat down on the floor. VS I sat on the floor.
3. I looked up at the sky VS I looked at the sky.
4. I ran back to the car. VS I ran to the car.

Dramatically Exaggerated Example Paragraph:
I came into the room and sat down on the couch. I heard John behind me, so I turned around to face him. Because of the stain on the front of his shirt, he crouched down to the floor and then crawled under the table. I stood back up, and headed to the laundry room. I looked up and found the stain remover. I walked back into the living room, crouched down and handed him the stain remover.

Solution Paragraph: (my mind is fried forgive how weak this is)
I sat on the couch. John continued to groan. I faced him. He was embarrassed by the stain on his and hid under the table. Annoyed, I went to the laundry room, grabbed the stain remover then chucked it at him.

Unless gravity releases it's grip, up will be up and down will be down. Cut those pesky preps.

Anymore you would like to add to the short list I provided. (Seriously folks, I'm fried tonight)

Have a wonderful weekend!

And ACTION: Pass or Fail?

2011-03-15T20:23:00.000-07:00

Now that I covered a few of the physical reactions the body has during a chase scene, it's time to get to the chase itself. Chase scenes are very cinematic and while you want to capture the epic brilliance you've seen on the silver screen, you don't want to overwhelm your reader (or your character)

Ways to overwhelm your reader:

1. Too many descriptions

2. Too many directions

3. Not pumping the brakes

4. Not addressing the goal of the chase (or point B)

So whether you are skilled at the chase, struggle, or lingering somewhere in between, this is what I like to call PASS/FAIL.

1. Map it! How you map the area is up to you. If you want to scribble it in crayon on your walls or put together a lengthy power point and force your family to watch it frame by frame, that's up to you. Know your area, and know it WELL.

2. Location, Location, Location. Take your character to the scene of the chase PRIOR to the chase. It can be a stroll on a summers day, a place they frequent, or where they set up their stalking post. Why? Glad you asked. This will ground the readers for the upcoming evens because you will have time to establish the geography, landmarks, layout and descriptions HERE. Now, if you CAN'T take your character to the chase scene prior, no worries, there's a solution to that. Keep it simple. Make it a place people are familiar with, like the woods, a cemetery, a hospital, etc. These places have universal props…which leads me to a transition…

3. Props. Choose universal props for your scene. I wouldn't recommend running through the halls of a local hospital for research and you won't need to because common props are your friend. A bedpan to the head would hurt. (you just pictured that didn't you) My point.

4. Obstacles. On your map mark three obstacles. Too few, boring. Too many, overwhelming. Three is a good number. Just like props make them universal. If there is a tree stump in the hospital, then I have no idea what your writing, make it realistic.

4.a. Obstacle 1= Pass. For the love of all things sacred do not allow your MC to trip and fall over that mossy tree root while running from a chainsaw psychopath in a hockey mask.

4.b. Obstacle 2= Fail. (briefly) Allow your character to stumble. Let the Antagonist breathe down their neck. Best of all create some doubt. Now, get your MC off the ground and get going.

5. Pump the breaks. This is the time to understand that your reader needs a quick break from the action. Your MC is up and running again, but maybe they sprained their ankle on that darned root. It's time to evade your Antagonist and let your MC catch their breath. And, your reader.

6. GO! Don't linger. RUN!

7. Obstacle 3. Pass/Fail. This will depend on your story. If it's time for the MC to break free then PASS. If it's time for the Villain to take them hostage then FAIL. Either way, make it a struggle and make it authentic.

Now that your character has run through the scene that you so eloquently drew on your walls with red crayon (just me?) it's time to discuss two more things. Hang in there, these are important. They add depth.

REVEAL something about your character (are they fast, clumsy?)

KNOW their limitations. (do they have a heart condition, are they in heels?)

In 600 words, you now have a starting point. Happy Running!!!!!

And, ACTION!

2011-03-13T19:41:00.000-07:00

Hello to my new followers! Glad to have you on board.
For today's Journey (I unfortunately didn't have the time to illustrate myself) I'm going to discuss the one thing I've always had a knack for. The Chase, and The Getaway. Some of you may be awesome at it, and some may struggle with action packed scenes. Either way, here are some ways to amp up the action. This week is dedicated to Chase Scenes and how to make the best of each scene.

If you have a tight focus on your character already, guess what, you're about to go tighter. Your sentences will get shorter. Your detail will go to the wayside. Directional phrasing will want to rear it's ugly head but there are ways to attack these scenes with success. Today, I'm going to focus on the body and why it does what it does when in the fight or flight response. Let them guide your scene.

A. Lets Take A Look At The Body: Fight or Flight? (This is awesome!)

1. Pupils dialate: This means your Character is going to automatically SEE more (even in the dark). Does this mean you need to describe each thing they see? NO! Another cool tip/fact, time may seem to slow down as our senses heighten.

2. Hair stands on end: Why? It makes us more sensative to the world around us. It's also been suggested that this, on a psychological level, intimidates the enemy. Have you seen a dog with it's hair on end...you already know thats a bad sign, right? In humans, we don't turn into a hell hound, but our hair turns into mini receptors. COOL! It's like whiskers!

3. The heart speeds up: I know, duh, but why does it speed up? The arteries constrict to maximize pressure in the area while the veins open up to allow blood to race back to the heart. Want to know how much blood runs through your heart while in the fight to flight? It goes from ONE gallon to FIVE gallons per minute. That's a lot of blood folks. Don't skip on the the pulse while writing the scene.

4. Instant Energy: It's not RedBull that causes the increase in adrenaline. It's your liver. Yup, it turns those fatty cells into glucose. I wouldn't reccomend this as a descriptive, but that's pretty awesome!

5.Respiratory: The lungs, throat and nostrils open up. The faster you breathe, oxygen fires into your muscles making them faster and stronger. Deeper breathing increases the ability to SCREAM! Don't skimp on the breathing.

6. Blood Vessels: These suckers, while opening up near the heart, will constrict to organs that your body deems unnecessary at the moment. The body will send more blood to heart and lungs and skimp on the blood to say...a kidney. They even constrict around certain glands, including the amount of salivA. You're character will get dry mouth! It can work as a description. I've used it, trust me.

7. Skin: In contrast to dry mouth, the sweat glands will open up to cool the body. Another description!!! Sweat in the eyes sucks! Use it! Another cool fact, blood vessels constrict at the surface of the skin. Why? It is preparing itself to decrease blood loss should there be an injury. So, it would be accurate to say that if your character gets a gash on thier leg, it won't gush at first. Save that mess for the "cool down".

8. Endorphines: Your bodies natural pain killer. A character can't be bothered with too much pain during a chase scene. Another thing that can wait till later...the aftermath of blood and pain. Ouch!

9. Judgement System: Your brain will tell you what to do on a primitive level.
Freeze (not like ice) in place. This allows for better hearing, and eyesight allowing for a better assesment on whether to fight or flee.
Shielding is another response. It is knee-jerk and primal. Common examples are to cower, as well as cover the face with the arms and hands. Turning the back away from an attacker is another common instinct in protection. We don't think it, we just do it. And, so should your characters.

Cut the deep thoughts, a character won't have them. Short, simple, sentences.

These are common reactions and should be employed in the chase scene because they are relatable to the reader. On Wednesday, I will road map the steps for a great chase scene. Stay tuned!

Do you struggle with chase scenes, action packed scenes? Or do you handle them well? Have you employed any of the above body cues for fight or flight?

For more information go to: Fight or Flight

Special Agent Friday

2011-03-11T04:17:00.000-08:00

Welcome new followers! I think I am following you all back, if I'm not...as usual kick me and I'll get on it. Happy to have you on board! Also a big hug and a thank you to Melissa for her last post.

It's that time of the week when Toasty has a tip. His tip this week is really just a suggestion via an old drawing of mine.
Have an adventure and rejuvenate this weekend!
If your doing something as mundane as laundry turn it into something bigger and better. Let your imagination run away from you. Let it find the things you don't normally see even with eyes open. Dream while your awake. This is the drawing he happened to stumble upon, from the mind of 15 year old Me.

(for those who can't read my handwriting)
"If you dream only in your sleep, you're limiting yourself. In my imagination I've traveled to distant places. I met lots of people there. I EVEN ENCOUNTERED MYSELF. Don't be distracted by routine. "

(Disclaimer- This could very well be someone elses quote and/or song lyric, but I did search it and found nothing so I'm claiming it till someone tells me otherwise (and please do let me know, if you know.)

Encounter yourself this weekend, and dream with those eyes open. Have and adventure!

HD TV

2011-03-08T19:08:00.000-08:00

So, today, I have no reflection. I spent most of the day in bed with some sort of 24 hour bug and suffered from one of those fevers that keeps you suspended between dreams and reality. But, I rallied towards the end of the day and wanted to share with you all how my fever affected my afternoon "nap". I was in bed and the red dot on the TV kept freaking me out. It was blurry (I didn't have my glasses on) and it seemed to be taunting me as I sweated off the fever. I would go in and out of this nightmare that the red dot on the TV was a sniper in my room or some other weird thing. I would wake up breifly and settle my nerves only to return to the hazey inbetween where my imagination took it's grip. Once, I was able to shower off the grime I started to feel a little better and decided to doodle after an hour (or more) of intense staring at my FB page completely unaware of my surroundings. So, here it is. The doodle of my afternoon feverish imagination. Happy Wednesday folks!
Toasty will be back on Friday with his Tip of the Week! And if I am feeling better I promise to get to your posts, I'm sorry I was just too sick to comment today.

So yeah, FEVERS SUCK!

Journey 3: The Kingdom

2011-03-06T18:41:00.000-08:00

Hello to all my new followers! I'm glad to have you here and if I'm not following back, kick me and I'll do so. I get lost occasionally on Blogger. Speaking of lost (transition) today's reflection is one that I went back and forth on doing. Not because it isn't something that I know most writers have some difficulty with, especially in the early stages, but because this particular reflection is downright embarrassing. But, because I said I was going to go through the learning curve that lead me to today's semi-success in writing, here we go. Back Story. (dramatic sigh of contempt) When writers don't trust their readers and/or themselves and then go knee-deep in back story. (hissing now)

I was lost in the early stages of writing. I haven't discussed Chapter 1 because it was fairly well put together. However, in Chapter 2, I started to freak out. I was convinced my reader wasn't going to follow the upcoming chapters unless they had a clear understanding of what happened in MC's past. So I spelled it out for them.

Chapter 2 started out as a decent chapter and then the worry continued to scratch at my brain and I gave in to Back Story. The percentage of story to back story:

My back story wasn't just some information on how the character got to where she was in life. OH no, that would be boring. So my back story was a story within a story. It was straight on fairy tale. My MC actually recounted her past like a fairy tale. There was a Royal King and Minions and the whole 9. I wish I was kidding about this. (Embarrassing blush) The chapter was actually called: The Kingdom.

I was so excited for my next meeting. I had figured out how to sum up everything the reader needed to know in ONE CHAPTER! I won't have to do back story ever again! I felt accomplished to say the least. My critique group read "The Kingdom" chapter. And, although they were sweet about everything, they still looked at me like I was nutty.

However, at the time, there was one person in the critique group who had no social filter at all. She didn't just look at me like I was nutty. She handed me my critique as though it was on fire, and covered in acid,... and gave her heartburn.

She's no longer in the group because of "circumstances that remain within the code book that is my circle" (ehem) but, I am glad she popped a few Rolaids and told me that my back story was crap. I didn't understand at first. Like, I said, I didn't trust myself or my reader. I composed myself after the meeting and thought, hard, about how to cut the back story.

I was going to let my reader figure it out. On their own. No help. And, most importantly, no Kingdom fairy tale junk.

I resubmitted the chapter with zero back story. It was all current and in the "NOW!"

But chapter 2 was still just as flawed as the previous submission. There wasn't enough information to get from point A to B.

It took some time (just under a year) but I finally figured out how to space the back story into my story in an organic way. I learned to trust myself AND my reader. (and just incase you were worried, I didn't let my reader drown, I gave her a safety raft that would carry her from A to B)

Question: Erica, how did you figure out how to manage the back story?
Me: Practice.

I wish I had a more solid answer than that, but practice is what it took. I didn't get it right in just a few tries it took hundreds of tries. THOUSANDS of tries! A GAGILLION TRIES! Okay, not that many but let's say that's when BACKSPACE became my best friend.

Special Agent Toasty

2011-03-04T05:32:00.000-08:00

I have decided to allow Toasty his own Friday series: Special Agent Edition. He's here to help find those pesky little things that make a mess in first, second, third...drafts.
his week, he's going to help detect something called the "Where Am I and Who Are They" effect.
Homonyms: There, Their and They're.
All of us know which is which, but if you're anything like me, the wrong one slides right on into your draft. I like to call this one the "Default"....THERE.

Solution: Toasty says, "Go to your find feature and type in: There. Look through the highlighted words and make sure they are correct. Rinse and Repeat for Their and They're." And this is my homework this weekend. GRR.

And that is Special Agent Toasty, saving one prose at a time.
Have an adventure this weekend! (then tell me 'bout it Monday)

Journey 2: Toasty Goes Under the Sea

2011-03-01T19:08:00.000-08:00

Today, I am resurrecting an old friend of mine, Toasty!!! Since I was a kid, my imagination has always had the better of me. I like to think it makes me a better me. Although, if you were to ask my parents, it didn't always make for the best circumstances.

In reflection one, I talked a little about how writing wasn't my first love. Out of a need to still create when I couldn't physically do my "norm", I sought out writing as the weapon of choice.
In reflection two, I went after the Adverb Monster (<--linkage) and tried to cover one of the technical things I've learned. But what happens when the artist in me crosses the writer in me?

WRITER:

ARTIST:

Well, that's today's reflection.

The chapter that went too far.

But first, let me officially introduce the one and only, Toasty. He'll be helping me go through the steps on how the artist took over the writer.

When I started writing my first novel, my characters were able to dream walk and/or have out of body experiences (very pre-Inception of me). Chapter 4 was the first time the reader was able to go through the dream walking experience. MC fell out of "her body" and Male Lead was there to help her understand that they were in a parallel of sorts. Cool, right? Well, I thought it was. The chapter was going well but then the artist started nagging, begging to be heard.
It all started at the MC's house, located on the beach. She fell asleep, and subsequently fell into this very strange dream world where she was able to speak to the Male Lead. But there was something after Male Lead.

Male Lead tell's MC, we have to leave the house. The Antagonist has found me here, even though that's impossible, they've found a loop hole. RUN!

The house turned into a growing monster. The Antagonist took on the form of wind and continued to grow into a vortex of death! What will my MC's do!?

(yes, toasty is losing his bread here.) AH! The Antagonist is after the MC's! Wait, there's another loop hole!! When they are in the parallel, there's a way to escape the vortex of death. They just have to die briefly. No big deal.
Male lead says, "Follow me to the water. You'll have to trust me! We have to drown!"
MC says, "What!?"
Male Lead says, "You won't actually die, I promise! We have to go."
So they headed to the ocean while the house spewed fire, and more fire, and glass...and MORE shrapnel!

MC and Male Lead dash into the water. It's all very dramatic. Darkness, the lack of oxygen, the fear, the what ifs are all creeping in as they continue to drown. BUT wait, Male Lead was right! They don't actually die while they are in the "out of body" experience. AWESOME! But, let's be real...they need oxygen. Now what?! Force field bubble under the sea! Perfect.

Whoa, that was close. Thankfully, there's a force field bubble of protection 20,000 leagues under the sea. Now MC and Male Lead can talk in peace and confess their mounting attraction for each other. And it all makes so much sense. The believability is spot on =D But the thing was, it wasn't. Haha! No, it wasn't even close to believable, but it was one of the coolest chapters I've ever written. It was by far the most creative and one of the chapters I've had the most fun writing.
I've learned to tame the artist in my writing. I haven't tamed it in real life...erm, noticeable? But on occasion I need to write chapters such as this Chapter to keep my sanity. This is my sanity...sad as that may be.

Have you ever had an absolutely absurd chapter? Was it awesome fun?! Let me know.

Toasty will be making repeat performances in the future because he was so much help. Hope you enjoyed :)

Journey 1: From Bliss to Horror

2011-02-27T19:14:00.000-08:00

As I started my journey into writing there were things I absolutely did wrong, and continue to struggle with. I know it's a topic I've talked about before, but it's worth a revisit. My understanding of the English language was limited to what I said in real life and I paid no mind to how that took shape in my prose. If anything, I overcompensated for my lack of writing knowledge. I wasn't born with the gift. But, I managed to get a first chapter.

This was me after I finished my first chapter.

I was so happy. I had nailed some good descriptions, some decent dialogue and I was comparable to a peacock with brilliant feathers.

It was time to get some opinions and let my brilliance be known to the world. So I found a critique group. Their advice was to "Slay the Adverbs."

I gathered up my neat stacks of critiques and felt my little feathers wilt.

I looked back and forth between my work and my critiques. "But I don't understand. MC ran quickly. How else do you say that!?"

My narcissism took it's grip and I was ready to strut my stuff. I started chapter two with an adverb just to prove my point.

After finishing chapter two, I decided I would finish the book I had started to celebrate my accomplishment. I was cruising through these chapters and I wanted a break. So I got into bed, my dog settled in next to me and I started reading.

As I read through a few more chapters, something started to nag at my brain. The words seemed to creep along the page. I started to skim sentences and became distraught. Then I became bored. I had to ask myself, "Why does this book read so weird? What happened? It's SO slow now. What happened to awesome book?!"...........Then it hit me.

Frustrated, I put he book down. I tossed and turned. I grumbled at my revelation. Chapter One rolled through my head as I drifted to sleep. The Adverb came for me...

After a dramatic night of fighting with the Adverb monster I did just what my new Critique group had suggested. I had to slay the Adverb.

It's not always an easy thing to avoid. I wish I had a majestic sword that cut them from my prose. However, since that night I realized the importance of a strong verb. MC isn't quickly running. MC is dashing, bolting, sprinting or otherwise moving. You get my point. This was my first learning curve in the world of writing. I'm happy to say that I have slayed the Adverb Monster from my work, but I do understand that sometimes they are necessary. A lesson in what we all call "moderation."

Adverbs are like flies, they get in as soon as you open the back/front door. Some, you see and swat. Others get trapped behind the blinds and you find them dead some time later. USE THE FIND FEATURE AND TYPE IN "LY"( although not all adverbs end in "LY") and I guarantee the flies that die behind the blinds are in there, and there is a stronger verb just waiting to be used. Even now, after a year, I do this and sure enough, a few have made their way in. Check and double check!!!!

If you struggle with adverbs, like I did, or you just don't have a list of strong verbs, the One Look Dictionary Search is a wonderful online tool that helps you add spice to your work by transforming phrases such as "run quickly" into a variety of stronger verbs. It also does other cool stuff and is worth the look.

And that is my Bliss to Horror to Conquer on Adverbs.

Dot Dot Awesome

2011-02-24T19:26:00.000-08:00

Disclamer: This could very well be just my brand of humor.
This week is turning out to be the exception to the rules I put in place for myself. But, when I came across this gem, I figured I would post it for those who are in need of something...funny and have the ability to watch a youtuber. Generally, I don't like to take cheap shots at someones inability to spell because I myself have difficulty with certain words such as humuhumunukunukuapuaha (which I did spell correctly). On occasion though, I do tend to screw up simple words such as their, there, and they're. Okay, so I have a homonym problem as well. But this was awesome, hands down, and every time I read some trolling comment it will be in this voice and I will add the dramatic music.
Trolls= people who leave scathing (and grammatically challenged) comments on the web.
I will continue on Monday with my reflective journey (and perhaps another doodle to go with) and if you would like to read the last post its HERE.
All rights to this video belong to Rice Pirate. His channel is Rice Pirate Newgrounds

The Beginning: Me and the Toaster

2011-02-23T06:45:00.000-08:00

Until I get this fixed, my blog schedule will be Mondays and Wednesdays...yesterday was a fluke called "Monday"

Yesterday I dumped out why I've been absent. Let's move on! I said I wanted to take a few weeks to just reflect on this writing journey of mine and I intend on doing just that. I think it's a fun journey and I hope you'll all be willing to read my reflections and how I got to where I am today. Someone who is excited for the first time about the progress I am making in my WiP. (Currently at 20k, with a clear idea of the upcoming chapters. woot!)

I didn't start out in life as a writer. No, not even close. I actually kind of hated it (I blame college research papers) until I took a Creative Writing course. It turned out that I was decent at writing but, still, I was like…meh. Let's go paint! Let's go weld something to the toaster!

Me: Hi toaster! Want to be a really cool sculpture! Or a flower vase!

Toaster: ZOMG YES! You have the best ideas. (sings a song)

Me: Blissfully singing with toaster. I think a green army man would look nice standing on your handle!

Toaster: Super Glue Extravaganza!

That was how I spent so many of my years. Not so much talking to toasters, but I was so free in my creative expression that when it came to writing and there were things like…syntax…I got bored and/or frustrated. But, I was good enough at it that this one Professor thought I should be published.

Me: What!? Published you say?

Professor Awesome: Yes, published. That story was raw and emotional. You're good at this you should keep writing.

Me: O.o Erm…am I being graded on this?

Professor: No, just do it for fun.

Toaster: Screw off, dude! We have some bedazzling to do!

Even after experience I thought, nah, I have too many other things I would like to do and grammar isn't one of them. It wasn't until I had back surgery and my husband was leaving for his second tour to war that I started writing. I had to create, but my ability to do things like painting or whatever were hard/painful. I couldn't stand for very long, and I couldn't sit to save my life. However, I could lay down like a champ. I started to write about some experiences. In my Creative Writing class, the piece that was published was a Creative Non-Fiction story called "Fourteen Red Cars." It was a recall of fairly sad event in my life and I remembered how good it felt to write down said event in a fictional way. So I tried that same approach. My creative outlet is a necessity and writing became one of the few ways I could accomplish the nagging necessity that is creativity.

The story evolved from a life experience to some supernatural whirlwind and my imagination was running wild.

Toaster: Is there a green army guy in it?

Me: No. Well…at least not yet. We'll see. Blissful YAY! *folds rough draft into an origami penguin and makes it dance for my own entertainment*

My writing started out of a need to maintain my ability to create. From there it grew into something more, and here is where my journey truly begins.

Question, since I haven't left one in a while: When did you begin to write and why?

Unfortunately, Toasty is missing. But I thought I would share, for the first time, what it has looked like inside of my brain. This is a doodle from I think the seventh grade. It might make sense as to why writing felt restrictive in the beginning stages. My doodles don't even have rules...King Kong is on a syringe and the devil is pushing some dude into a toilet of brains??? Yikes! But, such is my journey. >.<

It happened but I'm bouncing back

2011-02-22T05:40:00.000-08:00

I realize it's been quite some time since I've written here on my blog but for what it's worth here's another post and maybe I'll have another tomorrow or the next day. I figured that I would just start to document a bit of this journey called, writing and life and how I couldn't write because of life and now I write despite life. If that makes sense. Today, I suppose, the best place to start isn't the beginning but how I got to 15k words that I feel are worth a damn and even though I've been over them seven times searching out revisions (to which I've had one on every chapter except chapter 6, it needed about three) I actually can't find anything wrong with it. Though I have tried… So here's the latest news and then I'll go back from here on a different day.

It seemed strange to me, being a writer, that when crisis and tragedy struck my life and family that I would have something to write or say about it. Nope, that wasn't the case. I found myself not just speechless but wordless. I would stare at this blog, other blogs, my work, and nothing would come to me. I would answer my phone and I had nothing to say. My head was either too crammed or it was taking a break far away from everything. I thought the emotions I was experiencing would be helpful for the more "challenging" chapters and I could make them that much more authentic. Nope, again, not the case. Folks, I literally had nothing to say for the longest time. Even my FB status took a hit. I took a break, and whether I liked it or not wasn't the point, it was a break I apparently needed. My body was more aware of this than my brain ever was. Gladly, the two are starting to get along and my writing life has started to bloom again. (Sorry if this seems like a downer, but it's me documenting the journey..so..)

After losing a friend, critique partner, amazing Zellie I wanted so badly to honor her by writing my own story. I wanted to finish the story she had helped me work on for nearly a year. She left a dedication in her self-published book (Lightning Spliced) for me. She saw a spark, a firework, in me, my life and that I brought it to my writing. I so badly wanted to prove that's who I was, even in the aftermath of her death. When I couldn't seem to make it happen I got frustrated and thus the spiral began.

When my husband got home from war I figured, "Awesome! Everything will be fine and good and great and wonderful." It is all of those things but a few things I didn't count on, crept in. "What will we do without the Army! The steady pay! The healthcare! Will we be able to make it work! ZOMG could I freak out anymore! YES!" Folks, I was in perpetual worry that coupled up with grieving and wound up scared of my own shadow. Literally, wide open spaces such as the beach, took on a new and scary demeanor. Like it would swallow me up, when a few months before the beach felt like a place of freedom. I told ya, I spiraled. I wasn't living up to the confident girl with fireworks and the frustration became something larger and more hateful. But I found a small voice in one of my characters, one I had never written but had placed on a shelf for future use. I was starting to write!

December 18th, my Aunt passed away. One week before Christmas she passed while waiting on a lung transplant, and after battling a pulmonary disease for five years. She had finally been put on the transplant list just in the three months before. I lost my voice again.

So I found that even as a writer, it's not the only or even best source to run to when life happens. I always figured it was. I thought living in the worlds I had created would give my brain a break. Nope, they didn't. It seems strange but no words were better than words for a few months. So when did the revelation happen? When did my characters start to develop? And when did I become such a solid writer and have more confidence in it now than ever? To be honest, I have no idea. The only thing I do know, is that I have words again. Stronger words. Even if I'm not the strongest me yet, I'm writing again and my shadow seems less scary. So when I write here again, I'll go back to when I actually started writing and the journey I went through that led to today and then through to what I'm working on currently. If you want to take the journey with me, I guarantee it's not all downers and there's a huge learning curve in there. I also realize it's been SO long that it may take a few times before I am fully back in the swing. But thank you to those of you who saw I had a new post and commented, in advance, I love you all! And have missed you dearly!

Winner of Gift Away

2010-11-22T05:42:00.000-08:00

Good Mornin' everyone. Hope you all had a great weekend :)
Today is a short post from me to announce the winner....drum roll...
Congratulations to CHRISTINE DANEK!!!
Christine get in touch with me via email so I can get 'lil Mickey off to you =D

Vertigo=no answer yet and i'm off to lay down but I will try to get to everyones blog this afternoon...reading sucks right now :(

So what did ya'll do this weekend?

Gift Away!

2010-11-18T07:10:00.000-08:00

It's Thursday! Why am I excited for Thursday? Well, I'm not but I am and this is why…

All of you left such sweet comments on my last post about our vacation and I've missed you all so much. No, really I have had withdrawal and I'm glad to be back and posting but my posts are going to be a touch shorter than usual. So, back to this Thursday thing of yay/not-so-yay stuff.

1. Yay stuff! -While I was at Disney (in this giant store that would be easy to get lost in and/or go into serious debt) I couldn't help but want to somehow share our experience with you because all of you have been so supportive of me in not just writing but in my life and hubs deployment. So while I was ins said massive store I made it a point to find something that I could gift away to one of you. Like I said it would be easy to go into debt their so I couldn't get something for everyone although I would have loved to. This isn't a contest at all it's just something both Hubs and I wanted to do and we got a 2010 Mickey plush (since it was the cutest thing with the year on it) and a set of Mickey pens to go with it. I have a picture (repeat performance) of the Mickey but trust me…he's CUTE. he has on 2010 hoodie and some rockin short's and colorful shoes. So how do you enter the "gift" away. Just leave me a comment that say's "Yes, count me in on the awesomeness of Mickey" and randomizer will take care of the rest. No need for sidebar, blog love…this is strictly just me wanting to gift one of you special people a piece of our trip =D

2. Not-so-yay- So this could be a yay-ish experience today but we'll see. For the last four weeks I've been suffering from a constant state of vertigo. SUCK! I will be having a CT done soon (yikes) and today I see a different doctor who is going to look at other posibilites as to why I have this. I have seen FOUR doctors already and none have had a single answer from the tests we've run so far. This is why my posts are semi-shorter. Looking down at a computer screen doesn't help the cause. So cross your fingers today that this doc. isn't a letdown and I get at least some kind of answer! The not-so-yay is that he may have again ZERO answer and I'm still battling the vertigo with no reason as to why. Wish me luck.

So leave me the phrase "Yes, count me in on awesomeness of Mickey" if you would like to be a part of the gift away. If you would like to do any of the extra stuff like a sidebar that would be awesome of you! I will draw a winner Monday morning.

I will keep you all posted on the vertigo status: Status=suck at the moment. I'll be back on Friday to visit blogs and leave some love. =D

PS- to South Carolina Yankee: I was an intern in the fall of 2000 and left in Jan of 2001 ;)

Plugged In!

2010-11-13T20:08:00.000-08:00

Before I start, I just got off a plane a few hours ago and tommorow is going to be busy but I will be replying to you all and visiting your blogs Monday mornin'. Just wanted to get this up before then. ;) If you would like to see epic vacation I have more pics on facebook

Finally, I think I'm back and plugged! So much has happened in the past…I'm not even really sure how long…and it's kept me away for some time now but I think with a little more free time and a little less crazy I should be more "permanent" around here in the blogsphere again.

So, I know that a lot of you are doing the Nano this month and pounding away at the keyboard and hopefully (I know ya'll are) working hard to get that 50k goal. As for me, sadly, this might be the first thing I have had time to sit down and write in the past however long it's been. Well, okay I did update Facebook occasionally and did a quick Chimera update (thanks to those who are following already!) but since I haven't had the time to process much more than a single thought to let people know I was alive and hadn't dissapeared, I am going to continue this run-on sentence to share some news and pictures of the Disney vacation =D

Before I start, I should mention, it's not for a lack of things to write about…it's been the lack of time. And sometimes when I have this lack of time I get a tad rusty. O.o So forgive all the rules I'm supposed to follow. Especially fragments and comma placement >.<

Before we left to go to Disney (WIN) my husband was contacted by some higher upper in his unit to let him know that their unit had been invited to take part in Extreme Home Makeover in the month of November (Double WIN) Can I say the date? Just in case I can't I'll let the date slide but it's…soon. Anyways, how cool is it that we are going to go help build a home! We will be laying the wooden flooring from 10 at night to 6 in the morn'. So, I'm not crazy about the hours but whatever it's Extreme and I can't wait to do it. CANT wait. (Plus, this will teach hubby to lay the flooring in our home finally (Epic Win)) So look for the Savannah episode! I'm sure I'll be squee'ing about it when I know the airdate ;)

Next: Disney. Of course, we had a blast. I'm not sure what to say about the vacation other than despite the fireworks, the magic, the feeling of being a kid, the parades, and characters, amazing resort and more pins and plushy Mickey's that I need the best, BEST thing that came out of this trip was one phrase from hubs.

Scenerio: He's never been. I have been and was also an intern so I wanted to gauge his expectations "met" when I asked this.

ME: "So what do you think? Is it the same, better, worse, crazier, bigger, than you expected?"

HIM: "I don't really know because I had no idea what to expect. (pause) But, I do know that here, (pause) I feel like I never went to war or saw the things I've seen in three deployments. (thoughtful grin)"

I couldn't have asked for more of an answer than that or have even imagined that one place on this planet could make him feel that way. So in honor of our trip here are some pics for your viewing pleasure.

Next blog post I'm running a contest (either here on my site or over at the Chimera site. The picture of the 2010 edition Mickey plus some cool Fab Five Pens will be included) and will start filling ya'll in on the writing after some thought on my revolving door plot.

Question before I leave the pictures to it: What's goin on folks! How's the Wrimo if' you're doing it? I've missed ya!

Calling ALL My Followers!!!!

2010-10-19T05:59:00.000-07:00

Hi guys! One blog from me before we head out for magic and pixie dust and our pure WIN vacation. However, I have important/exciting news for all of you and naturally had to share.
As most of you know, Zellie Blake, the site admin for Chimera Critiques, critique partner and most fabulous person I've been blessed to know lost her battle with cancer not long ago. Since her passing my other critique partner, Callie Forester, and I have been at a stalemate (erm spelling?) on what to do with the original Chimera site because Zellie was the site admin and well...we have no idea how to fix the many problems that website had so we decided that we would just start from scratch and rebuild over here on blogger.
We did this for several reasons. We have too much to say (just ask a few of our Chimera followers) to stop blogging together. We also wanted a platform where we were more in touch with our followers (something we didn't have before) and because we are down right rockin' awesome. I know all of you have had the chance to get to know me but now it will be in a double dose over at the new Chimera site PLUS OMG you all get to know Callie as well. ROCKS!
We are SO very excited to have the site (almost) rebuilt and will be up and running at the end of October and guess what folks, there will be a kick off contest. Who doesn't love that?! It will probably have some pixie dust involved...just sayin'.
So why am I calling on all of you. If it isn't obvious it's because I adore all of you and I have tried to make it to as many of my followers here at Chapter by Chapter and started following quite a few of you as "Callie and Erica" in hopes that you would follow us back. Granted, I haven't gotten to all of you to follow just yet but I will (got sleepy last night before I could finish it). With all that rambling said, we would love to have you all over at the new Chimera site =D We are still "under construction" but we ARE there. Oh, and we will start taking submissions again, but details on all those things will come in about two or three weeks.
Schedule will be: I will post Monday blogs and Callie will post Thursday blogs. We will comment back as much as possible as well as (duh) visiting your sites and commenting. To avoid confusion when we comment to ya'll we will sign it so you know which person of awesome just commented ;)
As far as my blog here, it will be slower moving with fewer posts but now I'm not deserting this blog so keep me in your list!
Lastly, if you would like to follow us at the new Chimera site and I haven't followed you from there yet (sorry sleepy happens) the link is Chimera Critiques and you know what to do from there ;)
Even more Lastly: (lol I can't focus this morning) We will kick off with a contest when I return from the world of magic in two weeks. Right now we just have up a generic "hey we're under construction" blog but feel free to comment!
Okay I think I covered as much as my tired and oddly wired brain can cover. Can't wait to share the trip with you all and look forward to those of you who add the Chimera's to your list =D YAY!
And I'm off to clean and do laundry and get this vacation rollin!

Beautiful Darkness

2010-10-12T11:50:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post from me to let all of you know that Callie Forester and I were fortunate enough to get an interview with both Margaret Stohl and Kami Garcia, the authors of Beautiful Creatures. The second book in the series, Beautiful Darkness, comes out today (YAY) and we have posted that interview at Chimera Critiques in the blog section. Make sure to check it out, leave comments and grab yourself a copy of this series cause it rocks!

As for me I am still unplugged for the most part, but will be back after our vacation. Right now with my husband finally home there is so much to do and blogging is just on the back burner for the moment. But I still love ya'll and after our Disney Vacation I WILL be back and will have tons of fun things to talk about and look forward to rejoining the blogosphere.

So, please, pay a visit to the Chimera site for a peek into the lives of these two fabulous authors!

Gone Fishing

2010-09-25T08:06:00.000-07:00

Hello, hello. So if it hasn't been just real obvious yet I am unplugged for the moment but I hadn't officially been on my blog to let you all know. This month has been…challenging. With the passing of Zellie came such sadness and with the return of my husband (in a few days yay!) came so much excitement that at the end of the day I have virtually little to say because my mind is both scattered and torn and I needed to just take a break before my mind explodes. I am still on that break but will return soon and I just wanted to say I do miss you all and WILL be back.

Quick update: Zellie's book is selling both in paperback and e-book. The permalink is on my side bar with the image of her cover for Lightning Spliced. Again all proceeds go to cancer research.

There was a huge outpouring of blog posts, podcasts to help market her book so we are still working to make this an even bigger success. The first check has been sent to The American Cancer Society! Awesome! Thank all of you who purchased it and for everyone who has been so supportive. It hasn't gone unnoticed.

Lastly, I don't get emails off comments on my blog so if you need to get in touch with me you can do so by emailing me at ericaspickard(at)gmail(dot)com, or for those of you who know my other email address or are hooked up to me through Facebook those work too. I am more prone to checking Facebook for immediate response time and anyone who wants to friend me there I would love to have you! I don't check Twitter much (slaps hand) but I am adding a facebook tab to my sidebar for easy find access.

Hope everyone is doing well and I will be back SOON!

Miss you all!!!!!!

Friends Don't Let Friends Write Plot Zombie Protags

2010-09-09T19:55:00.000-07:00

Today I'm posting a blog that was written by Zellie Blake on the Chimera Critiques Blog back in July and I wanted to round out the week with a blog by here where she shines in another way. Writing tips. She and my other CP, Callie Forrester, helped me become a more solid writer as well as a what I hope, a value in the critique world. So it's my honor to bring you her last writing tip. Enjoy and there is a question at the end for comment :)

Ever read a book with a really bland main character? I wrote one. It’s not that I wanted to write a boring character, I started out Lightning Spliced with the idea of making a character who was “like Storm but more awesome.” Somewhere along the way, Amy (now Analee) became a plot zombie. She did what needed to be done so the plot could progress. It took a lot of research and even more rewrites before I got her to the point where people now compliment me on her characterization in interviews! Haha okay, so it was one interview but that’s not bad for an unpublished author and I love to pimp it (: (Lighting Spliced is now self published)

For a writer, a boring main character is a huge trap. Readers will put up with plot holes and clichés galore if they have the chance to hang out with someone really awesome. (Buffy, anyone?) I’ve put together a few of the focus techniques that I used to fix up Analee, feel free to add your own!

First impressions – If I get a sleazy feeling from a character’s first line, I’ll spend the rest of the book suspicious of him. What’s the very first thing your protag says and what does it show about him? What about body language? Environment, clothing, reactions to other people, reactions to his situation?

Motivations we can understand - Great characters are ones we think about once the book is closed.

Admirable qualities – generosity, courage, selflessness, kindness to strangers/animals/babies, etc You don’t want to overdo it and be sickening, but a little positivity goes a long way. I found the kindness to animals quality to be a HUGE success. I wrote Mayuri from The Deep Within to be a bitch and yet some of my critique partners found themselves liking her despite that, all because of her relationship with her dog, Bones.

Obstacles that challenge him – You’ll have people rolling their eyes if obstacles are too easy—or too hard—to overcome.

Humor! – I’ll even (especially!) love a villain with a good sense of humor! Hades in Disney’s Hercules is my hero But humor doesn’t mean your MC has to be a wisecracker, look for those giggle-worthy moments with bad-ass characters like Blade and Batman

Involvement – Don’t let your MC be a plot zombie! Make sure she reacts to what’s going on and make sure people react to her!

So what do you think makes a great character? What are some of your favorite character traits? I love the badass yet socially awkward girl and the trickster guy with the sensitive side.
~Zellie Blake~

Be The Adventure You Dream

2010-09-08T20:31:00.000-07:00

In the midst of all that has happened this week a few really cool things have happened since Zel's passing. I know a few of you who follow me knew Zel in one way or another and I just want to make sure that when I know things you know things. I don't mean to overflow my blog with this but I just want to make sure the information is passed along and I can contribute to the growing memory of Zel.

Her favorite author JC Hutchins wrote an absolutely beautiful blog about her today and bless him, he signed one of our cranes so we could frame that one for her. He was such an inspiration to her and in turn she has become one to him. I highly recommend not only reading his post but getting to know JC as an author because he rocks! Here comes the linkage. First, the post on Zellie written by him. Second his home page which provides further info on his work. Which is super cool. He has this interactive book where you can call phone numbers from the book and everything…and it's kinda scary! Totally check him out i you haven't read Hutchins its worth the read. Personal Effects: The Dark Arts

Lightning Spliced is selling! I am so uber super happy about this. At last count 43 copies of her book have been sold and they are already READY to send off the first check to the Cancer Foundation. How unbelievable is that! So cool! The marketing is going well and we hope to step it up a few notches and make it even more available. The link on my sidebar will remain there for anyone who would like to purchase her book.

It appears that our Zellie has had a major impact on the writing community as the week has progressed and the news about her has made it through the web. It seems that everywhere I turn someone is purchasing the book, or writing a blog about her, or making a gorgeous slide show, or making jewelry, or coming up with marketing ideas. People who have never met are coming together and uniting as friends, supporting each other, and doing wonderful things in Zel's memory. People ROCK!

I've put a slideshow that was put together by my other Chimera, Callie Forrester, at the bottom of this post. It's wonderful and captures her spirit so well. I hope you all will enjoy it and for those who never had the chance to meet this GEM of a person it's a glimpse at the smile that lit up the world.

The wonderful thing about writing, is that we get to leave a piece of our world in this world and I'm so glad Zel got the chance to do just that. And I am even more pleased that I will always have her book on my shelf, worn out from all the times I will have read it.

"Be The Adventure You Dream" ~ Zellie Blake .
I think that might be the best quote ever.

Thank you all for being rockstars! Tommorow a special blog from Zellies infinate supply of writing tips to round out the week. =D

Pixie Dust

2010-09-07T20:22:00.000-07:00

I want to thank everyone for their kindness and support during this very difficult time. I really do appreciate each and every one of you. Thank You! For anyone who missed my previous post, a dear friend Zellie Blake passed away this weekend but in her final day she was able to self publish her book Lightning Spliced. It's available for purchase through Lulu and the proceeds all go to cancer research. Here is the LINK if you would like more details and in my side bar will always be a link to her book should anyone want to purchase it or pass along the information to a friend. For those of you who are ordering her book and are passing along the information fills me with such joy, I have no words to express how much that means to all of us who are trying to market this book. Your all absolute DOLLS! Each one of ya! With all that said I need to lighten the mood tonight as I write my post.

Again as most of you know my husband has been deployed for 12 months and we are going on 13 now. He has been gone over half of our marriage but he will be home soon and we were very diligent with our finances and wanted to save as much as we could during this horrid recession so that we could go into our future together (post military) with some financial cushion. Who knew that we would do well enough to pay for a 7 day vacation to Disney World! Ya'll I can't even tell you how proud I am for how well we have done in our finances that it allowed us to pay in full for our entire vacation today. YAY!

It will be so important for us to reconnect, have fun, feel free to dance and live a little away from the world and what better place is there on the planet than Disney to just cut loose and have some real fun. I worked there as an intern during my college years and I had a blast. I was fortunate growing up that I was able to take family vacations and experience things and places that were so much fun and cool but I have to say with the exception of my time in Hawaii, Disney was the most magical experience in my whole life. It was the first time I was independent. It's where I found myself in so many ways and most importantly I had THE time of my life. I can't wait to share this experience with my husband because this will be his first real vacation! We have so much planned and I uber excited to see Disney through his eyes and sort of experience it for the first time again with him.

Our Resort! The pool has a pirate ship! And a beach!

If there was one thing Zellie taught me, other than how to become the writer I am today, is that life is a playground. When the opportunity presented itself to take this trip with no financial burden or the "what if's" attached to spending we booked it. So today, despite the sorrow of losing her, I found the joy in planning a vacation where my husband and I can just go kick it and do something special for ourselves. I have had so many vacations with my family and this time I get to share it with him which is so COOL! Just me and him. Does it get any better?!

Basically tonight, I am counting the blessings that I have often overlooked and tomorrow I am going to invest in a camcorder so we can document the trip (and his homecoming ceremony) because oddly we don't own one of those things yet. Anyways I just wanted to share how excited I am to be able to do this in October. It's gonna be awesome! Which I keep repeating lol. I needed to find my joy even during this difficult time and I am so blessed that I could not just plan a vacation, but I can plan a memory that will last forever with the person I love most in this world. Magical!

Where I worked as an intern: Fantasmic@ MGM Park

Me at work with other interns covered in Glow! (on the right)

So my questions to ya'll I guess would be…what is that one blessing you would be willing to share? And how obnoxiously happy do I seem in that last photo!? A bit dorky too ;)

A Wish A Dream A Reality: update

2010-09-05T10:12:00.000-07:00

I know I've mentioned this throughout the past week and yet there's more to this story. I just ask that you all please read what may be a lengthier blog entry by me today. My friend, and CP, Zellie Blake is very sick. It began around February and all her symptoms were those of a bad flu, then they were those of a possible parasite because she had been out of country, then they were those of pneumonia and then the final diagnosis in June was stage 4 lung cancer. A rare type of cancer for her age and previous health (perfect health) and thus it was overlooked in all the testing. I mentioned in the previous post along with the crane project that she had been admitted to the hospital, at the time I didn't feel my blog was the place to announce that she had already been dismissed from the hospital to her home with the assistance of hospice. The doctors have run out of treatment options. With that said, the purpose of my blog today is one thing I know Zellie, an aspiring writing like all of us, is pursuing…publishing the novel she worked on for ten years. It has been in the query stage for several months and with recent events she has decided to self publish. Taking this directly from her blog is her wish for her novel and how the proceeds will go to Cancer Research. Thank you.

Lightning Spliced Official Press Release. (written and posted by Madeline for Zel)

Madeline here. Just writing to let you know that Zellie's book LIGHTNING SPLICED is finally available for purchase on Lulu! You can get it as a paperback ($20) or an eBook ($7.99). What makes this even more awesome is that all proceeds will be donated to the American Cancer Society. So be sure to get your butt up and buy your own NOW!

If you prefer to order this book from another online outlet, such as Amazon or Barnes and Noble, this option will become available 6-8 weeks from today. FYI- purchasing from Lulu sends more proceeds to the American Cancer Society.

In further electrifying news, this book can be available at brick and mortar stores! How? Marketing! So with a lot of work, we can get this done! But we won't just wait for them to notice us. We'll MAKE them notice us! Be sure to spread the word so bookstores can find this novel as awesome as we think it is. We can go into independent book sellers, comic retailers, Borders, and more. Once there, we can speak to the person in charge and request that they stock copies. LET'S MAKE ZELLIE FAMOUS!

For ordering purposes, here is the ISBN: 978-0-557-65205-1. If the person in charge needs any further information, contact us at zellieblake@gmail.com.

For more about the book, you can read the cover flap, subscribe to audio chapters as a podcast and/or read the first three chapters for free.

Below find the link for the Official Press Release V-Log

LIGHTNING SPLICED Press Release (this is a youtube video of Zellie speaking about the book and other thoughts I do reccomend if you have ten minutes today to watch this.)

For fun, here is the outtake video Outtakes

Love,
The A Team (and the Chimera's)

Me: Like all of us, she is an author who just wants to be read. Thank you all for being so kind and supportive during this time. I will also be featuring Zellie as my guest blogger this week. She is the site admin for Chimera Critiques, where I am a staff member and Moderator. These will be previous blogs she has written and trust me you don't want to miss out. She knows her stuff!

When I hit the publish button for this blog yesterday ten minutes later I recieved the phone call that Zellie had lost her battle with cancer. She passed away in the early afternoon with her boyfriend at her side and friends and family close by. She will be fiercly missed as she was so fiercly loved. This post is now more about the legacy she was able to leave behind, a piece of her she shared with the world and her wish that her book would not only bring joy to people but that all the proceeds will go to cancer research.

What 1.5k Really Means

2010-09-02T12:08:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I posted about a project me and my CP's were doing for our friend who was diagnosed with stage four cancer (rare kind). The project was to make 1000 paper cranes before CP 1 went to see our friend (CP2) this past week. We got the project done and so many people contributed to the project that we over accomplished our goal by about 500 and more are still trickling into her mailbox. I thought I would post the pictures of the event and thank anyone who was involved in helping us fold these little critters. Each one is a prayer, a tangible touch of love, and a beautiful display of friendship, and hope.

I wanted to share the love and beauty of this project with everyone and thank you all for your prayers, help, and support for her. She is magnificent in all ways and, yes, is the single most amazing person I have ever met. She is the type of person who radiates positive energy and love and cherishes each moment. Being sick didn't teach her that…life has always been her treasure, her adventure, her playground…On Tuesday night her illness took a turn for the worse and she was admitted into the hospital. Please, keep her in your thoughts, and thank you all again.

5 hours of straight folding (and many more to follow)

1.5K and growing

Final Four

2010-08-31T18:56:00.000-07:00

Quick Update: Theresa over @ Substitute Teachers Saga is having an awesome giveaway. Are you ready for it...let me catch my breath...is giving away a signed copy of Mockingjay. Yes, signed. WHAT!? I know so all you crazy Hunger Game junkies head on over and help her celebrate the one year anniversary of her blog! Contest ends on 9/6. Before you go though...I need some quote help so stick around long enough to help a girl out lol.

It's finally, finally September. On Sunday it will be 1 year since my husband left. Time doesn't fly. Even if you're having fun, under these circumstances time moves slowly. And as I move into this very exciting month, as projected from previous deployments, the brutality of long days and long nights just got harder. Each day feels like a week and each week feels like a month. So this is how I am trying to break up the next 30ish days, because days are too long to count.

There are only two paychecks till he's home.
There will be four episodes of Weeds.
I will go to the grocery store approximately three times.
I will have three Saturdays with a fabulous CP in which we will watch Supernatural.
Speaking of Supernatural, season 6 starts within a week of him being home and season 5 comes out on the 7th.
The strangest countdown for me is this: The people who cut my lawn will only have to come twice. Oh, and there is only one round of bills.

For calculation: Married= 58 months VS Deployed=37 of those 58. I'm going all sorts of crazy folks.

Can I somehow apply this to writing? Maybe, but that would be asking a lot tonight because my focus is so far to the left that I can't even BS something.

Writing during this last very brutal month is proving to be more of a challenge than I initially thought. I remember from the previous deployment that the last 30 days consisted of mindless TV marathons, sleep, and basically something that looked a lot like hibernation until the last week when all the prep starts. I may or may not get much done this month but the most important thing is that the last 30 days are here. But I need a little motivation because I am going to make a collage project and I'm coming to you guys, the pro's, for some great inspiration. I want to create something that symbolizes the last month and let's face it…it gives me something to do if the words for my story are scattered and using a hot glue gun sounds like more fun.

So I'll go first with one of my favorite quotes…two really because one is from the research I've done for my story. And no, they don't make sense in the realm of it all which is why I love these two.

"When life hands you lemons, squeeze em in the eyes of your enemy."

"If you come to a wall and you can't get over, do you stand there and bang your head? Or do you find another wall."

So what is your favorite quote, motivational, off the wall or otherwise that I can essentially steal to make a collage with. Thanks Lovelies!

If You Really Knew Me...

2010-08-22T21:03:00.000-07:00

*Disclaimer: I'm playing Devils Advocate in this post*

This is really for everyone but in particular this blog I think will register with all the YA readers/writers. I do want everyone's input though on the questions I pose at the end because I think this topic spans each one of us. High school.

In YA there is basically one rule: Age.
Sure, we can say that there are specifics rules to the YA genre, such as watch the language and the sexually driven scenes. Make sure to break the clichés, and avoid the cheerleader and star quarterback as being the popular mean kids. There are plenty of other things I could list and rattle off as things we, as YA writers, need to keep in mind, but if you've read recent YA the teen experience has become widely supernatural and the average coming of age story is no longer limited to what a 16 year old would face. (Although it should still feel authentic when a 17 year old falls for an immortal or lives in a post apocalyptic society where they spear chuck one another in a battle for their lives) I think you get the idea.

Which brings me to my point. A long day of boredom and raging storms outside kept me indoors this weekend and I ended up watching a TV show called, "If You Really Knew Me" and I was admittedly shocked at how much high school is the same and yet, what I'm NOT supposed to write. It's a place of tradition. I've been told as a writer that these teens are different. So why did this show stick with me, make me blog about it, and in all honesty bring tears to my eyes on several occasions? It was something called Challenge Day.

This is a day where teens are put together from all different cliques and cliché groups and the challenge is to break them outside of their comfort zone. How do they do this? Well, it's in the title, "If you knew me you would know that_____". In a circle you have (forgive the sterotype) 1. The pretty girl (cheerleader, homecoming queen, mean girl, whatever) 2. The Jock 3. The socially awkward loner 4. The class clown 5. The outcast…etc. Within this circle they are told to finish that sentence…If you knew me you'd know that….and this is what some had to say. (Stereotype names forgive again)

You'd Know That:

Pretty Girl, "I feel fat everyday to the point I starve myself. My parents are divorced and I have to take care of my younger brother. Occasionally I've had to live in hotels with my mother because my father is violent. If you knew me you'd know that just because people know my name I'm actually really lonely because no one really knows me. I wear a smile because that's what I am expected to have on everyday and if you knew me, you'd know that I hate lying in bed at night knowing that I've said awful things to people in order to fit in."

Outcast, "I suffer from depression and there are times that I can't take it anymore. My father's in prison and I come to school every day despite the fact that I am picked on and made fun of because it means I will have another meal. I sneak food from the cafeteria so that I can take it to my grandmother who takes care of me. If you knew me you'd know that I have no one to talk to at home and no friends."

Both think, "We have stuff in common. I had no idea"

All in all they break down the barriers of these groups and show each other what it means to be tolerant. Do they expect that these kids are going to be best friends and hang out on Saturday nights. No, but they want to show each other that they aren't that different. The troubles and joys they have are similar and it's okay to reach out to each other and say "Hey, how are you," as they pass in the hallways.
And here I thought high school had changed from when I attended 10 years ago because I've been told it is different. They face different things. Write it differently. Outside of the cyber bullying it hasn't changed much from my experience. The traditions remain the same but I became more aware during this show that I as a YA writer can incorporate this process not because its different but because it's the SAME. This show is a great tool to move forward when writing these coming of age stories and there is a reason we still write the head cheerleader/quarter back/nerd stories. They still exist. I'm just glad there is a group out there that is doing something to open up the eyes of these young adults and the hope for change.
Going into YA as writers I think it's a great story in and of itself. Will this Challenge Day stick? Who knows, but can we as writers help? I think we can, and I recommend this show. Here's the MTV link for anyone interested and the trailer is below. As for the group who leads Challenge Day (Be The Change) here is there link as well.

If You Really Knew Me - MTV Shows

In my school experience the cliques were broken up into: The pretty people, The wealthy kids, The skaters, The nerds, The outcast/loners, The brains and The strange. So, how was yours broken up? What was the hierarchy at your school?
If you write YA do you avoid school and set in summer, homeschool them, make it so supernatural they dont even go to school just so you DONT have to write this very risky situation of having the outcast overcome all odds, or making the pretty girl the mean one cliche?
If it exists, and there is a group that is trying to break these walls down, can we as YA writers attempt the same or is the market too strong?
Opinions?

What a year!

2010-08-19T08:38:00.000-07:00

In my life a calendar year doesn't go from January 1st through the next 1st. No, my years are marked by the days that my husband leaves for war and returns. I mark my past events based on when he was home or when he was away. For example I remember that my roof sprung a leak on May 11th of 2007 because it was exactly six days after he deployed to Iraq. All in all what I'm getting at is this past year was marked by two things, him being gone and how much I have learned in the writing world. The catalyst to my year in writing (seriously) began with his departure last September. As I start chapter 2 for the umpteenth time I started to feel like I had failed in this past year because let's face it rewriting the same two or three chapters can get exhausting. But as the time approaches for him to come home and mark my calendar year I realized although I have written the same chapters many different ways I have in no way failed because of what I have learned. And with that in mind this is what I have learned.

1. Having critique partners is the most valuable tool other than Microsoft Word.

2. Killing my adverbage, and finding those strong verbs.

3. Dialogue. When I started a year ago I was wretched with dialogue and now it's how I build a scene.

4. Character dynamics. The arc more specifically…and how to create authentic interactions.

5. How to snake a drain (okay it's not writing related but it needed to be done)

6. How to hook a reader.

7. Action scenes. Those parts in the movie where your yelling at the character to RUN, yeah I got that nailed now.

8. Pulling out hair is not a solution to revisions.

9. I started a blog (lately it's been choppy but hey I did it anyway)

10. I became a staff member for a critique group and have learned so much there it would take way too much time to list. But what I've learned I have been able to pass on to others in order to help them make the best of their writing.

11. What the market looks like and no 400,000 words is not okay when you want to query. Page count isn't how to judge the length of my work.

12. That my neighbor may only own one shirt.

13. Romance scenes are only scary because my uber-conservative parents might read it one day and how to overcome that thought…sort of…maybe…still working on it.

14. Never stop reading.

15. Take breaks…but never stop writing. Eventually that revolving plot will make its precious way into my noggin and I can write chapter 4, 5, 6, with confidence that I now have the story that has eluded me for a year.

There are so many more things that I've learned in this year and those may seem small but as they add up they become HUGE. I came at this writing adventure out of a need to escape the calendar year of my husband's deployment, and I came at it with little knowledge. Now as he is about to return, I have the tools to finally, just write and write well.

His latest quote to me when I said I felt like a failure for not having the WIP done in the year he's been away was this, "You've sold photography to galleries as well as starting a photography business, jewelry to boutiques, paintings to strangers, and drawings off the street. This one has, yes, been more challenging than the rest but…why not sell a book?"

Thinking about all my creative endeavors, I haven't failed one yet. Put that way. Why not? I have the skill to do it now and that is a year of success. Now onto the next phase…finishing.

BTW we are at 5 weeks till I can actually call it a year and he'll be home! WOOT!

This and That and Field Trips

2010-08-10T18:58:00.000-07:00

Happy Wednesday Lovelies. Pardon my recent absences and inconsistencies, life interrupted me as did my internet going out yet again. But this time I took matters into my own hands and the modem is fixed! And I should be on their payroll. From now until my husband gets home things will be a bit scattered and I just want to thank you all in advance for understanding.

In other news, thanks so much for the book recommendations for my sis-in-law. I sent her 1.)Evermore 2.) If I Stay and 3.) The Body Finder. I really hope she likes them! I appreciate all the help and have written down all the suggestions for later use ;)

So I really don't know what to blog about today but I miss you all so I came up with something sort of short to share. I went through the area where I am basing one of my WiP's and I went through this fantastic neighborhood where I could just picture the setting so perfectly. It was like this gem of southern-tacky-run down-gorgeous-mysterious-haunted area and I wanted to share a few photos of the area. So here they are, hope you enjoy. The first one almost caused a minor fender bender as I came to a 15 mile an hour halt to get this picture and yes, this house is going in the book. The Neon Jesus. Love it! Also this is the WiP with a ton of local lore and hauntings and super fun southern tales of the dead.

Question first.
1. Do you take field trips to the locations you write about (if it’s a real place)

2. What area's inspire you to write. Where you live? Coastal? Open fields? City? Let me know!

I'm not sure if I would travel this driveway in the dark. AH!

Gorg! Haunted! VERY!

The Neon Jesus (people live here and this does light up)

Hard to see but there are weeping statues on top and their being held up by crosses.
ENTER THE CITY OF REST

Have a great day!

Suggestions?!?!

2010-08-08T20:02:00.000-07:00

I was right in the middle of writing a blog when my mom called. So the blog shifted to this for today. We got on the topic of books and how my sister-in-law has been in need of some entertainment and how she loves to read. I should be an expert at this right? Well, I am sort of but need further assistance from you lovelies. This is why.

I like to send my SIL books now and again because she is stuck at home most days with a baby and a toddler. My nephews are cute as can be (seriously are they not cutest) but they are a handful. Especially the three year old. They only have one car right now so when she is stuck at home, she's really stuck at home. When she gets some time to herself she enjoys a good book more than anything and I like to help her out because English isn't her first language and she gets frustrated at book stores easily because she's never able to find her "genre." She isn't a picky reader as a result but I would like to get her stuff in the genres she enjoys. (My brother tries but he always gets it wrong hahaha, bless his heart)While I am able to send her books I want to continue to do so but I do have a budget and buying things in paperback is much easier on the pocket book and I can get her more books. She also sends these off to her niece when she's done so I need to keep them generally in the 13-18 year old friendly category. Granted not all but most.

This is what she likes: Fantasy, Romance, Mystery, Inspirational and Island lifestyles (which I haven't come across yet) (Well the Aloha quilt but that didn't read very "island") Adventure and Sci-fi if it isn't tooo out there. She's liked Shiver, Hush Hush, and The Mortal Instruments and the Hunger Games recently.

Dislikes: Tragedies, Horror, History, Law, Politics… you see the pattern…

So I need your help in suggesting things that I can look up the synopsis on and I would prefer it to be a paperback release copy. She isn't wildly picky so throw me some good suggestions. All my YA readers give me some great titles! Adult readers just remember she generally passes these on to her niece and I do know there are adult books out there that a teen can read and enjoy…I just don't know what they are.

Recommendations highly appreciated, I want to send her some good books this week.Thanks! (paperbacks)

BTW crane count is closing in at 700. Just a little ways to go =D
Hope you all had a great weekend

How Learning Origami Came In Handy

2010-08-05T19:35:00.000-07:00

Contests and News First:

Theresa at Substitue Teachers Saga is having a great contest (Platform Contest) for a fantastic cause. Please, go check out how you can help her raise money and awareness by entering her contest for "a cure".

Lola is also having a fab contest at Sharp Pen Dull Word with some awesome prizes. If she reaches 400 followers she is throwing in a special literary signed treat. I want that magnet! So if you are going to visit Lola for the first time tell her I sent ya.

I was given a choice in Sixth grade: Be in the orchestra and learn to play the viola OR join the Origami Club. I was 11 (ish) and although I was already playing the piano (which I hated cause they slapped my hands for playing by ear) the idea of folding paper into neat little things trumped the idea of learning to play a second instrument. I figured the odds of my hands getting whacked for a wrong crease in the paper were less and joined. Now that I think about it, those two options are so wildly random.

Anyways, as I looked back on those years and have sometimes regretted the decision to stop playing the piano and never picking up a second instrument because my husband is so musically inclined…being in the Origami Club all those years ago proved to be worthwhile after all this many years later.

Why? Well I wish it were under better circumstances that my talent for folding paper into cowboys, penguins, horses, and other whatnots, but it's not. One of my CP's, and some of you know her, was diagnosed at the end of May with a rare type of cancer. We recently learned that it's stage four and although some of the chemo has made a few spots vanish, more have surfaced in other areas. To say that this girl is the epitome of the "Eternal Optimist" wouldn't give her any credit or justification. As an example, now that the chemo has taken its toll on her hair she hasn't once freaked out about it, she was excited to get a wig so she could die it dark blue and proceed to look like one of the characters from her many MS's. Truly, she is nothing and I mean NOTHING short of amazing.

She has a "Sick Chicks Wish List" and on that list is artwork. She loves to hang it all over her room, bathroom, anywhere she can stick artwork, cards, photos, and the like, she does. After one of my other CP's read Linger (link) she took an idea from that book for us to do for our friend. One of the MC's in Linger made 1,000 paper cranes. Legend is, 1,000 paper cranes equals one wish. This idea fits her so perfectly. So that is what we are doing, making and folding 1,000 paper cranes by the middle of this month (that’s our hopeful deadline) so that when CP #2 goes to visit CP #1 she can take all of them with her. I am currently just over 130.

We did the math and basically here are the stats: The cranes on average take 7 minutes each, and at 7 minutes x's 1000 you get 7,000 minutes. Divide that by hours and it's roughly 116.6 hours of steady crane making. So we are asking for help! This Saturday we are having a crane making party with friends and family to knock out as many as we can in one day. Chances are we will still be short, so I am going to post a youtube video at the bottom on how to make these things and if any of you would like to participate. This project will bring her so much joy, and happiness, and a really cool curtain to hang, and hope, and love.

So how did the Origami Club help me out? I can fold a paper crane in 3.5 minutes. I am an efficient machine! ;) If you would like to help please email me at the email address at the top of my page.

Because this is going to be a surprise (and luckily my CP never checks my blog lol) please DO NOT Twitter or Facebook this project. If you would like to ask other people to join, please keep it low key. Thanks Lovelies!

Have a fantastic weekend everyone!

Handwritten Fun

2010-08-04T19:19:00.000-07:00

DL Hammons tagged me for the "Handwriting" thingamajig. I really don't hand write all that often and that will be fairly evident upon seeing this photo. I have a diversion to writing in lowercase letters because my letters are never consistent. I don't know why that is but half the time my writing is in this strange cursive/print/chicken scratch state of being so I have become very accustomed to writing in all uppercase. I know it's a little annoying to read but considering I rarely do it not too many people are subject to MY CAPS WRITING. So per his request, here is the photo of my stuff and the rules to follow for those of you who I am tagging. Bwahaha! TAG! Oh, and I also developed my own alphabet as a kid so that my best friend and I could write notes without the teachers ever being able to read them. However, one of them cracked the code in highschool. Took her four or five days, lol, I still can't believe she cracked the code to a note that said, "See you tonight."
And on with the handwritten rules.

Rules
1. Name/Blog Name
2. Righty or Lefty or Both
3. Favorite letters to write?
4. Least favorite letters to write?
5. Write: The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.
6. Write in caps: (I also did these in lowercase cause well...I write in mostly caps)
CRAB
HUMOR
KALEIDOSCOPE
PAJAMAS
GAZILLION
7. Favorite song lyrics?
8. Tag 7 people
9. Any special note or drawing? (look for the Mystery Science Theater 3000 guys at the bottom)

Here are the folks I am tagging

Melissa @ Through The Looking Glass ,

Jen@ Unedited ,

Lydia @ The Word is My Oyster

Ali @ Love Miss Ali

Clara @ Pinches of Madness

Christine @ Christines Journey

Hart (cause I know she hand writes in a special place) @ Confessions of a Watery Tart

If you've already been tagged go out and tag someone else. Or if you would like to participate and show us all your handwriting skills consider yourself tagged ;)

RESEARCH: So as it turns out, because I got curious about my handwriting, I am both an introvert and extrovert and I am emotionally stable. According to my handwriting, obviously. Because I write mostly vertical that makes me emotional balanced, but the letters leaning to the right make me extroverted and those leaning left make me introverted. Strange. So that's today's blog! Have a fab day lovelies.

I'm BACK! Finally...

2010-08-03T19:04:00.000-07:00

I've missed you all so MUCH! It has been a turbulent three weeks. A lot of things went wrong in the span of 20 or so days but let's hope that really bad streak ended today. Basically, when it rains...it hurricanes, or such has been the case in the last couple of weeks. Finally, the internet is fixed (I hope anyway, I thought it was fixed the first time it went out too) so at least that much is working again. It's going to take me a few days to get back around to everyone and respond to emails and generally get in the swing of things again. Hang in there with me, I promise (short of another disaster) that I'll get back to everyone's emails, and commenting and everything else. I feel a little out of practice, somehow I got rusty in three weeks or something.

@DL Hammons, noted. I will get on that tag by next blog post.

@Lydia Thank you so much for featuring my question on one of your Medical Monday's. It was so helpful! You're awesome!

@ Anyone who has submitted or has come to me about being a critique partner, I will get back to you very soon as I make my way through all these emails. I haven't forgotten any of you ;)

@ Everyone, I truley have missed you all! And hope you've been well.

This blog is short and sweet and just to let you all know I am back, and so happy to be back. I've missed everyone and I will have a very special blog on Friday about how being in the Origami club in Elementary School actually came in handy later in life in a very cool way. Let me know how you all are, have been, what you've been up to or just a simple "hello!"

Unplugged (for a week or so)

2010-07-17T08:25:00.000-07:00

Hello all my lovelies,
A big welcome to my new followers. I will be linking up and following you all shortly. Just sorta caught me on my off weeks while the folks are in town. I thought I would be able to keep up this and that and blogging and commenting and emailing and all the extra's but until the first of August I'm stretched pretty thin so I decided to uplug until then. Should I hit a day that's rainy and we are just sittin around the house I may reconnect for the day but chances are lookin' pretty slim.
I haven't forgotten any of you and, yes, am having some withdrawal. I hope your all doing well and I will rejoin the blogosphere soon! As far as submissions go, I will be taking them in August again ;) If you submitted to me before I unplugged and have minor question feel free to email and I'll see what I can do until then.
A big thank you all for the comments on my emotionally draining chapter break through thingy I had! ((((hugs))). And I'm off =D

You Want Me To Do What!?!

2010-07-12T18:15:00.000-07:00

I had a post set up from this weekend and I will get to it on Wednesday "How John Tesh Ruined My Day" but I ran across something that gave me a push and then a shove and I really started digging around with this "suggestion" if you will. I even wrote a little with this suggestion and I brought myself to tears as I was writing and yes I have gotten weepy a few times with one of my character but I have NEVER gotten this upset while writing. So upset I had to call my Mom. Bless her, she just listened to me talk about how much hell I just put my MC through.

I live in my characters worlds, I have to because I create them. I don't care how much each one protests and demands that they are responsible for the world created. I create the world and I join them in that world. But I have never stepped so fully, so deeply into their world to where I felt that I could touch them, pinch them, hug them and say it's okay. Maybe I'm late in blooming and this has happened to a lot of you but this was a first for me. So how did I get on a level so intense with one of my Main Characters. Well, this is the suggestion I got that I took to heart when I did a writing prompt that became a chapter for future use. I mocked this prompt when I started writing. I thought they were full of crap but I challenged them back and wrote. Well touché, they got me.
I KNOW THIS WILL GET LONG BUT HANG IN THERE THIS IS AN AMAZING CHANCE TO EXPERIMENT. Thanks ;)

Hart you will be proud of me, my internal editor must have been napping when I wrote the chapter!

Okay. This is how it played out (to a certain level because if I'm not careful this could be a long post).

I have a book called Naming the World. Essentially, it's a book of prompts from authors to professors to teachers who give advice in the form of well, prompts. This particular prompt is found on pages 82-85, written by Steve Almond. The title: Your Five Seconds of Shame. (Maybe my blog title makes sense now). Here is a blurb from his prompt. (I will be leaving the … when I do breaks to shorten and get to the central point here but all credit goes to this book which I will leave a link to on Amazon at the end)

Steve Almond: Your Five Seconds of Shame

"The young writers I holler at for a living seem to face two central crises when it comes to their work. First, they have trouble forcing their characters into emotional danger, and second, they havve trouble staying there…That's what the reader wants from you. Not your polite throat clearing, not your Big Ideas, and for God's sake not your indulgent experiments in style.

"And the truth is-though writers are loath to admit this-that all of these fears and desires are ones felt by the author…Unfortunately, most writers are scared to death of exposure…This reluctance tends to produce the kinds of evasive maneuvers noted above. What I'm suggesting is that most writers experience an internal resistance to producing their own best work, which is a matter of lacking not talent or imagination but the determination to lay themselves bare…I am not suggesting that you should empty your journals onto the page…We write about other people, and hopefully at some point in the process we start to care about them, to worry about their fate, in the best cases to actually love them…And then (the tough part) we have to put these dear surrogates through the ringer.

"The result is often what I call the scenus interruptus. This is where the writer has managed to get his hero into a scene of actual dramatic valence but bails before anything too scary can happen…"

The prompt was to write about one of, if not the most, shameful moment in your life and write through the five seconds of the purest bulkiest form of that shame. Shame Yourself. Well I did, and no I won't share that. HAHA! I get to bail there because he said I could bail on myself but not on my characters.

So I applied this to my MC and put him in a situation that was gut wrenching. I resisted folks (to both my shame prompt and my character actually). Yes. I. Did. I fought against the emotion he needed to have in order to make the scene. I got up from the laptop and paced. I kept thinking, and that was the problem. I was THINKING, not FEELING the moment. Then I let go and let him not only go through the emotions, I STAYED there and faced them on a deeper level and I have to say it is the most raw and real chapter I have ever written. Is it still fiction, yes. Is it real and raw and pulls the reader at the gut. I tested that too. Yeah, here comes Mom to the rescue again. I emailed it and had her read it. She called me back in tears, sniffling…I had done it. I had a real chapter.

Cheers to Steve Almond, and thank you all for reading this. It was a profound moment.
Tommorow (or Thursday depending) will be "How John Tesh Ruined My Day"

I highly reccomend this book. A lot of you have heard me talk about my prompts. Well many of them come from this book. It's the only "self-helper" I even own.
All Credit goes to: Steve Almond. Pages 82-85 in Naming the World. Edited by Bret Anthony Johnston. 2007
Click here to purchase from Amazon.com Naming the World

So...can you all do it? Have you dug this deep into your work? Lemme know! Share your thoughts on this prompt (er, not your most shameful moment just what you think of this exercise)

Contest Winner & Lets talk it out

2010-07-11T21:41:00.000-07:00

Thank you all for entering my contest. It has been so much fun holding this contest in honor of my husband's (soon) return. Another big thanks to everyone for spreading the word, the shout outs, sidebar links and tweets. Calculating everything was insane but I've taken the numbers to Randomizer and here is Randomizer's pick (to hard for me to choose I love you all)

AND THE WINNER IS: JEN DAIKER @ Unedited! Yay! Confetti spray! Here's another look at you're goodies. Email me and we'll figure out how to get this sent off to ya!

Now for my little bit on dialogue. When I first started writing my biggest weakness was dialogue. I could never seem to separate each character's voice into unique individuals. They all sounded the same and their actual "voice" was flat as a result. So I took it as a challenge to overcome that weakness and now dialogue is one of my strengths if not what I am best at currently. Since I started challenging myself with dialogue prompts and other exercises. Since it has become the key to structuring each of my scenes.

Yes, that may sound odd, but I do literally write dialogue first and then fill in the gaps after I'm satisfied with what my characters have to say. In a lot of ways what they say does shape the scene, I am better at finding the physical beats where I need them and don't need tags. And if I'm lucky I get to a point where my characters are so clear that I don't need tags at all. Gotta love naked dialogue (when appropriate). As I continue to build the reactions my characters have to one another it helps me visualize what is happening around them, but maybe more importantly what's essential to the scene. For me, it keeps the focus on the characters as I have very character driven plots (a discussion for a different post). I want to make sure that each scene is authentic to the voice of my characters. What they notice as far as descriptions is accurate to the conversation. It wouldn't make sense in a heated argument for my character to suddenly realize the pretty floral smells, or the way the sun is setting. What might be important is that the floral smell is coming from a poisonous flower and they want to cram down the other one's throat, or the way the sun catches the blood on their opponents lip.

Setting up the dialogue first (and I'm not saying this is a fool proof system) not only forced me to become better at it, but I found that it helped my chapters stand out. Each thing that the character is saying enhances the rest of the set up from internal monologue to the descriptions of the scene itself.

I thought I would share my tips on dialogue for anyone who struggles with this. I'm no expert and I can't guarantee a perfect outcome for everyone but I do hope that maybe someone can benefit from one or more of these.

1. Give yourself a prompt and then build on it using dialogue only. This is what I mean by building on that prompt.

A. Two teenage girls are walking through the mall and they spot the last pair of open toed sling backs. B. Two teenage sisters spot the last pair. C. Two teenage sisters are fighting over the shoes and now a woman in her forties has joined the fight. D. The forty year old has triplets. and E. Now finally add the element of your genre. Example make one of the sisters a Shape Shifter, or the forty year old woman is a spy. BUILD BUILD BUILD. You'll see over time the voices of each character become different and unique. By this point you might even have a story developing as each character reacts and the setting becomes more obvious, the reactions are clear (does one throw a punch, have lightening shoot from her eyes) You get the point. By building point E. you can start adding these extra developers. Repeat this with new prompts once a week (I still do a year later)

2. Eaves drop for two minutes at a public place of your choosing, then walk away and remember the last sentence you heard from each person. Build on the conversation where you stopped listening. This is a great exercise because you don't get enough background information on the conversation, and you don't want to give yourself away as eaves dropping like a freak. Go home and put together a one page scene on the rest of the convo. Or if you want, have a pen and paper ready and write it out before you go anywhere else.

3. Put the TV on mute during a soap opera, or any show that you have NEVER seen. Now fill in the dialogue according to their actions. Remember this is dialogue only so no cheating.

And my final advice. KEEP AT IT! You'll be happy with the results I can at least promise that.

Question:

1. Do you have any additional dialogue tips? 2. Or is dialogue a struggle?

An Upcoming Visit

2010-07-08T20:51:00.000-07:00

Business first: I went to the doc, officially I am sick and now on medication so I should be feeling better in a few days and will get back in the swing soon. Promise! ;)
Palindrome, I need more photos of Dean. I know that's the cure. ;) I did steal those BTW.
Contest ends Monday, so get in any last points :)
Hello to all my new followers! I will be linking up and responding soon. I'm sorry all ya'll caught me on a down week :( But I want to thank all of you for following. Big Welcome!
Now...
My parents are coming to town! I'm so excited I haven't seen them in right at a year now. Even though I talk to my mom four-ish times a day there's nothing like having my folks around. So I just started thinking about all the vacations we have had together and thought I would share a few moments in history. Rather some random memories. I will be mostly unplugging while they are here but will keep up best I can.
1. We went to Florida almost every year growing up, from about the time I was 6-12. My dad is the sand master. He would sculpt these HUGE sand creatures. My favorite was his two headed shark with the sea turtle riding its back. These would take him all day and I used to go and run with my minature (seemed big back then) bucket and get him the water he needed to shape these creatures. My brother was stung by a jellyfish one year and there is video of us laughing at him because we thought he was being silly. Then he busted through the door of the condo and yeah his leg was pretty jacked. Meat tenderizer is the best medicine apparently for a jellyfish sting. Two years later, dad got a sting and instead of helping him all of us bolted out the ocean. He still half laughs over how "concerned" we were.
2. Same beach different year we saw a plane crash into the ocean. There is really nothing else to say about that...except there is sorta. That same night a rogue, tidal wave type thing came into Daytona (we were safely 20 miles south) and hurt a bunch of people. It was the 4th of July weekend, so a ton of folks were on the beach when it happened. This was also the night I got swimmers ear.
3. The first time I went to Hawaii was to go see my brother who was stationed there while he was a Marine. It was amazing and I fell in love with Hawaii, how could anyone not. We stayed in a cottage right on the water near K-Bay. I saw my first Luau and got to participate on stage. YAY, and I found out that Poi is short for poison 'cause it's straight nasty. Walking down Waikiki beach for the first time...no words. Walking down the strip next to it after having a Cheeseburger In Paradise dining experience also included the first time I saw a hooker. Strange.
4. The Bahama's. Oh my poor poor parents. I was 16 and thought I had full run of the island honestly. It's amazing I got out of there unscathed, my father didn't have a heart attack, and my mom didn't lock me away. This is where we found out I had a severe (throat closes off) allergy to shellfish. Growing up I never ate shellfish but I found out fast and being treated in a Bahaman hospital is well...not so comfy, but they were very polite and got me whatever I needed. This was the scene of my first hangover. My parents punished me by ordering sausage and pancakes that morning. BARF! To this day I can't smell maple syrup without feeling a bit nauseous. The taxi's there are old Limo's, and I got my hair braided. The ladies would walk the beach and ask "Want your hair braided sweety, make you sexy. Buy an ankle bracelet? Make you sexy." So I did get the hair done and loved it. I saw a baracuda there, my first one. Well I say it was my second one because I swear I saw one while snorkeling outside of Ft. Lauderdale but my dad insists I was imagining it. (he saw it too and didn't want me to freak out. Technically two, Officially one). While on a Wave Runner out there I stalled the engine, flooded it or something...anyway I had a large stingray go underneath me and I kept praying that I wouldn't fall off.

Basically I love spending time with the folks. Most of these incidents and random memories really only mean something to the family but I know when they get here I will add to them as I have each time. We have had some great adventures together.

Forgive my absence this week. I'll get ontop of it soon.

Question:
What's one really random vacation memory you have?

Have a fabulous weekend everyone! Off to bed with me.

Much Love/A Firework Mishap/Epic Twist

2010-07-06T22:11:00.000-07:00

Despite the fact that I have some random flu (I have only achey fever sleep symptoms nothing else) there's been so much love from all you guys! Thank you so much for the get well wishes!!!!!! I'm doing my best to catch up in between the naps to get to all your emails as well as responding to blogs. Hang in there with me I'll get to it I promise.
A preimptive thank you to all of you who have spread the word about my contest, you've been awesome!
To my new followers I look forward to getting to know you all better and so glad you've come over! I wish it had been on a week that I was feeling better. I promise that I will be linking you all in my blog list so I can keep up and be a good follower to you guys as well.
To my "existing" bloggers, I cherish all of you and your constant support, comments that make me smile, and being in this journey with me. I think NyQuil must make me sappy *tears up* lol. But I do mean all of that.

Remember my epic twis announcement for the contest? Maybe? If not there was one if I reached 78 followers, which is the number of days from the time I posted the contest till my husband comes home from Afgahnistan.

So there were three books: Raised by Wolves, White Cat, and The Book Thief
TWIST: Raised by Wolves by Jennifer Lynn Barnes is signed !!!!!! Yes, signed!
Because the holiday weekend interuppted most of the blogging world I am going to extend the contest through the weekend and draw the winner on Monday. 78 followers! Help me get close!
Tweets, Shout Outs, and Refferals will get you extra points! Here is the LINK to the original contest for further details.

As a semi-request from DL Hammons here is a story to bide my time till I feel better and get back in the swing of blogging.
How A Firework Blew Up In My Shorts: a very short story
Growing up my family and I had bottle rocket wars. Safe, I know. Basically that means we shot those stick guided missles at each other in a large yard, wouldn't say feild but it was a big chunk of land. We learned that if we "warped" the stick we could aim them at each other with a tad more accuracy. WELL...we had a newbie this year and they weren't skilled in the art of warping the stick on a bottle rocket. The bent it a tad to much and lit the thing with almost a C shaped curve in the stick. Well, they lit it and it shot straight up my shorts (on the outter hip side) and you only have seconds to react to such a thing and before I could do anything the thing...blew up. I walked away with minor burn marks (which have faded since) and the other person walked away....ran away....fast! Then I hit them in the back of the leg with a perfected shot of my own ;) What can I say we were weird and it was more entertaining than the Potato Gun my Uncle had. (For real it shot whole potato's)
As for Clara (who cracks me up) I will work on your suggested book ONLY if you work on Birds In Space! *chanting birds in space*
Everyone have a fantastic day, I hope to be in better form tommorow and will be able to respond to more of your blogs.
(((((((hugs)))))) to you all =D I really appreciate the comments while I'm getting over this bug o' mine.
Questions of the day:
What's your ideal summer vacation?
or Have you ever had a firework blow up within a close proximity?
And...do you have more points for the contest? If so leave em' in the comment :)

Finally

2010-07-05T08:23:00.000-07:00

First, a big welcome to my new followers! *waves hello* I hope to get to know you guys better soon and thank you for following. :)
Second check out the side bar for some great contest, one being my own.

I was hoping to have something up earlier this morning or even last night before I went to bed but some type of "sick" got me. I had laryngitis type something or other before bed and this morning my throat kills and gotta wicked headache and blah.

But wanted to tell some exciting news. Well it's exciting to me anyway, and probably a blog post in more detail for the future. But for now this will have to do.

I've been struggling with one of my WiP's. My baby. The one I adore the most. It has undergone so many changes since I started it in October/November of last year. First major change at 47,000 words was that my MC wasn't the best choice to tell the story. So I decided to play around with alternating POV's between the original MC and the love interest. Somewhere in that I lost my plot. How did I lose my plot?!?!?! Well, I wasn't really sure and after weeks of pacing, okay more like two months of pacing the plot was still lost. The idea was the same but the plot points went somewhere never to be seen again. Needless to say I got discouraged and started FORCING my plot and that was even worse.

Meanwhile, another story popped up in my head and the plot was strong. So I was naturally excited to have a plot of some sort. I thought well, I have well fleshed out characters from Story 1, maybe they will fit this new plot. NOPE. And that was okay because other great characters (that still need work) started forming. To develop Story number 2 plot I went to a source I have saved. 20 master plots. I gathered up the phases of the antagonistic plot line, worked out the scenes and there it was. A full story.

I sat down to write more on it, but love interest male MC from Story 1 wouldn't shut up. He promised he had a plot. And I ignored that character.

UNTIL, last night. His voice was so strong I couldn't ignore him any longer. So I sat down and thought okay, what's the plot man, what is your suggestion. He said, "Um, duh go to 20 master plots and you'll figure it out." Then I thought, "You're a JERK! You were just supposed to tell me!" But I obliged and went to the source where I developed Story 2. Meanwhile he was prancing around in my head saying, "Warmer….warmer…cold…HOT!" I found my main plot line as well as the side plots I can mash in.

When I switched POV's I didn't consider that this character would go through a different angle of the story. The story is the same but the main plot is no longer the same. And the scenes started rolling again and MR. Won't Shut up, is very pleased with himself. And so am I !!!!!!!! I HAVE A PLOT AGAIN!

20 Master plots is priceless. If your plot doesn't feel as deep as it could, or if you keep going sideways instead of going up in the rising action check it out. Google 20 Master Plots…and you'll have a great resource. And that's it for today. I'm taking some tylenol and going back to bed. I will respond later today to as many of you as I can.

I hope everyone had a safe, fun, and relaxing 4th of July weekend here in the states. For my internationals I hope you had a fantastic weekend.

Trumpets Please

2010-07-01T18:44:00.000-07:00

It's been a great week so let's end it with some awards and make it a perfect week. I finally got rain today!!!! Before I get to the ceremony I have some news and things to share.

First a big hello to my new followers! Welcome, I can't wait to get to know you all better. One of my newest lovelies is having a contest for some Amazon cash. Which let's face it who doesn't love Amazon cash! Go over to Kristi's Blog for a chance to win!
I also have a contest (click on my side bar for the direct link) going on, and like I said there is a TWIST in this contest. So be sure to get in the points for chance to win obviously what I have laid before you in the photos but also to unveil the twist. You may not want to bow out on this one the closer I get to 78 followers I will unveil the final goodie. Of course assuming I get to that special number ;)

And trumpets please! It's award time (so I don't horde them)

One Lovely Blog was given to me by someone who has been commenting regularly but silly goose wasn't a follower until yesterday <3 her. She is a girl after my own brain really. Clara. If you aren't following this gem of a blogger please do so she's fantastic and hilarious and says Hell Yeah a lot which gives her an extra <3 from me.

Of course I would love to pass it on to all of you, cause everyone deserves these awards right? But I'll play fair. To welcome my newest followers I am awarding this to ya'll.

Diana @ Contentedly Nuerotic

Theresa @ Substitute Teachers Saga

Kristi @ Random Daily Thoughts

Margo @ Writing at a High Altitude

Next I got he Butterfly Award For the coolest blog I ever know(er, gammar?) from Lydia. She had a buffet of awards and let me pick my own. How semi-narcissistic am I taking this one! I know most all of you are following Lydia but if you're somehow not you should because the lady is sweet as can be, a total doll and she gives awesome medical advice for writing on Mondays which is freakin' fantastic. <333 Lydia!

Jen @ Unedited I love this girl and she's like one of those people you meet and are besties with from first comment. Me and 500+ people love her to pieces. She snatches great interviews and I adore her Truth Thursdays.

Palindrome @ Musings of a Palindrome (I just want to watch you try and give out awards now. *evil laugh*) Hannah is awesome, all there is to it. You Rock! And I love your Panda cup, and your love of Asian horror films and that you've seen my Supernatural Video. (+1)

Christine Danek @ Christines Journey She is a joy and wonderful person. I've had the pleasure of knowing her the longest in my blogger life and I <3 her to pieces. She was my first follower and I seem to award her pretty much every time I have one lol, sorry I keep flooding you with awards. (((hugs)))

Clara @ Pinches of Madness And I award her this for all the things mentioned above. Hell Yeah! Everyone should vote for her to pick up the short story about Birds In Space!

G~ @ A Muse In My Pocket She tells it like it is in every post and I admire that quality so much.

Melissa @ Through The Looking Glass She might be my twin. I'm not sure, I have to check the birth records. ;)

Ali @ Love Miss Ali I don't know Ali real well just yet…and I can't wait to get to know her better just like my other new followers, but she has a wicked awesome layout and she just hit 50 followers yay! I'm number 51! So consider yourself awarded m'dear ;)

DL Hammons @ Cruising Altitude I don't know why I keep awarding him. *giggle* Maybe cause I think he's adorable and funny and has been such a blast getting to know and I always look forward to his comments even though most are jabs ;) I'm giving you another frilly award! What!?!?! If you aren't following DL you have to. I mean it. Have to! Especially if you live in one of the states he is trying to collect.

Melissa gave me the beautiful Fantasy/Sci-Fi award . I can't even tell you how much of a joy and thrill it has been in getting to know her. If you're not following you should most certainly do so. She has an imagination that is out of this ever lovin' flippin' world and I adore her. She is all things that a good friend is made of. This one has a rule: What are the 5 fantasy/sci-fi novels that have inspired you. So before I award it here is my five. I'm not going to go into detail as to why they inspired me because I'm lazy and yeah… It's really obvious how these are inspirational.

1. Alice in Wonderland

2. The Mortal Instruments

3. Lord Of The Flies

4. Beautiful Creatures (and I'm sure it's next couple will as well)

5. LOTR

To Be FULLY honest, the show Supernatural is my go to for all things fantasy and awesome but it said books. But I have to be true to my most inspirational fantasy and that's Dean Winchester. HA!

Awarding this to: (not the photo of Dean but the other pretty one above)

The Chimera's (Callie, Zellie, Prof. Rutebaga) @ Chimera Critiques

Shannon O'Donnell @ Book Dreaming Book Dreaming

Falen @ Falen Formulates Fiction

OlleyMae @ MBW Creates

If you have done anything in the point system for my contest you can leave any of them points in the comments.

And that's that. Have a great and SAFE (I've had a firework blow up in my shorts, and if I had time I'd explain that) 4th of July weekend!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOOOOOOOOOO! My favorite holiday.

Remember the troops this weekend, and if you hear the national anthem sing and be proud rock stars!

Wolves and Seahorses and a Contest Oh My!!

2010-06-29T19:25:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I admit I had a rather pathetic post. But I'm making up for it today. I hope. I'm happy to say that my husband and I finally have a date as to when he will be stateside again. Only 78 days till he is home FOREVER! Since we are under the 80 day mark and it's pretty close to the 4th of July (my favorite holiday and if you ask me why I solidly say it's because it's the holiday you get to blow stuff up) I want to have a CONTEST!

But first, I also said yesterday I was going to not only have fun news but I was also going to "expand" my blogging experience to you all. I have decided to become a beta here on my personal blog. For those of you who frequent the Chimera site, I will still be doing critiques with the staff there. So I'm probably nuts but I have to admit I enjoy providing a beta service. So I have put a tab at the top of my page for submissions. For more information about how to submit work, how I do critiques, and other such stuff click on the submission link at the top there and check it out. I will be doing submissions (on my own here) four times a month starting in July. So that was my other bit 'o news.

Now for the contest. =D

How about we discuss the prizes first…then we'll get to the rules.

The prize package includes: 3 Books, Bookmarks, Notebook, and Tote.

A quick breakdown on the prizes

Raised by Wolves by (the amazingly young and talented) Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Synopsis:
Adopted by the Alpha of a werewolf pack after a rogue wolf brutally killed her parents right before her eyes, fifteen-year-old Bryn knows only pack life, and the rigid social hierarchy that controls it. That doesn't mean that she's averse to breaking a rule or two.
But when her curiosity gets the better of her and she discovers Chase, a new teen locked in a cage in her guardian's basement, and witnesses him turn into a wolf before her eyes, the horrific memories of her parents' murders return. Bryn becomes obsessed with getting her questions answered, and Chase is the only one who can provide the information she needs.

But in her drive to find the truth, will Bryn push too far beyond the constraints of the pack, forcing her to leave behind her friends, her family, and the identity that she's shaped?

White Cat by (the wonderful) Holly Black

Synopsis:
Cassel comes from a family of curse workers—people who have the power to change your emotions, your memories, your luck, by the slightest touch of their hands. And since curse work is illegal, they’re all criminals. Many become mobsters and con artists. But not Cassel. He hasn’t got magic, so he’s an outsider, the straight kid in a crooked family. You just have to ignore one small detail—he killed his best friend, Lila, three years ago.
Cassel has carefully built up a façade of normalcy, blending into the crowd. But his façade starts to crumble when he finds himself sleepwalking, propelled into the night by terrifying dreams about a white cat that wants to tell him something. He’s noticing other disturbing things too, including the strange behavior of his two brothers. They are keeping secrets from him. As Cassel begins to suspect he’s part of a huge con game, he must unravel his past and his memories. To find out the truth, Cassel will have to outcon the conmen. (you'll never see the ending coming)

The Book Thief by (the wickedly awesome) Markus Zusak

Synopsis:
An incredible young adult novel about how a young girl’s love of books helps a community survive World War II and the Holocaust.
It’s just a small story really, about among other things: a girl, some words, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist-fighter, and quite a lot of thievery. Set during World War II in Germany, this groundbreaking novel is the story of Liesel Meminger, a foster girl living outside of Munich. Liesel scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist—books. This is an unforgettable story about the ability of books to feed the soul.

“Zusak has created a work that deserves the attention of a sophisticated teen and adult readers…a mesmerizing and original story.”—School Library Journal, starred review

Awesome blue seahorse beach/pool tote bag, cool lil notebook and 4 magnetic monkey page holders. (so friggin cute!)

And now, for the rules…and a twist. Cause I love twists!

1. You must be a follower. As a follower you get 2 points (start adding now).

2. If you place this contest on your blog in the side-bar add 2 points.

3. If you link me within a blog post and give a brief shout out add an extra 3 points. (please leave a link, if you don't put the link up today leave it in my comment section when you do.)

4. If you Tweet this give yourself 3 more points (please put @ericaspickard at the end of your tweet so I can track it) You may tweet this once a day after today for 1 extra point per day, again just put the @ericaspickard and I will track the extra points.

5. If I gain more followers, make SURE they tell me you sent them. For every new follower that mentions you as the referrer I will tack on 5 extra points. (new followers who found me via your friends post please let me know who they are, and I will follow you as well )

6. You must comment on today's blog post for 1extra point. Tell me um…what you love about the 4th of July and how many points you have today (or will have soon).

Remember you are free to add more points by extra tweets and referrers, as well as leaving me a comment during the contest to inform me of any links or shoutouts.

NOW FOR THE TWIST

If I surpass the number of days it will be until my husband comes home, that number being 78, in the number of followers I have by the end of this contest I will throw in one extra treat which I will reveal should I surpass that special number of 78 next Thursday. Help me help you! And get me to 78 or more...

So when does the contest end? Next Friday at 11:59 pm I will shut the contest down and announce the winner Saturday July 10th. 9 Days!

I will talk more about my decision to be a beta here tomorrow ;) Have a great day and I am so so so excited to offer this contest in celebration of my favorite holiday and being under the 80 day mark till my husband comes home. Rock it out!

Tonight

2010-06-28T18:24:00.000-07:00

Jen at Unedited is having a 500 follower contest. All of you should definately check that out and if you arent' following her ya should cause she is 500 shades of awesome!
Also The Chimeras are having our own Teen Read choice awards with some fun polls and we would love to hear your input on your favorite books and characters :)
One more thing: I will be announcing a few things on Wednesday's blog. I have a few things to put together but definatley keep my next blog in your sights. I will be offering a few new things and a contest!!! So on with my rather pathetic blog for the day. But I am excited for Wednesdays announcement.

I looked at my palm tree, the one I have been watering for thirty minutes in the evening. The palms still stretching upwards, dying after days of oppressive heat and endless sun. Thunder rolled in the distant west, the promise of rain was surely near. I sat down on the porch with a glass of tea and watched the sky. Sweat rolling of both me and the glass. The neighbor across the street steps outside, and waves before sitting and turning their head the sky in the west. The alarm of the emergency alert system blares on the television inside. The storm is building one county over. Another neighbor comes outside and waves to me and neighbor number one. He calls out after looking at the darkness in the distance, "Think we'll catch any of that." I shrug and answer, "I hope. My palm's dying." He shakes his head. "So is mine." He responds and sits on the railing of his porch. The three of us watch the clouds eclipse the setting sun. Midnight creeps across the horizon. A bolt of lightning slashes to the ground. The clouds over head become thick. The begin to roll and slide over each other. Thunder pounds from every direction as if it's trapped in a padded cell. I walk inside briefly to check the stats on the radar. The temperature has dropped from 104 to 89. The humidity is 1000%, dew point is insufferable. A giant red blob covers the map over my area. My heart leaps, rain is coming. My palm tree will be saved, and my water bill will stop growing exponentially. I step back outside set down my glass and pull my knees to my chest.

The wind takes on a life of its own blowing the dead and dried leaves off the roof tops. Windmill seeds come down in an apocalyptic abundance. The gust carries the scent of sautéed onions, rank cabbage, and grease within the musk of nearby rain. My neighbors from Guam must be making Spring Rolls. Despite the rank smell of cooking cabbage I grow hungry. But I am unwilling to leave the sight of this storm. Like a whip in the hands of a god, the sky lashes in angry streaks and cracks to life. Crickets and locusts begin to chirp in an angry rhythm. Gulls from the nearby marsh, caw and soar into the tree line behind the neighborhood seeking shelter from the oncoming storm. My next door neighbor steps out on his lawn, barefoot and wearing only his shorts. I wonder, does he own any shirts? He waves to me and the other neighbors that have emerged to witness the eerie scene outside and to pray for the rain. Like a scene in City of Angels we are all waiting for the horizon to break and shower us with torrents of rain, except I think that in City of Angels they were just watching the sunset but I liked the comparison so just run with it. Another crack of the whip sends a scorching flame into the tree line near the house. None of us budge, too eager to see the rain. The smell of spring rolls grows stronger as the wind pushed cold air down the street. Next door neighbor begins to sing "The Phantom of the Opera" and it somehow seems appropriate. The sirens go off again, and the Charleston National Weather Service issues a flash flood warning for a city 15 miles from me. They are wise…when encountering water on the road be smart, turn around, don't drown…is repeated over the speakers.

It begins to mist. I wait, my breathing rapid. I look at my palm and smile. The neighbors cheer, rain is coming. The sky is angry, the lightning…close…too close. The lyrics to Phantom of the Opera get louder, I grow annoyed, and hungrier still. I stick my hand out into the mist. I wait. Wait. Wait.

Sometime later a loud screech resounds near my house. I walk across my lawn. I drop the hose at the base of my palm tree. I curse the sky as I walk back to turn on the hose. It sprays my feet and legs as if mocking me. The neighbors retreat inside, except one.

A lone man stands in his yard…singing...to a blood red sky.

And my palm is still in danger of dying.

I have no questions...just wanted to share and say HELLO to everyone.

Flaws

2010-06-24T21:43:00.000-07:00

Before I get started @Palindrome gets +1 for watching crazy awesome Supernatural Happiness video. ;)

I'm sure this is something all writers have heard/read at some point. The importance of the Character Arc. I know, I know we all want to polish the perfect characters. Like a stone they have to be rough around the edges before they can be polished. To be able to take a character that resides in our minds (for most of us quite loudly and at inappropriate times, like while driving in traffic they suddenly demand I start taking notes...) and put them on paper. Then, if you're anything like me, the fabulous character that's floating around in space, whose hysterical, dramatic, romantic, full of life, fun to be around, etc, falls on the paper and the unthinkable happens. The character goes from three-dimensional awesome to two-dimensional flat. Why? My "oh so great" character isn't flawed enough. I like the idea of a normal character trying to deal with not so normal circumstances. So I tend to flaw them as the story progresses, but I don't give them enough flaws in the beginning...at least I don't think I do. I like the sunny day picnic gone bad because a thunderstorm rolls in along with some ninjas and an asteroid. Then I like to see how everyday characters react. But I have to consider the way I arc, and how I start it in the beginning.
I like to explore my characters, interview them, spend time with them and thus I don't like to watch them suffer. I become reluctant to give them flaws. It's something I have to get over. So I put this question to the test, is my character flawed? I found that no, they were not flawed enough. There was little room for them to grow and thus I had a very little--and almost hard to find-- character arc. BAH! Why is this so important? Why do I need to flaw a character, a friend, a companion that lives with me ALL the time? Because the reader has to see them grow just as I do in my own mind. This is helps make them three-dimensional.
We all want to identify with the main character, relate to their problems, be swept away when they are, cry with them, and root for them to overcome the obstacle in their path and if there evil, we even want to on some level (some more than others) relate to that. Can I put MORE comma's in the post! ,,,,,,,,,,,,,
Back on track. What is the importance of the character arc?
1. It adds realistic situations to our characters.
2. The stakes get raised (I typed that as steaks like six times).
3. The reader has a reason to root for the MC to overcome the obstacles.
4. It’s a great way to show not just inner conflict but outer conflict as well.
5. Tension is created. Tension is GOOD.
Where does the arc land? Does it swing to the happily ever after? Does it swing to the tragedy of a drama? That's the beauty of the arc, we can bring them to an ending of our choice and leave a lasting impression on the reader by allowing them to live in the lives of the characters who live in ours as the writer. I know that last sentence is a mouthful but I think I got my point across, sort of.

One of the best examples I came up with (at midnight) was Top Gun. Lame as that may be let me explain. I know I should have gone for a book, or literary example but I think most people have seen this movie so I'm runnin' with it. At the beginning of the movie, Maverick as played by Tom Cruise, is arrogant and pushing the limits of authority. He thinks he is invincible and has something to prove with a chip on his shoulder. He's a bit of a player with the ladies as well. Through the movie we watch Maverick fall in love, make changes in his attitude because it's affecting the life of his best friend Goose. After the death of Goose, he has to deal with the remaining crumbs of that chip on his shoulder and finally, trust his fellow pilots and ultimately his rival, Iceman (Val Kilmer). He has to learn to be a team player, overcome his arrogance and repent to the chick he ticked off. Chip officially gone by the end. His character arcs from trouble maker with the attitude of "I don't need anybody" to" humble team player." For Maverick it took the death of his best friend to shake his world and change him. AND, he got the girl in the end! Perfecto! I realize that might be the worst description of Top Gun EVER, but I tried. *eye lids drooping*
One other thing to consider. Is the character too flawed? In talking with a fellow critique partner she discussed that non only are there the Perfect Mary's (I think that's what she called them) where a character has no flaws, there are the characters who are too flawed, who are also Perfect Mary's. Some people may love to flaw there character to the core giving them little in the ways of redemtion for the reader. There has to be a good balance.
So my questions for you all:
1. Are you reluctant to throw your character an obstacle because they are near and dear? (Like I was)

2. Is your character flawed just enough to give them room to grow? Can you take it an extra step to throw them another learning curve?

4. Is your character too flawed that redemtion may not be reachable for the reader? Or it's unrealistic that the character is that flawed?

3. Do you not love the theme song of Top Gun? Or do you feel the need for...speed?

(sorry to those of you who read this over on the Chimera Site, but I wanted to post this over here as well.)

Comparisons (are awesome)

2010-06-22T20:43:00.000-07:00

Today kinda sucked. But kinda didn't...I ran across this picture and it pretty much summed up my day. I feel like I have two fantastic idea's but they are fighting with each other. This picture may only make sense to me but maybe ya'll will understand. Or not. Just sayin...it's kinda how today felt. I am amidst a battle between two stories competing for my attention and my brain is tired. So, I needed a good laugh and found it, naturally I had to share. This was originally circulated as teachers who had posted analogies, similes, metaphors, whatever I'm to fried to remember which is which, but yeah my original point it was said these were found in high school students work. It's actually a contest held by the Washington Post for bad analogies. I have to say though these provided me with enough laughs, crippling fits of tear crying on a few so the purpose was well served. Sometimes bad analogies are way better than the good ones. I hope you enjoy as much as I did. To get the full list go HERE. And yes I realize the photo and the list have nothing to do with each other. And actually this post...makes no sense, but I hope you find a few funnies =D

1. Her face was a perfect oval, like a circle that had its two sides gently compressed by a ThighMaster.

2. His thoughts tumbled in his head, making the breaking alliances like underpants in a dryer without Cling Free.

3. He spoke with the wisdom that can only come from experience, like a guy who went blind because he looked at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it and now goes around the country speaking at high schools about the dangers of looking at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it.

4. She grew on him like she was a colony of E. Coli, and he was room-temperature Canadian beef.

5. She had a deep, throaty, genuine laugh, like that sound a dog makes just before it throws up.

6. Her vocabulary was as bad as, like, whatever.

7. he was as tall as a six-foot, three-inch tree.

8. The little boat gently drifted across the pond exactly the way a bowling ball wouldn't.

9. From the attic came an unearthly howl. The whole scene had an eerie, surreal quality, like when you're on vacation in another city and Jeopardy comes on at 7:00 pm instead of 7:30.

10. Her hair glistened in the rain like a nose hair after a sneeze.

11. The red brick wall was the color of a brick-red Crayola crayon.

12. Long separated by cruel fate, the star-crossed lovers raced across the grassy field toward each other like two freight trains, one having left Cleveland at 6:36 pm traveling at 55 mph, the other from Topeka at 4:19 pm at a speed of 35 mph.

13. John and Mary had never met. They were like two hummingbirds who had also never met.

14. He fell for her like his heart was a mob informant, and she was the East River.

15. The plan was simple, like my brother-in-law Phil. But unlike Phil, this plan just might work.

My only question for today

Which one(s) did you enjoy the most. I have to say 6, 12 and 14 had me in fits.

Have a fab day everyone!!!!!

Pat on the Back

2010-06-21T08:22:00.000-07:00

For those of you who have known me for awhile or are aware that I am staff at Chimera Critiques, you know I am a part of a free beta service. So I am in some ways always in critique mode. Turning off my internal editor is HARD. I've learned a lot in the critique process. Not only does it help my fellow CP's it's helped other people find the things in their work that can be changed, edited, worked on, cut, added, etc. I have since started to apply my "advice" to my own work. So it's a win/win in many ways.

I find that I have more freedom with my CP's when I do a critique. I don't have to be so formal in my comments because 1. They know me (duh) and 2. They know how much I adore their story and I give them ample praise when we speak but leave the laundry list in their actual chapter of things that don't work as well as they could. I have to double check myself on new submissions to make sure I give both the praise and laundry list. This isn't a huge issue because I love leaving the praise comments as well but I think sometimes as writers we skim the praise parts and pick out the list of things to change, what didn't work, what could be improved. I know I do.

After reading blogs week after week now I see us all supporting each other and helping each other with those things on the laundry list of "Don'ts". So today I want to flip that, where it's good to keep motivating each other to improve our work, it's time for that praise. What things work, what am I proud of in my own WiP.

1. I am proud of my character, Micah. He ROCKS, and I love writing as him. It took a long time for me to fully develop him but I am proud of that character. I love all my characters but he is the most special to me.

2. I am proud that I use stronger verbs now. Adverbs be gone (except the few that are needed).

3. I am proud that I have 47,000 words even though my plot went a tad wonky, that's still a huge accomplishment.

4. I am proud of chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 11, 13 and 14. Especially chapter 1 and 13. I don't know how I did it, but I rocked those two chapters. 13 still needs a revision but that's okay it's still my favorite chapter.

5. I am proud at how I attack my research and how I incorporate each thing into my work because it improves my story EVERY time.

So these are just five small things I am proud of. Sometimes we need that reminder, that we do things RIGHT, even if it's not perfect. So as a beta I want to know from all of you what are you damn proud of in your work?

On a quick side note, check out your next critique and relish in the praise comments. They are so important and no beta would leave them if they weren't truley meant.

So…what are you proud of in your work?

Award Ceremony and 7 random facts

2010-06-17T21:56:00.000-07:00

(The Olympics Song is playing in my head)

It's my turn to hand over the awards/torch to my lovelies. I have TWO to give out today, yay!

The Versatile Blogger was given to me by Melissa. Thank you! I know a lot of you have received this award this week, and I apologize for any overlap (I am late in the turn around on this award) but the rules for this award are:

Give to 15 people

Share 7 things about yourself

Let them know in a comment that you have given them this award.

1. Hart @ Confessions of a Watery Tart

2. Jen @ Unedited

3. Jayne @ A Novice Novelist

4. Palindrome @ Musings of a Palindrome

5. Callie Forester @ Chimera Critiques

6. Zellie Blake @ Chimera Critiques

7. Lola Sharp @ Sharp Pen/Dull Sword

8. TH Mafi @ Grab A Pen

9. Shannon Whitney Messenger @ Ramblings of a Wannabe Scribe
10. DL Hammons @ Cruising Altitude (woot you get two from me)

11. Sugar @ Sugars Randomcities

12. G~ @ A Muse in My Pocket

13. Tessa @ Tessa's Blurb

14. Lydia Kang @ The Word is My Oyster

15. Shannon O'Donnell @ Book Dreaming

16. Professor Rutabaga @ Chimera Critiques

7 Things About ME!

1. I have a highly irrational, wait no, highly rational fear of Santa Claus (to this day). *screams* Santa…is a freak, and I'm going to break it down by examining his "Theme Song" and how it plays out in my head.

You better watch out. You better not cry. You better not shout cause Santa is going to kill you in your sleep. He knows your sleeping patterns, he has a list of all the things you do, and if you don't leave him an offering of baked goods Santa is going to rob your home in the middle of the night.

Now that's what I heard in my twisted four year old mind. Ask my mom, I was terrified and would scream bloody murder if I saw Santa. We were in a skate board shop picking out a present for my brother when I was four and some Strip Mall Santa came in the store and cornered me. My mom bless her heart was trying to get him to leave, but no Ho Ho Ho kept asking me what I wanted for Christmas, so I told him finally. "I want you to go to hell!" Then I burst from behind my Mom's legs and ran out the door. I see a man with a beard propped against a wall and I ran over to him and said, "Jesus, Santa is trying to KILL me!" Mom had to apologize to them both and pry me away from the homeless man, screaming in a fit of tears to get me in the car. Christmas Eve was the worst night in our house for a few years and Dad had to sleep in my room holding a whiffle bat. Dad was instructed to take Santa out at the knees. However, I was okay with him leaving me gifts outside on the front porch.

2. I almost drowned when I was 7 at the water park in my home town. You know those wave pools, yeah that was the scene. The waves kicked on and I got caught under a lady in a cow print bathing suit in a floating tube. Each time I tried to swim out from under her, the waves would push her right back over me. I remember thinking, "I am going to die underneath someone's ass." So I punched her in the butt repeatedly until someone finally pulled me out from under the cow print of doom.

3. Shockingly, I wasn't afraid of water after that and learned to surf when I lived in Hawaii. I surf goofy foot and the largest wave I ever caught was 5 feet on the North Shore of Oahu. AMAZING!

4. I have a scar on the back of my right thigh from a nail. I fell through the ceiling, cause I was investigating the attic, and decided I should jump off the rafter into the pink foamy stuff. Wrong move to say the least. I didn't fall all the way through I landed on top of my parent's entertainment system and when I pulled myself back through the rafters I saw the fan blades in their room. Yikes! I was about 11 then and I told my mom that a wine cooler my brother had stashed in the attic blew up HAHAHA! She bought it, my dad didn't. I was grounded for a month.

5. I have had two surgeries. One to repair the ACL in my left knee, and the other to fuse two discs in my lower back, the lumbar.

6. I throw 1-2 person raves when I'm in a funk. Glowsticks and everything.

7. The best job I've ever had was when I worked for Disney. I worked at MGM for the show Fantasmic selling merchandise and had the best time of my life. If I enter the city limits of Orlando I start to cry because I miss it that much.

And now for the second award that was given to me by Hart, the Sugar doll Award. Thank You and back atcha! I wish I could give you all this award as all of you deserve it but I am going to give it to those who on a regular basis make me happy, brighten my day, and make me laugh be it through regular commenting or being absolute dolls.

Christine Danek @ Christines Journey
Sarah @ Falen Formulates Fiction
Melissa @ Through The Looking Glass
DL Hammons (you know you love the pink glittery award) @ Cruising Altitude
Christina Lee @ Write-Brained
Stina @ Seeing Creative
Palindrome @ Musings of a Palindrome
Have a fantastic weekend everyone :D

Happy 235th Birthday

2010-06-16T21:13:00.000-07:00

I'm a few days late, but Monday was the 235th birthday of the United States Army. Some of you may know, but for my newer followers my husband is in the Army and currently deployed in Afghanistan. I decided in honor of the Army celebrating 235 strong years to interview a Veteran. My Husband. Because he is currently deployed I cannot discuss his location and would like to keep his name private not like you don't know my last name but I'm strange like that lol. So this is Sergeant Husband, 7 years served in the US Army. He isn't a man of few words, so again because of his deployment status he was unable to answer all the questions to the full extent. I hope you enjoy, and happy belated birthday Soldiers in the US Army. Yes, I know he looks like Darth Vader, but that's his flight helmet. I don't know 'bout ya'll but if I saw a bunch of soldiers comin at me with that bobble head scary helmet on, I would freak out. Just sayin...

Interview with Sgt. Husband: Currently Deployed in Afghanistan as of September 2009.

How old were you when you joined?
18
Why did you join?
For college, and to get out of Missouri.
Why did you pick the Army over the other branches?
They offered faster promotions, and better college money/funds. I was also able to pick my job, and do what I wanted to do which was to fly on Blackhawks.
Do you recall your first days in service?
Yeah, they were pretty bad. We were sent to South Carolina and then went through a reception station. From there it was three months of yelling, push up's, long days and little sleep.
What did it feel like?
I really felt out of place at first. What have I gotten myself into and am I really cut out for this?
Tell me about your worst boot camp experience?
The twelve mile ruck march at the end. We marched twelve miles through the swamps and up a hill called The Stairway to Heaven. That was brutal.
Do you remember your instructors?
Yeah, I don't think ant soldier forgets his or her instructors because they really are one of the few people who change your life, and for some that's bad but for me it was good. They do the things they do to motivate a recruit, and some break under the pressure. That's how they weed us out in boot camp. For me I realized, I was actually cut out for the job. Other's found out differently.
How did you get through it?
Well, mentally I rationalized everything and just told myself that it was a game and I was determined to win that game.
Which war(s) have you served in?

I have been to war three times. I've spent a total of 28 months in Iraq serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom 2 and Iraqi Freedom 5. Currently I have spent 9.5 out of 12 months in Afghanistan serving in Operation Enduring Freedom 9.
How old were you when you first deployed to war?
19. I was three weeks out of AIT and worked on my first helicopter in Iraq. I had to learn fast.
Where did you go?
I went to Camp Speicher Iraq.
Do you remember arriving and what it was like?
I remember being really nervous 'cause I didn't know anyone there and I was the new "green private" that no one trusted or respected. It was a long road gaining there trust and respect. I understand why now because people depend on the decisions you make so much downrange that you have to show that you can hack it not just say you can. So it's not uncommon for older Vet's not to trust new privates, and they do have to earn our trust/respect. Our lives are on the line and we need to make sure our new guys are of sound mind and are battle field ready.
What was your job/assignment?
My first job was ground maintenance and I didn't fly, I worked on the helicopters when they broke down. Since then I am a flying Crew Chief for a Medevac unit and pull up the security for the medics when we land in an LZ (landing zone). I assist in medical treatment on the way to the hospital. I'm also a flight instructor for both Crew Chiefs and Medics.
Tell me about one of your most memorable experience.

Getting off the airplane after my last 15 months deployment in Iraq and being able to hold you again. (aww)
Were you awarded any medals or citations?
Yes. I have an Air Medal, Humanitarian Service Medal, 3 Army Commendation Medals, 2 Iraqi Campaign Medals, 5 Army Achievement Medals, Service and Expeditionary Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal. That's about it…OH, Combat Action Badge.
How did you get them?
Uh, for being bad ass… *laughs*
What's the food like?
It sucks. The worst is when they serve curry for dinner.
Is there something special you do for "good luck"?
I wear the dog tag you sent me that has your picture on it. (aww)
Where have you traveled while in the service?
Lets see…Germany, Ireland, Cypress, Hungary, Kyrgyzstan, Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait, Qatar, Georgia, South Carolina and Virginia. It's hard to remember all the places in the inbetween. I will have spent 3.5 years in the desert in the last 7. That means we have spent 2.5 of our 5 year marriage apart not including field trainings. UGH!
Do you recall any particularly humorous or unusual event?
There are plenty of humorous moments but I don’t think I can tell them to you knowing it's going on your blog. Uh…none of them are in "good taste" *laughs*
How good is morale and how does the unit keep it up?
Morale is okay, and we keep morale up by sticking together and helping each other out. The blood, sweat, tears camaraderie. But we are at month 9 so…morale gets tough.
How awesome is your wife?
My wife is the most awesome person on the face of the Earth, and no one takes care of me better than she does. *censoring out the rest of his comment* haha.

If you have any further questions for Sgt Husband feel free to ask, he or I will answer if we can. Thanks for reading the short answer he was able to give =D

To Ponder

2010-06-15T19:57:00.000-07:00

For those of you who read yesterdays, erm, Tuesdays blog ya'll know I have a sore neck. I saw my physical therapist today and I was told to rest, and not look down to long at a computer screen so this post is short n' sweet.
To answer unresolved questions from yesterday. My neck's still sore but better. My neighbor is singing outside again tonight, just not the same two songs but still in his boxers. I think this is going to become like a waterboarding experiment having him as a neighbor. It was 112 at 10 am. When I went to check my mail, neighbor was doing a jig in the front yard. I asked him what he was doing, he said a "Rain Dance" as if it were normal and I should have known by the style of dance. I WISH I was making that up. Faucet is fixed and oddly, it did rain today...in EVERY other surrounding city. No rain to cool us off here.
So while I was trying to think of something to blog about I started to ponder because I have to lay still and rest my neck. So here is a list of ponderisms I found from This Site to ease my boredom. Sorry I wasn't able to respond to a lot of posts but promise I will be back on track tommorow/wednesday =D Enjoy.

Ponderisms
1. Can you cry under water?
2. How important does a person have to be before they are considered assassinated instead of just murdered?
3. Why do you have to "put your two cents in".. But it's only a "penny for your thoughts"? Where's that extra penny going to?
4. Once you're in heaven, do you get stuck wearing the clothes you were buried in for eternity?
5. Why does a round pizza come in a square box?
6. What disease did cured ham actually have?
7. How is it that we put man on the moon before we figured out it would be a good idea to put wheels on luggage?
8. Why is it that people say they "slept like a baby" when babies wake up like every two hours?
9. Why doesn't glue stick to the inside of the bottle?
10. Why are you IN a movie, but you're ON TV?
11. Why do people pay to go up tall buildings and then put money in binoculars to look at things on the ground?
12. Why do doctors leave the room while you change? They're going to see you naked anyway.
13. Why is "bra" singular and "panties" plural?
14. Why do toasters always have a setting that burns the toast to a horrible crisp, which no decent human being would eat?
15. If Jimmy cracks corn and no one cares, why is there a stupid song about him?
16. Can a hearse carrying a corpse drive in the carpool lane?
17. If the professor on Gilligan's Island can make a radio out of a coconut, why can't he fix a hole in a boat?
18. Why does Goofy stand erect while Pluto remains on all fours? They're both dogs!
19. If Wile E. Coyote had enough money to buy all that ACME crap, why didn't he just buy dinner?
20. If corn oil is made from corn, and vegetable oil is made from vegetables, what is baby oil made from?
21. If electricity comes from electrons, does morality come from morons?
22. Do the Alphabet song and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star have the same tune?
23. Why did you just try singing the two songs above?
24. Why do they call it an asteroid when it's outside the hemisphere, but call it a hemorrhoid when it's in your butt?
25. Did you ever notice that when you blow in a dog's face, he gets mad at you, but when you take him for a car ride, he sticks his head out the window?
26. Where did my neighbor learn to do a rain dance, and did it really work considering it rained in every surrounding county, but not a drop here?
If you got one add one!!!!

ppppfffttttttttt!!!!!!

2010-06-14T20:24:00.000-07:00

Peeved! Peeved! Peeved!

Okay, generally I don't get all in a fluff about things and if I do I try to rationalize with myself that the things that are irritating me really aren't that bad and I go about my day. Every once in a while though, when the stars aren't right and my mom is asleep (to whom I soundboard) I get in a tizzy.
I woke up wrong. Not in the cliche' way, but in the literal way. Woke up, stretched....pulled a muscle and haven't been able to move my head left or right all day. Left arm keeps going numb and hurts all up into my jaw. How does this happen from stretching!?!?!
Then it was 112 degrees outside and the humidity was six-thousand percent. So when I laid down upstairs to take a nap because my neck hurt SO bad it was a sauna and I tried ot roll out of bed but couldn't because, again, my neck was stuck and I couldn't move it left, right, up, or down. Now I just hurt and am glistening. (we don't sweat in the south, we glisten) So I had to do some crazy navy seal stunt to get out bed, at least I like to think it was tactical and not just crazed flailings. I contemplated calling my neighbors over to do light as a feather stiff as a board to see if we could levitate me out of bed but my phone was appropriately downstairs.
I get down stairs and finally figure out a move that worked well enough to get me on the couch. It took like ten minutes to figure out how to lay down again, which I was hesitant to do but at least my phone was near me should I need levitated assistance.

Door to door sales men comes just as I settle on the couch. Dog barks. Wont stop barking. Front door is open, so sales men can see me on the couch not coming to the door. Starts shouting, yes shouting above my dog's 100 pound bark, his sales pitch. Really? I mean c'mon. They don't go away. I contemplate throwing a pillow off the couch, but cant move head or arm. Pissed! Pick up phone, flash it at them. They leave.
I resettle, *curses at salesman* then carefully grab remote and decide to watch Alice in Wonderland, the new version. I know I'm late seeing it.
I'm a Burton fan and have been for years, but could someone please explain to me why there was a need to rewrite Alice in Underland? It was my favorite story growing up, and the Disney version rocked and what the hell! I also love me some Depp so two Titans of my world came together only to screw up my favorite childhood story. Peeved even more. Steaming peeved actually.
Guess what. Salesman comes back. This time I throw the remote at the door and pull my neck muscle yet again. ACK! Remote survives the throw, door is fine. Thank god for plexi-glass. Salesman gives me the finger. I return the favor.
Decide to go get something to drink. Rolls off the couch and when I get to the faucet the PUR filter attatchment has wriggled loose and I get sprayed by streams of pressure filled water. I flinch, OUCH, neck. *curses again....and again*
And now, to top it off...my new neighbor has been practicing his guitar. Loud as he can. Song you ask? "I Got Friends In Low Places." then alternates to "Achey Breaky Heart." Over and Over! For how long you ask...4 hours and 26 minutes. AND he's doing it in boxers cause its so hot outside. I'm starting to understand insanity in it's purest form. D =
So before I get more peeved I'm going to figure out how to get off the couch, and back upstairs where the humidity has come down to a comfortable four-thousand percent and the temperature outside is only 102 at 11 pm. PFT!
End of peeve, going to sleep it off lol. Wedenesday I will be interviewing my husband about "The First Kiss" from a male perspective, or my thoughts on Santa Clause depending on if he is able to get online..husband not Santa. So check in for that and apologies for the rant =D Feel free to laugh. ;-)

Who?...Me?

2010-06-13T21:10:00.000-07:00

An Unreliable Narrator:

What is an Unreliable Narrator? The unreliable narrator is a literary device that is used not only in literature but can be found in television, film, theater and even in music. The narrator is typically seen in first person but most certainly can be used in third. The main point of the unreliable narrator is to lessen the credibility of the person recounting a story. The loss of credibility can either come in the beginning of a story where the narrator admits to being undependable due to a state of mental illness, the admission of erratic claims or the narrator may not disclose their lack of truth until the end of the story closer to the climax.

*Spoiler Alert On Two Movies: The Usual Suspects and Fight Club*

Some examples that I thought of came from two movies. The first being The Usual Suspects. The narrator, played by Kevin Spacey, recounts a series of events to investigators or basically the secondary characters. He plays the innocent man, a crippled man, and he's seen as such by not only the characters he is relaying his story to, but also the audience. The audience trusts his retelling of events, and helping the investigators track down a dangerous man named Keyser Soze. It isn't until the end of the film that it's revealed he is Keyser Soze and everyone has been fooled by a clever and crafty character. A plot twist most never saw coming as Keyser walks away a free man, and still a dangerous man.

But what about a mentally unsound character? Another movie example where the line on unreliability is more blurred can be found in the movie Fight Club. The main character in this film is suffering from insomnia and a general lack of self esteem. He meets a man, Tyler Durden, during a flight and quickly befriends him. In many ways the narrator, played by Edward Norton, both envies and hates his new found best friend. The story continues to gain momentum as Tyler becomes dangerous. In the end our main character (whose name is never given) figures out that he has developed a world where he has two identities. Himself and Tyler Durden are one in the same. All of the things he believed were behaviors done by Tyler, were really done by him. Tyler Durden, as played by Brad Pitt, became the narrators escape from mediocrity in which he acted out in ways atypical to his character, Durden was everything he wished he could be. BUT his insomnia and loneliness drove him to insanity. His instability created a world where his credibility was put to question and again threw the audience for a loop.

It's one thing when our narrator is being mislead by a secondary character, or maybe said narrator tells a lie to their best friend/husband/wife/boss etc. Whether we agree or disagree when our narrator lies or acts in a way that damages their credibility with the other characters, at least we were in the know. As for secondary characters misleading our narrator, although we may not know the motives at least we were lied to alongside the narrator.

What happens though when our narrator misleads us? Is this a good or bad thing? Does it make the narrator a protagonist or antagonist? Do we root for this type of narrator? Does the lack of truth derail the story so much that we are put off by these characters, or do we have fun with this plot twist?

Being caught off guard by the narrator is something I have rarely come across in literature, although I know it exists. Actually, I can only recount times where the narrator was unreliable in movies or in television. Maybe, it is better suited to an hour long show, or two hour movie. In books we spend a lengthier time period with the narrator, investing multiple hours or even days with them.

I'm on the fence. I enjoy plot twists where I was the one fooled by the MC. It's hard to trick me, so if a character can pull it off it leaves me in a state of awe. I have never felt cheated by an unreliable narrator. However, I have only enjoyed it on the silver screen because I haven't run across this type of narrator in literature. Maybe I would feel cheated then, but I doubt it knowing my personality. I like to be thrown off, given a plot twist, something that makes my head spin and the phrase "Didn't see that coming at ALL" leaves my mouth. I get excited when these characters come out of nowhere and blow my mind, and enjoy the risk it takes to write a character that could start out as a protagonist and possibly be viewed as an antagonist by the end. It's a bold move, but for me in the various instances I have encountered it I enjoyed the refreshing twists and turns.

So my questions are:
Can you remember a book or otherwise where the narrator was unreliable?

Does it bother you when you have been "lied" to as the reader/audience member, or do you enjoy that the plot twist was provided by the most unexpected of characters…the MAIN one.

Tell me your thoughts, how do you feel about the Unreliable Narrators?

Lyrical Letter Winner

2010-06-10T23:07:00.000-07:00

We had so much fun with this contest/challenge at the Chimera site. There were so many great entries, we kinda suspected that, so we knew we would have to draw the winner at random. The winner is and who will receive the 25.00 gift card to iTunes is.....

!!!! TARA !!!!

Thank you all who participated, to see the entires please go Here. We are planning to do another musical contest in the near future! I wanted to share with all of you the semi-disjointed lyrical letter. It's a little bipolar, but so is love in many ways =P Caroline has left poor Jude a letter. This is his response until she calls...and we'll just have to see if she gets the last word or not o_O Enjoy this letter experience and have a wonderful weekend lovelies.

Sweet Caroline,

It’s 8 a.m and I got your letter. My mouth is dry, with words I cannot verbalize. Tell me why we live like this. I need you to hear, I need you to see that I have had all I can take and exploding seems like a definite possibility to me. You are my only embrace. You are the light that lights my face. Any fool would do the same. I see the world has fallen in your heart.

Okay, leave now leave now if you just can’t stay, because there’s nothing worse than somebody pretending away the years of their youth they will never get back. So I’ll go home and practice the traits you said I lacked.

I feel the waves crash down inside and they pull me under. Just stay. Stay. Come on. I’ve been waiting for you. If I drown tonight, bring me back to life. Breathe your breath in me, the only thing that I still believe in is you. So skyscrapers please forgive me. I’m standing here repentative man. Oh, skyscrapers I’ll never look down again, again. Oh ’cause I guess all I ever loved was standing right before my eyes.

I’m sorry that I hurt you. It’s something I must live with everyday. And all the pain I put you through, I wish that I could take it all away and be the one who catches all your tears. That’s why I need you to hear if you’re looking for love in a looking glass word it’s pretty hard to find. Oh mother of pearl, I wouldn’t trade you for another girl.

Don’t just turn and walk away. I can learn from my mistakes. Don’t throw everything away. If my voice could reach back through the past, I would whisper in your ear, " You can hide ‘neath your covers and study your pain. Make crosses from your lovers. Throw roses in the rain. Waste your summer praying in vain for a savior to rise from these streets. Well now I’m no hero."But you have suffered enough and warred with yourself. It’s time that you won. Take this sinking boat and point it home. We still have time.

Twelve pm and my dusty telephone rings. I get up from my pillow. Could it be? I hope it’s you. It’s you, oh.

"Hey Jude? Pick up the phone."

But I’m too shy. Can’t speak.

You say, “I don’t understand what happened between you and me but, you will probably end up with someone half as good as me so. I don’t care if you want to look in my eyes and say, ”hello.” You were blind to me and now I’m blind to you.”

The Musicians in order:

1. Neil Diamond (Sweet Caroline) 2. The Summer Obsession( 8 am) 3.Paramore( We are broken) 4. Incubus (Pardon me) 5. Civil Twilight (Next to Me) 6. Slow Club (It Doesn't Have to be Beautiful) 7. Remy Zero (Save Me) 8. Shinedown (If You Only Knew) 9. OK Go (Skyscrapers) 10. Hoobastank (The Reason) 11. Roxy Music (Mother of Pearl) 12. Three Days Grace (Running Away) 13. Owl City (Vanilla Twilight) 14. Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band (Thunder Road) 15.Glen Hansard (Falling Slowly) 16. Incubus (11 am) 17. The Beatles (Hey Jude) 18.Whitney Houston( How Will I Know) 19. Stay( Lisa Loeb) 20.Life Left To Go (The Moment)

Researched Myself Silly

2010-06-08T20:09:00.000-07:00

And by silly, I mean scared!!! If it doesn't announce it anywhere in my profile or you haven't come across this tidbit, yours truly is from Savannah. One of the most haunted cities in the United States. I knew this when I moved here, and after working in historic downtown where tourists would constantly ask questions I had to school myself on the history of the town. I thought I was fairly knowledgeable, but since I'm basing my WiP here I thought, "well can't hurt to know a little more," when I came across a book called Savannah Folklore.

Holy crapola this town is jacked up! *pulls blanket more snug* The history here is so thick, and so rich that I find myself getting lost in the stories, however, I've already been startled twice by the barely-there breeze and have convinced myself my house is full of ghosts. Oh, imagination…why must you work in ways to taunt me!

Naturally, I had to share. HA! Honestly, it's pretty interesting stuff. Creepy Cool!

Savannah is built on its dead, thus making us one of the most haunted cities. Not shocking to me, this is one of the first things you learn about this town upon arrival. It's like we're proud of it or something? So by this I wasn't shocked. When the early settlers decided to move the headstones and not the bodies to make room for further growth, again wasn't surprised I already knew this fact. Gruesome as it may be, some of these headstones were bricked into a wall for further space when they turned it into a "park".

UM. They failed to mention just a few things. 1. There are 60 or so headstones left in the Colonial Graveyard. 2. Originally there were over 13,000 bodies. I'm not a math whiz but I can easily see that doesn’t add up. So where are these bodies? In mass graves, ironically perhaps, under some of the most notoriously haunted houses in town. GOO! I've been in those houses. During renovations it's not been uncommon to find these gravesites, or even to have a femur bone surface during landscaping. (no one knows how many mass graves are really under this city, nor the body count). *turns white again*

There is a strange color around this town. It's not quite blue, and it's not quite green. But it's on doors, windows, ceilings, shutters etc. It's called Haint Blue. I had heard of it, again all they said is back in the day they didn't always mix the color the same using the only materials they had. So it "haint" blue or green. Clever. Discovery….it's a color that was mixed to ward of spirits. Need I mention they put blood in the paint back then? ACK! You can still buy the color Haint at our stores (no blood added). The belief that unsettled spirits can't pass through this hue because it's a representation of water is still a tradition in practice. *puts on list: Buy Haint Blue paint at store*

Another strange thing that I thought was just fancy architecture but actually has a function is the rounding corners outside and inside homes. As you can see in the picture the overhang of the porch is painted Haint Blue, and everything is rounded. The belief is that if the corners are rounded, and didn't come in at an angle like MY house, that spirits could not hide in the corners and they would be shuffled out the door when they couldn't lurk anywhere. But if none of that works, hang glass bottles in the porch, or in the trees. It's not only melodic on a breezy day, but it's a ghost trap. Multi-functional!

Bonaventure Cemetery. For a cemetery it's stunning. Lush live oaks, with Spanish moss hanging eerily along the dirt paths between ornate statues and headstones, with the beautiful Wilmington River as it's backdrop. It has captivated so many people. I can say I actually like hanging out there. Well, I used to until I found out that there are stories of "Devil Dogs" if you will guarding the place. Reports of these Hell Hounds come at twilight when visitors have over stayed there welcome. Snarls, flashes of teeth, barking, start to surround people giving them the warning to leave. Oh, and don't let me forget Gracie. A life sized monument to one of the cemeteries younger occupants who screams at night. Isn't she just darling. *shriek* Really flippin' glad I left her all those pennies when I passed her grave site. *shivers* But if you were to die of fright here in the Hostess City of the south, no worries, we have a Strangers Tomb where your body can rest in peace until it is ready to be transported.

I could keep going trust me, that doesn’t even SCRATCH the surface of this town. I gave you all the not so scary stuff. And I didn't even get to our Pirates or Voodoo or Crypt Keepers (cause they buried live bodies on accident a few times). So with a history this rich and colorful, I have a great backdrop for my WiP. Even if I'm a tad freaked out/intrigued.
Savannah was declared haunted by TAPS aka Ghost Hunters, and they caught some crazy footage. If you would like to check it out, go to youtube and search Ghost Hunters in Savannah. You can choose your poison after that x_x buwahahaha.

And yes, this is the home of Paula Dean. . . .

Anyone else come across something crazy, fun, scary, unknown, interesting about the area your either from or writing about?

Update on Lyrical Letter. Here is how it is shaping up so far. Two more days to get in your lyrics! Make it happen... at Chimera Critiques Blog

Sweet Caroline,
It’s 8 a.m and I got your letter. My mouth is dry, with words I cannot verbalize. Tell me why we live like this. I need you to hear, I need you to see That I have had all I can take and Exploding seems like a definite possibility to me. You are my only embrace. You are the light that lights my face. Any fool would do the same. I see the world has fallen in your heart. Okay leave now leave now if you just can’t stay Because there’s nothing worse than somebody pretending away The years of their youth they will never get back So I’ll go home and practice the traits you said I lacked. I feel the waves crash down inside and they pull me under Just stay. stay. Come on. I’ve been waiting for you…

I will post all the artists/musicians/bands when I announce the winner, and reveal the full letter Friday. We need the next line...whose going to post it?? You?

Train of Thought

2010-06-07T20:05:00.000-07:00

As a great big welcome to my newest follower, lurker in the shadows, I want to post a quick blurp about a super great contest/giveaway she is having. If you're not following Shannon you most certainly should check out her blog and tell her I sent you. She is giving away to one lucky person: The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting (signed book) and (signed) poster, as well as matching bookmark, sticker, bracelet and tote bag. Make sure to enter before midnight on June 12th. (photo)

Also we had a few entries into the Lyrical Letter challenge/contest but want MORE cause the entreis we have are awesome! So to clarify any confusion that I probably caused…Chimera Critiques is hosting this on thier blog. Sometimes I'm not sure where they end and I begin! So I'm sorry if I caused some confusion with anyone yesterday, plus there were a ton of music posts hard to keep em' all straight. Was a very musical Monday. But, please do join us over at the Chimera site for this challenge and the chance to win a 25.00 iTunes gift card. Winner (drawn at random) announced both here and at Chimera's blog Friday.

And on with the post of the day. I had a little trouble coming up with anything to be honest when I first sat down to harness the creative side that also harnesses wisdom. PFT! So I watched a movie instead. And I wonder why I'm never ahead of the game T_T

From here let's see if you all can keep up with my train of thought this evening.

So I ended up watching a fantastic Dutch film called Ben X. It was a beautifully written screen play about a teenage boy living with Aspergers Syndrome. It was based (loosely) on true events. Because I recommend it, I'll give no spoilers here. However, the gist, is about a boy who is a genius under his awkward exterior. In his mind he believes he is the Avatar character he has created in a video game in which he is strong and loved by the other interactive players. The way in which he saw the world, was so poetic. However, after being bullied for too long he develops a plan to stop the bullying. Crazy ending. Great film (low budget but fantastic nonetheless).

This made me jump to train of thought number 2. I had recently watched a show in which someone had Aspergers. He could learn a language in a week, and taste or "sense" numbers. Yes, TASTE, numbers in a way that made him able to calculate just about darn near everything. I thought hmm, what was that show???

Train of thought 3. Paces for a second and gets a drink. Thinks again "what was that show!" *scratches head* DING! Remembers something about Real Life Super Humans. Googles. Finds the guy who can learn a language within a week and decides to watch a video snippet about him on the website. Gets distracted by list of "Wacky this" or "Crazy that" or "Unbelievable" top ten lists next to video. Checks out one (or spends an hour checking out way too many).

Train of thought 4. Decides to share with all of you 6 of the10 Strangest How-To Books.

1.Complete with proper grammar and dialect...

2. Incase your microwave turns into a machine gun operated by your toaster...

3. In case you didn't see it coming ... (the first time)

4. When in Rome...

5. For when Science Fiction is no longer just fiction...

6. When all else fails...

All of these are available for purchase at Amazon.com. I hope you had fun following my train of thought. My creativity and wisdom are on vacation tonight but hope you enjoyed the post anyway. Now I'm heading back to go look at the list of the strangest things to fall from the sky. I saw a cow, and have to find out how it got in the sky! (pretty sure it wasn't to get over the moon)

Questions? Hmm, instead of questions how about...

Tell me something that has to do with an oddity, crazy, whacky, amazing, caught on tape, unbelievable, craziest…thing/stuff that you know or heard of.

Musical Chairs (kinda)

2010-06-07T06:05:00.000-07:00

I hope all of you had a great weekend! I want to welcome my new buddies in the blogoshpere, virtual high fives. *smacks screen*

So, okay, last week I was in a funk. Life got pitched at me a tad too fast and I wasn't looking the right direction. There are different way's I get out of my funk and that usually involves a one or two person rave to which I have photo documentation of, and I will post said photo if you all participate in the challenge. Details coming on contest/challenge at end o' post.

So to fully dismiss my funk, I want to kick off this week with something fun, a contest/challenge. First to set the mood.

MUSIC. Every morning I wake up I get my cranberry juice, flip open my blog and immediately listen to the music video over on the right, and hang out with not just my boys form Supernatural but also all you lovelies as I check your posts and leave my oh so valuable words of wisdom. *cricket*

A. I am little like Linda Blair without cranberry juice in the morning, and B. I have to get some lively music to start the day. So today is about music and the way it shapes my writing, plus a contest so hold on for those details.

I don't know how many of you listen to music when you write, and if you do what type of music gets your gears oiled to write (comment below). I have one very distinct music related writing experience that I wanted to do a quick share about.

My friend Mart across the pond in Wales is a growing DJ and he was sweet enough to put together a 2 hour long trance mix for me because I was having issues writing a really intricate scene. Trance music helps me focus and gets me energized. He knows this, and most people know that I have glow sticks in my house for moments of funk I need to turn funky. Yes, I do walk around my house with various glow sticks while cranking some techno and rockin' out a scene. During the two hour recording he sent me I was able to write the single most awesome chapter in the history of my writing career journey. I had 5 psychic abilities spread between two people, interchanging during an action scene and the harmony of how it came together was, yes, awesome. Minus the adverbage. So for me trance music really sets my mind up to write, but there are times I call on other types of music to get me in the zone. And if I really need to pull in a good scene I will go to a specific song that draws upon an old emotion. For instance, if I need to drum up the emotion of betrayal I have songs that remind me of a time in my life I felt that way. The songs I played over and over with the speakers up so the world knew just how angsty I was. Do any of you do this? Not the glow stick part, but do you use music as a way to help you write? Rely on old songs attached to old emotions? Are you distracted by music with lyrics or music all together? Let me know(here). Music and its effect on people fascinates me and I wish I was fabulous enough to write lyrics but I do genuinely suck at it. So in honor of music and for those who can write a story that says it all in three minutes here's the deal.

CONTEST/CHALLENGE

It's my turn to post the blog over at Chimera Critiques (to which I am a staff member for a free beta service) So this will serve as my blog here and there. Two birds one stone. Which is really poor behavior really, who throws stones at birds?

The challenge is called the "Lyrical Letter." The prize is a 25.00 gift card for iTunes and maybe a little extra somethin special from me. OH, and for all of you HERE I will post the photo of me as mentioned earlier. (To uncover the photo 12 of you must participate and it will be revealed when I announce the winner.)

My lovelies at Chimera have decided to host this mini-challenge/contest called the "Lyrical Letter" from Monday to Thursday. I would have done the contest here on just my sight to lessen the confusion but we have a staff member that could really use the interactive support of the blogosphere. SO here's how it works.

I will start the first line of a "Letter" using lyrics. The next person, much like a next line story, will add the next line using lyrics and so on. You will need your thinkin caps for this one. (I've tested this challenge and mine came out like a bad emo-country song) How does the letter start? Head over to Chimera's blog for further details from yours truly. I ramble less on that blog, promise. Plus it's nearly 2 a.m and I'm sure my writing has turned to mushy ramblings.

Comments here: Tell me a little about your music style and what you like to or don't like to listen to while you write. Then dash over and lets all write a really awesome letter.

Just so we're all clear, cause I'm fantastic at confusion. The contest is being held at Chimera Critiques But please leave comments here as to what type of music influences your writing.

The Domino Effect

2010-06-03T08:49:00.000-07:00

Okay, yesterday I was derailed. First for those who read the post I found out McCreepy is getting a pretty sizable sum of money and publishing deal and my personal life is in the memoir. Enough of that, but it did shake me up. Then I was struuuuuuuugling (yes that many u's ) to figure out where I went so wrong with my WiP. It was going well until March. So I had to talk to my mom to dig around in the all the dark hiding places as to where my WiP went. Why it went wrong, and why I am I just struggling to get back on track. So I talked to Mom last night and we retraced my steps from March to the present. Here is how the domino's fell, cookie crumbled etc.

1. In February I left off in my WiP at a crucial point with my female MC. She was about to hit a major snag and I thought well, I will leave off here because my husband is coming home for his mid-tour two week break.

2. I had just joined my critique group and the chapter I left off with them before husband came home was the worst chapter I have ever written. I did a large info dump ACK and therefore didn't have them attached to my female lead as well as I did with the first chapter. They had only read two from her POV, first chapter awesome, second crap.

3. My writing improved drastically after the review of the second really crappy chapter, but I didn't attend a meeting because…

4. Husband was home and why would I do that when I could be spending time with him.

5. Husband left

6. Thought was, surely when he leaves I will have the mindset to actually write this very difficult scene with my MC because I will be emotionally "there". My MC was about to go through hell. The thought never occurred to me that because I was so raw emotionally from the gut punch of him leaving again that I would retreat and not want to write as my female character.

7. Writing improved, I needed to introduce my love interest earlier in the story so I gave a quick shot at writing from my other male MC's POV.

8. Crit group read it, loved it. So I thought, awesome, I am back on the wagon and I have a great character.

9. I tried to compensate with a new POV with a really great character meanwhile leaving my original MC to just sit there.

10. The point is, I wasn't ready to write my female MC's side of the story because I wasn't ready emotionally to tackle the tragic scene she was in. So I compensated by NOT writing her. Kicking her to the curb and thinking she was a poorly developed character.

AHA moment from last night

My female character is awesome. She isn't anything like my male MC and that’s okay because who wants two similar characters. ICK, and I wrote about that in a previous blog. Giving my characters distinct differences and what not's. I needed to believe in my female MC again, and trust that I was ready to conquer her side of the story. She is the epicenter so why did I toss her out. My list of 10 is why. My life interrupted everything, my emotional state wasn't ready, my critique group was left with a horrid chapter only to read a great chapter a month and a half later. They never got the time to know my original MC, and because my writing was much improved this new male MC jumped off the page. I needed to believe in my original character again. My mom and my husband are the only two who got to know my female lead and I didn't want to face the fact that because I was struggling with my own emotions that it didn't mean she (Emily) wasn't a well fleshed out character. She is, and now I can go forward. So there is my domino effect in a nutshell. I got derailed and tried to over compensate and desperately avoided my female lead because of my own emotions. But now. IM READY! Thank you McCreepy for being my catalyst to a breakdown so I could have a break through.

The three things I needed. 1. My mama 2. Put in Glee soundtrack which I listened to when I had major breakthrough with Emily my female MC and 3. To be reminded that Emily is the point of the story/plot, not my male MC. (Although I am letting him have a few chapters of his own still)

Question:
Have you ever hit such a rough spot in your life that it affected your work, or rather you didn't know it was affecting your work.
Have you ever avoided a scene not because it's out of the comfort zone, but because things in life prevented you from getting there on the emotional level

ACK!

2010-06-02T08:18:00.000-07:00

Before I get to my short and sweet blog about...well why I titled this Ack, I have some news for the Chimera Site.
We started a contest mid-May. Name the Chimera! Check out the blog for an upcoming poll as we have narrowed down the names and the voting will begin soon. Chimera Critiques follow this link to see if your name made it to the poll and vote for your favorite! For those who don't follow Chimera, a quick plug, I am am a staff member for this site. We offer a free beta service, taking two submissions a month, more if we have the time. You get a thorough or light critique based on your preference by the majority of our staff with a quick turn around. We also try to offer advice, tips, and tricks in our forum as well as our blog. The forum is where you will get to know the staff better and is just a fun place to hang out. We have a privatized section within the forum for quick beta reads, so your work is safe. With that said, check us out if you haven't already.
So why the big ACK! Well, I can't get fully into it *grumble* because it's a long whack-a-doo story that I wont bore you with, but every now and again I vent and consider this a quick vent. I found out yesterday that a "friend" of mine has immortalized me in a memoir of theirs. Why am I peeved, well I am going down in history as someone dreamt up in the imagination of the younger version of himself. Meaning I am the love interest that got away. Can I just say that I had Algebra with him and that's pretty much it. So how I got the first chapter in his book, and was the catalyst to why he has been doomed and gloomed since I'm really not sure and to say I'm flattered is the least of my feelings. I honestly HATE that I am going to be a forever figure in this memoir (he has an agent ready to hit the publishers) as a person I'm not, or ever was. This dream version of me is from the memory of a young teen who lets say had less than G rated thoughts in which he dives into within the first chapter...creepy. There should be a law against this type of thing, and I did check, but their isn't. I wish I could share more on this chapter, but guess what there are laws against that. Trust me when I say it's mortifying. I feel icky and violated and ACK! Okay that's my vent. Tomorrow, if I can get my husband to agree, I will have a treat for you all. =D

The Gender Perspectives: Authenticity

2010-05-31T08:49:00.000-07:00

I HOPE EVERYONE HAD A GREAT WEEKEND =D

Last week I did an experiment to help me overcome one of my weaknesses: Describing the world in all 5 senses. Overall the experiment was helpful and I have since found myself actually noticing more of them even though I am no longer blindfolded and tripping over my dog. So I started writing these senses as an exercise from two different POV's, male vs. female. Wow, that's when I found out my true weakness.

First the exercise was: Waking up in the middle of the night and the electricity has gone out in the house. This has probably happened to everyone at some point and you have to figure out how to navigate to some sort of light be it a candle or flashlight. But the point was, describe the journey to said light source. How do you know it's your room. What things do you feel, smell, hear, touch, and even see that indicate you know your way around in the dark.

So I took it upon myself to do it from the POV of both of my main characters. A female and a male and making it authentic to both of their character voices. It couldn't be more drastic. My female MC had a much more descriptive voice, and my male MC had a much different approach. So then I started thinking about the WHY?! For those of you getting to know me I don't (didn't) ask why nearly enough in my writing.

Okay let me rant on a peeve real quick to make this post make more sense. I read another book where it alternated between a male and female MC and I could not for the LIFE of me tell the difference in the narrative. They sounded the same and I was erked! I, also, cannot stand when a male character has a real floral language when describing the world. I recently read where a male character was describing what lattice looked like, and I thought how many guys even know what lattice is? I think about all the guys I know and think "Would they really process this information in this way?" No, most of them don't. Ask my husband the difference between this green and that green. He isn't going to say this one is more like Olive where this one is similar to a Hunter green. He is going to say "umm..this one is lighter and this one is darker." It's not that my husband doesn't notice the world around him, he just sees it differently. The things he takes notice of are things I am oblivious to. I am the same, he could ask me to hand him a wrench and I say uh, which one is that? I'm not trying to be stereotypical at all in this post saying that men don't notice what women do, but they do notice things differently. Everyone does.

So this brings me to writing in an authentic voice, without stereotyping my male MC as the guy who is oblivious to the world around him. He isn't, but he doesn’t know what lattice is and he really doesn't care what shade of green he is seeing he just knows it's green and then carries on about his business until he runs across objects, sights, smells, and noises that are authentic/important to him. Things that are noteworthy in his mind, and his life. Did I mention it's a total peeve of mine when a guy's voice is really feminine. IT IS!

This brings me to writing in first person and how difficult this can be to take on authentic voices. The distant narrator in third I wish I had for the sake of descriptive writing. For myself, this is a challenge. I have to go way outside my comfort zone and research what my MC is seeing in the male/female perspective. They are different, whether or not we want to admit it, there is a reason for that book Men are from Mars/Woman are from Venus. The world is different between the genders. So I learned something else about myself, and a lesson from a peeve of mine and I am taking it to my writing. I want to make sure, that my male character and my female character see the world in ways that make sense, that make them authentic voices for my reader. Can I possibly give myself any more challenges. Seriously! And if you found this to be a type casted stereotype it wasn't at all. It was a discovery I made along my journey to describing the world. Everyone sees it different. Some male characters can describe in a floral language but give me a REASON as a reader to believe it, and the SAME goes for a female. Give me a reason to believe that this is the world THEY see, and not to describe just for the sake of descriptions. Make authentic to each character. So there ya have it! I found another weakness of mine. x_X *again this is not a steryotype, but a consideration on genders*

Questions:

1. Have you ever considered this in your own writing, the genders and their descriptions?

2. Have you ever read anything where it was absurd that a male or female would see the world in this way, or rather that it felt unauthentic to the voice of the character?
3. has description ever felt like it was there for descriptive sake, leaving the character out of the equation?

Unplug...Kinda

2010-05-28T08:59:00.000-07:00

First, thank you all for the birthday wishes =D I had a great time last night with my lovelies. Pretty sure I spelled that wrong.
Memorial Day weekend is going to be busy on my end but I promise to keep up with as many of you as possible although I may not post again until Monday (ish).
I am getting ready for BuNoWrimo: Whats this you say? Well I have had the most awesome pleasure of getting to know Hart Johnson through CC and by following her blog/life. I highly highly suggest following her, she is amazing and funny and just a wonderful person, and her blogs make me giggle. Tell her I sent you if you don't already know lil Tart over at Confessions Of A Watery Tart .

She and her group The Burrow started a June based micro sized Wrimo. It's grown to I think she said over 60 people in the few days it's been up. If you would like more info, or want to join head on over to her page and give her a shout! We start June 1st, so I must get my house clean, plot outlined, and the other etc's until then. Plus a Memorial Day Service to attend. So I am going to be unplugged (kinda, I'll still respond to as many as I can) this weekend to prep for the events coming up. Want to wish all of you a fabulous three day weekend. Remember our troops past and present!

Contest Winner and a Birthday

2010-05-27T10:04:00.000-07:00

Contest Winner Is : Cornmuffin (aka Amy) for Jezebel/ and the Masculine Dolphin Air freshener YAY!

Contact me and let me know which gift card you would prefer. Also you're entry will be immortalized in the rough draft of the first chapter the car appears. (luvyamissya kernel)

Thanks to all of you who voted and participated in my first contest

So it's also my birthday today. Last year in my twenties. *Shriek*. Tonight I get to enjoy the company of my fabulous critique group for a wonderful dinner, great company and cake! Since it's my last year in the twenties I thought I would tell you all my top 5 birthday gifts over the years. Number 1 being the most special, precious to me.

5. When I got my car! Oddly, the car contest ends today. My first car was my favorite shade of blue, it went through hell with me and never gave me any guff about being hauled all over the country and the general abuse it took from a 16-22 year old. She was named Baby Girl, and I still miss that car. It was iconic to me, and people still ask "do you have that car!" Sadly, no.

4. Going to the Bahamas'. My first out of country experience was way too much fun. I about gave my dad a coronary while we were there. No, I wasn't aware at the time about black market trading. (Kidding!!!!) But I was all over the island exploring and never asked for permission, but who does at 17. Er, maybe just me.

3. Spending my 21st with my brother and great Hawaii folks. I hadn't spent my birthday with my brother in 9 years, so getting to be with him and my Sister in Law was awesome. Great BBQ, good music, good times…till one of my friends decided to get lost in a mountain and we had to guide him off cliffs with the help of binoculars and a cell phone. Long story!

2. Since my birthday falls close to Memorial Day, last year my husband was chosen to represent the Army at the veteran ceremony. He looked so handsome and I can't express how proud I was that he was chosen. The vets had so many great stories and to be able to shake the hands of those men who served in WWII through the war today was priceless.

1. This one wasn't so much a gift but it is my most memorable. It won't even sound like a gift at first, but it was the selflessness of my grandmother who made the day "special". On my 25th, I drove back with my husband (who was just BF at the time living in Georgia) to meet my family. When I got home, I got a call to go to the hospital. On my 25th birthday and the first time my husband met my grandmother (who was my very best friend and the one I confided in, cried to, laughed with, lived with off and on, and came to think of as a second mother) was diagnosed with terminal cancer. A blow to the gut, and I forgot all together it was my birthday. BUT she didn't. She had the whole family bring my presents and cards, cake, food, balloons and all the trimmings to her hospital room so that I could still have a special day. She was nothing short of amazing. And I just made myself cry… she was just that kind of woman and I never stop missing her.

Physical Therapy and the Published Author

2010-05-25T21:34:00.000-07:00

Firstly I have my first award to give out, check for it at the bottom of the post =D
I had the privilege at my last physical therapy session to talk with another patient, a long time published author (whose name I will keep private out of respect). First of all, this man was awesome! He was such a wise and kind soul and I loved that he took the time to talk to me about his life experience. And also a big thanks to my physical therapist for scheduling us on the same day, he also rocks!

Un-named author has a series of degree's, published books, and a lifetime of experience and I have so much respect for the man who at 60 is still rocking out jeans with hippie patches, vintage screen T's (I'm pretty sure the originals not the knock-offs) hemp jewelry and smelled like incense.

Okay, so the "interview/talk" was completely out of the ordinary. We sat on those exercise balls, balancing our core muscles, groaning from the pain of crunches and various other tortures while having a blast talking about our writing. He gave me valuable advice into the world of being published, how the industry has changed but a few things he had to say struck me as odd from this soulful and hysterical man. Three things in particular, and these were…

1. He has had to change his style of writing to meet the times. It's all about conflict, tension on every page and sometimes forcing scenes into a story to satisfy market standards.

2. Upon finishing an entire novel the market has moved so fast that novel sometimes becomes obsolete.

3. Writing is the loneliest profession.

I felt a little depressed after these three comments.

I was surprised to hear these things from a season vet in the world of writing and he commended me, (me?!) for entering this world. I figured that the industry like any, is always changing. How fast it changes was kind of a shock. Nothing could feel worse than having a book finished only to have an editor say the market switched and this isn't publishable *did I make up that word*. These things I could accept, but when he said that writing is lonely was when I realized just how much we have to do now in order to get our foot in the door, and how it's no longer a lonely world. When he first wiggled into the writing world he didn't have to market himself, he had an agent/publicist to take care of that, he didn't have to blog or network to the crazy levels we do now. It can be exhausting keeping up with Twitter, Facebook, Blogs, Authors, Publicists, Agents, Market Trends, Word Counts…the list continues, oh yeah and then we have to actually write. But he envied and wished he was able to keep up with all these things because it would make for a world that felt less lonely when he sat down to write his awesome sci-fi novel.

In all the chaos we have the ability to meet with other authors (aspiring or signed), follow each other and the various journey's, share our tips, lives, success, develop critique groups, friendships and release the occasional rant. This makes the writing world less lonely. We may have more work cut out for us, and he admittedly agreed with me on that, but in his time writing was lonely. So he commends the new writers of this generation for all we have to do to get in the door, the level of competition and how devoted we are to keeping up with EVERYTHING. Then I got a gentle pat (it's why I'm in therapy) from this rock star veteran author for me to pass along to all the writers in this new market, industry and business.

His lasting words of wisdom for the day *said between grunts on the wibble wobble board* was this.

"Live life in order to write it. Write the story you want to read. Trust yourself and your reader. But most importantly, congratulate yourself for each and every crappy word you get to revise."

So with all that, what I took away from my last PT session besides the need for a shower, is that I am glad writing no longer feels like a lonely process. So thank you all for being a part of my journey, and I am happy to be apart of yours.

AWARD: For Journey Support

Callie Forester
Zellie Blake
Amanda Mack
Christine Danek
Hart Tart
Stina
Falen
Christina Lee

VOTING LASTS ONE MORE DAY! AT 12:30 (ish) ON THURSDAY I WILL ANNOUNCE THE WINNER OF MY CONTEST SO GRAB YOUR FRIENDS AND GET THEM TO VOTE!

Challenging Weakness: Blindfolded

2010-05-24T20:09:00.000-07:00

In a previous blog I talked about the things I have learned about myself as a writer. This is the first time in my life that I have buckled down with an idea and invested myself fully into a story, and characters that I believe in. I now know what my strengths and weakness are and asked you guys what you excel and struggle with. From the responses there was a common thread that describing the world with all five senses is difficult.

Why is describing the world with all 5 senses so important? It doesn't just add that extra flavor to a scene but it leaves an impression in the readers mind. I find in most work the descriptions are highly visual, and being very visual people the use of sight and color are (or can be) the easiest to rely on in writing. I was discussing this with my critique group and a few things I had never considered about my reader left me wanting to challenge this weakness of mine. What if my reader is color blind? What if my reader can't hear that well? These were only two of the questions we asked and the importance of the 5 senses. Hence it was the catalyst to begin a journey in describing the world.

The Challenge: I blind folded myself for 4 hours yesterday to see just what would happen.

The minor casualties of this exercise were three shin bumps, constantly running into my dog, knocking pictures off the end tables and one incident where I forgot there was a wall. I could probably be cast in any zombie movie now as I'm sure I have the walk perfected.

The first twenty minutes I was a little scared, but once I got past my fear of falling it was SHOCKING how much more I relied on my other senses. This time I am going to focus on two: Smell and Sound. I had a voice recorder with me the whole time and here are just a few things I found out within my own house. I'm not going to get poetic at all, just a few observations for now.

SMELL:

Each room smells different. By the end of four hours I knew what room I was in by the smell. The living room smells like Fruit Loops cereal and tinsel. It took me awhile to peg the smell but yes it smells like Christmas tinsel. The bedroom still smells like fresh paint (a year later) and crisp citrus. I was blessed with rain today so going outside was amazing. Humidity has a smell, the musk in the air mixed with earth and grass. I could smell the exhaust from my neighbors car in combination with what is best described as canned corn. I live within a quarter mile of brackish water and the marshes. I swear it smelled like corn when the air was thickest after the rain.

SOUND:

Rain from the inside makes a pinging sound on my back door and a clacking splatter against the front. Why the difference? I'm not sure. At times it sounded like gentle repetitions of fingers lightly snapping. I recreated the heavier rain sound by patting the pooled water in my hand. Try it =D Thunder has a slight metallic sound in it, almost like people stomping on bleachers in a stadium. That was wild. When jets flew overhead, it was a roar mixed with high pitch screeching, like splitting the sky in half. Some birds squeak, squawk and chirp. When some would fly, they sounded like mini helicopters. The coolest was the physical reaction of my husband's voice. My heart would beat faster when he laughed, and slowed when his voice was calm. In fact I found that my body reacted to various sounds.

So these are just a few of the many things I recorded today, and I didn't even discuss taste or touch. Although toothpaste is way more intense blindfolded. It burns, the foam is more noticeable and the bristles of the brush tickle. So weird. I wish I could give you all more of my observations but if I did this blog would go into next week easily. It was such a cool experience!!

I do plan on doing this again, hopefully soon at the beach with a person to help get me around. It's going to take me a while to describe with the 5, but today was a start. Noticing that I have internal physical reactions to different senses was more than I had anticipated, and all the more reason to work on this weakness.

The sense that surprised me the most was smell. But the bigger shock, was once I took the blind fold off, I noticed things in color and sight more easily. Like seeing it for the first time. Overall this was a cool challenge with minimal injury, and no broken pictures. Which screeched across the glass table before thudding on the carpet.

Question:

How have you overcome a weakness in your writing?

Have you ever considered that a reader may be color blind, have a loss of hearing, a weak sense of taste or smell? Does it make you re-consider the descriptions in your writing?

Which of the 5 senses do you least describe?

I Got Tagged!

2010-05-23T22:36:00.000-07:00

Time to learn more about me! Also a heads up today I will be blind folded (on purpose) for four hours because I need to learn to describe the five senses better. So I will blind fold myself to enhance those other senses, gain a few bruises and possible a stubbed toe. I'll post my findings on Tuesday, should be interesting. Reminder, voting is open till Thursday =D

Q. How did you get your name?
A. My mom was on bed rest during her pregnancy with me. Apparently, I was terrible. While she was stuck in bed she watched way too Soaps and she was positive I was a girl. So, she named me after the meanest woman she had ever seen. Erika Kain on All My Children. I actually met Suzanne Lucci at Disney World and decided against telling her the story.

Q. Dream Vacation
A. Oh, so many. I'm a tropics girl, so I would love to go to an island deep in the pacific and be in one of those huts that stand on stilts out over the ocean. Honestly though, anywhere with my husband. We could vacation at a Holiday Inn down the street as long as he was with me. And there was a pool.

Q. Astrological Sign and Do You Believe?
A. Gemini. After a little reading, I do admit I kinda fit the profile. I checked the others to make sure I wasn't just getting an average description of an average person. Turns out, no they are all fairly different and I do fit the Gemini personality...to a creepy accuracy. Belief, well the jury's out but it's really cool.

Q. Believe in Love at First Sight?
A. Yes, firmly. I am married to the man I fell in love with at first sight. I still have a major crush on him five years later.

Q. Where Do You See Yourself in Five Years?
A. I don't. I mean, I don't see myself six feet under, but at the same time I don't plan that far ahead. I barely plan tomorrow. Goal, well of course I would like to be published, have kids, and be sturdy financially. Then again I could be living in Germany or Tibet. Who knows, I like to think of it as a mystery.

Q. Are you the Kite or the Rock?
A. Ummm...Kite most of the time but rock when I need to be.

Q. A Quirk?
A. Just one!! I have to have cranberry juice in the morning. If I don't have it I turn into Linda Blair. I Purell my hands more often than necessary.

Q. Your Favorite Smell?
A. Clean sheets. There is nothing better than getting into bed after just washing the sheets. So I guess that's laundry detergent, cause I love them all. A close second would be the smell of the ocean.

Q. Super Power?
A. I want that twitching nose ordeal to make things just happen. What was that show? I could use that one for sure.

Q. What Should You Be Doing?
A. Sleeeeeping! Which is where I am headed.

Today is blindfold for the senses with an update on Tuesday. Wish me luck. D=

The Next 500 (ish) Words

2010-05-20T20:58:00.000-07:00

First, thank you to all of you who participated in the contest, another congratulations to my finalists and the support you all are giving them in the votes. Continue to vote for your favorite, voting ends next Thursday. Have a wonderful weekend. As promised here is the next section of my chapter, hang in there and you'll read where I will be filling in the "car description" blanks soon for my rough draft. If you haven't read the first 500 words you can find them in the blog post just below this one. Enjoy.

Continued

.....A collaborative look of concern over my mental health creases their brow. I slide my hand up the canvas of the umbrella, the butterfly flaps its wings. I cup my fingers ready to sweep it into my hand only to be dragged off the table. I watch my messenger bounce off into the air and bob across the intersection.

"Sir," a rough voice says, "I'm going to have to ask you to-"

I don't hear his ending phrase of authority as I break free and run through the intersection dodging cars like a game of Frogger. I chase it two blocks before it rests in the hand of a little girl. She giggles as she cups it between her palms. A display of wind chimes dangle above her. One clank and that little pest is going to flutter all over Savannah.

Fantastic, I'm the sweaty creepy guy. This is going to go over well. I watch her mother, bouncing one child on her hip and balancing a phone between her ear and shoulder. I hate using my natural gift of manipulating emotions even when I've been instructed to, but I'm desperate. I fill with irritation and project it until I feel her absorb the emotion. The way her arm flails suggests she's now arguing with whoever is on the other end of the line. Perfect, that should hold for ten minutes. I squat down next to the little girl and recognize the Savannah Trolley Tour sticker on her blue dress. I look at my watch. 1:27. Only three minutes until the next trolley arrives. I clear my throat.

"Hi, I'm Micah. That's a pretty butterfly you have there."

Her brown curls bounce as she giggles. "It's my butterfly. I love it."

"Can, I hold your butterfly."

Her hands clasp shut trapping the butterfly. She becomes a screaming monster, stamping her feet. "No, it's mine!" The first syllable of the word, Mom, starts to leave her mouth.

"Shh." I stop her and check for any sign of an angry mother. She's still yelling into her phone. I wipe the sweat from my forehead. "Look, little girl, I just need it for a second then you can have it back," I pull a dollar from my pocket. "Here's a dollar. See?" Her face becomes curious.

"Five dollars," she fires back at me. Her blue eyes as steady as a professional poker player.

Little devil. I shove my hand back in my pocket and retrieve a ten dollar bill. "Here ."

She gives it some thought. Like an old Western we exchange our items at the same time. I slide the bill between her fingers, she places her hands in my half opened palms. Carefully she slides her hands between mine then releases it. I secure my hands around the butterfly, it's wings flap furiously inside. The little girl skips away, and joins hands with her mother. I nod a thank you, she sticks out her tongue then grins. Sweat rolls off my face, splattering against the concrete. The rumble of the trolley gets comes to a stop. I choke on the exhaust as I stand and whisper to my hand. Nothing.

"Talk! You tiny creature, say it again. Where is she, who is she?"

The expression of the people walking past me confirm my suspicion. I'm sure I look certifiable. A few tourists on the trolley take pictures. I can't blame them I'd be curious too if some stranger was yelling at their hands to "speak." The trolley drives past leaving a wake of humid fumes blowing the various chimes hanging next to me.

With each vibration of the chimes, a chord of bells mimics each note of her sweet voice. A whisper says, "My name is Emily Miller. I live on Tybee Island in Georgia. Find me."

My hands fall to my sides and the butterfly escapes. My mind reels. She lives twenty minutes from me? I run my fingers along the multi-colored wind chimes. I walk, fidget with the keys in my pocket, then burst into a sprint. Like one of those really obnoxious dreams, my legs don't feel fast enough. I finally make it to my apartment, forgetting the knob I smack into the front door. I burst through nearly tackling Samantha as I hurdle the couch and run to my room.

"Sorry," I call over my shoulder.

I rummage through my closet and grab my white shirt with the snaps. Her favorite shirt. After stripping out of my black t-shirt I hastily snapping the other together.

"Uh, what's goin' on, Micah? Mission?" Samantha plops on my bed. "Your shirt's lopsided you dork." She sniffs. "What's that smell?"

"Tuna." I adjust the snaps. "Nope, no mission. Best day of my life. I heard it, Sammy. I heard her voice. I had to scream at a butterfly…it's a long story. She's on Tybee. I have to go."

"Wait? You heard her voice?"

"Yup, gotta go. Explain later."

Sammy holds up a hand, confusion sets like concrete on her face. "Um, bye?"

"See ya." I slap the top of the doorframe to my room and dash out the front door. I slide across the hood and get in my car. My fingers shake as I stick the keys in the ignition. With a quick armpit check, I throw the car into drive.

***** Get's crazy from here folks! Thanks for reading =D

My Contest Finalists!!

2010-05-19T20:09:00.000-07:00

!!Congratulations To My Finalists!!

1.Christine Danek: Roxy/ Silver Pinup Girl

2.Amy Cornmuffin: Jezebel/Masculine Dolphin Air Freshener

3.Zellie Blake: Defiant/Glass Butterfly

4.Tina: Defiant/I'm a Pirate Air Freshener

Please use the poll -------> over there,

it will remain there for 1 week.

There are my 4 finalist!!! Originally there were only going to be 3, however, one name was mentioned twice but they had different rear view object suggestions. I decided to leave it in your hands to vote for your favorite combination. The voting will begin at 6 am Thursday May 20th and end at Noon Thursday on May 27th. I will then announce the winner according to the votes that afternoon.
The winner will receive a $40.00 gift card to either Barnes and Nobles or Amazon. Vote! Vote! Vote!
If you're a first time visitor please feel free to follow me for upcoming contests and other fun stuff. I am also a staff member at Chimera Critiques. We just kicked off our second contest, very cool prizes, a fun forum, blog and we are free beta service that take two submissions per month for a full critique from each staff member. =D (shameless promotion lol)

Today I will post the first 500 words of the chapter where the car will eventually appear, but come back on Friday not only to vote but to read the next 500 words of this rought draft chapter.

Chapter # : Micah

I freeze mid-stride. I swear I just heard a voice that crackled like a two way radio, and the message was meant for me. Shrugging, I continue to walk, blaming it on my heightened senses combined with wishful thinking. It happens again, only this time the scrambled voice is in my head. I scan the area around me, checking for cops or anyone within earshot holding a walkie-talkie. Nothing.

A waft of salty air and driftwood seeps out from the stench of overpriced coffee. An uncertain shiver runs below the surface of my skin. Still searching for the voice, turning in semi-circles, I catch my reflection in the bistro's window. Two feet above me, a butterfly bobs in the air. "Can't be," I whisper and turn my gaze to the monarch.

I stare in disbelief as my mind flashes to the dream. Each night she sits next to me in our field, the place where she has wandered into my dreams since I was 16. I can smell the ocean air that clings to her, see her green eyes, hear the soft whisper of her voice. Always, without fail, butterflies surround her. She whispers to them with an impish grin.

"Butterflies are the silent carriers of our deepest secrets, wishes and desires. I've sent one to reach you, to tell you my name and how to find me. You'll hear me in the wind, through the static. Promise me you'll listen."

I snap back to reality, the Monarch circles in the air above me. Without any further doubt, I know this butterfly holds the secret I've been waiting two years to hear. I watch my reflection in the window and raise a careful arm. My hand is inches away from the black and gold spotted butterfly. A wing sweeps against my thumb. The door to the coffee shop swings open, startled, the butterfly takes flight.

"Wait!"

I repeatedly run then jump when I get within a close distance, missing each time. It perches on a green umbrella that’s shading the lunchtime guests on the patio of a swanky pub. Without thinking I hoist myself up onto the table. Glasses clank at my feet, their beverages pour over my shoes, and gauging by the smell I've just stepped in tuna salad. Squawky voices of annoyed customers chastise me and push my legs.

"Shut up," I hiss. "I'm sorry but I have to catch this butterfly, alright. Stop pushing me or you'll scare it."

A collaborative look of concern over my mental health creases their brow. I slide my hand up the canvas of the umbrella, the butterfly flaps its wings. I cup my fingers ready to sweep it into my hand only to be dragged off the table. I watch my messenger bounce off into the air and bob across the intersection.

Research: It can be fun

2010-05-19T07:43:00.000-07:00

To bring a thread from Chimera Critiques forum over here, I picked the Research topic. "What are you researching." Of all the ones we have I might have picked that seems like the most boring. Research. You all remember from school right? The project you never wanted to do, the hours of trying to get out of it only to finish it minutes before it's due. The long papers in MLA or APA format on topics that weren't that interesting. I personally hate research but whoops I forgot just because I write fiction doesn't mean I can totally make up my own rules.

First example (probably the best so far) is that one of my characters throws a Chinese Star, AKA Ninja Star and as a Shuriken...I know this now because of research. I had him throwing it completely wrong, like I was waaaaaay off lol.

The research didn't start out as "how to throw a ninja star", it started because I needed to know what type of gear a person would have on, if anything, to hide these things or if they wore gloves etc. Things this character could wear to make him look a tad more threatening. Then I watched a few videos and realized I was totally off the mark on that whole scene. So I spent the entire afternoon watching these really cool Ninja videos. If I wasn't accident prone I would definitely want to learn how to throw on of them bad boys. And, no, my character isn't a Ninja haha, he just has one random weapon of choice.

Then as I was browsing google images of Shuriken carrying belts, I ran across a stuffed animal/ninja doll. It's name was Emily The Strange. Um, so yeah, the guy throwing the Star at my MC Micah is actually MC Emily's father (spoiler). So how weird is it that I run into a plush named Emily The Strange Ninja Kitty! So OF COURSE I had to have it. How cute is she! So yesterday I had a ton of fun researching for one of my characters and ended up spending 12 bucks.

Questions:

What are you researching?

What is the coolest thing you found doing research for a character?

Today is the LAST day to enter my contest Nickname the car. Voting starts tomorrow. Get any last entries in, and share with your friends for a chance at that 40.00 gift card. LINK

Growing Pains

2010-05-16T21:28:00.000-07:00

When I first started writing with the goal of getting to the query stage for once I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I was writing by the seat of my pants half the time, and doing story board plotting the other half. Then I got my first critique, of what used to be my first chapter (it's now chapter 2 and I'm okay with that). What I have learned since my first critique meeting.
1. Character Development: I had a fairly strong character to begin with, but I hadn't made her very 3 dimensional. I thought I had, but oh no, I was wrong. She was at least 2 dimensional so I give myself a little slack for that. I found that the plot can't do all the work, in fact it does less than half the work. The characters make the story come to life. I have to brag, my other male MC I researched and fleshed him out and he totally rocks. I'm now working on fleshing out my MC Emily to make her come to life even more.
2. Adverbs: Kill em' 90 % of the time. I didn't understand this at first, and I fought it thinking "but there helpful!" Nope, come to find out a strong verb is much more effective. Ah, and I should add those words that slow things down like...almost, just, about, etc. They kill the strength of the sentence.
3. Directional Phrasing: When it's not needed, ditch it. Get rid of it and skinny those sentences. In addition, prepositional phrases only helpful when absolutely necessary...otherwise ditch em'.
4. Dialogue: Make it authentic to each character.
5. Up the Anti: Give my characters a time limit or something like it, give them consequences if it's not met. It speeds up the pace, keeps the pages turning for the reader. Raise the stakes!
6. Get rid of Capt. Obvious: By this I mean...if a character reaches for something I don't need to say with a hand. Unless my character is a Chimp they wont be grabbing it with their toes.
7. Find the sensory words, like feel and cut em out: Oh this one still plagues me. "I felt my stomach heave" vs "My stomach heaved". Duh, of course they felt it, and I don't need to be redundant about it. *Smacks forehead*. This one still gets me every time.
8. Descriptions: I write in first person. I don't have the distant narrator to fill in the details so I have to see the world through their eyes, their voice and that is tough for me. I am still learning how to do this. I get peeved when a male character describes the world in puffy chick like verbage. I avoid this with my male MC as much as possible while he still has some moments where he taps his sensitive side, it still reads like him.
9. Use all 5 Senses: Guilty, I suck at this still! But this is growing pains and if I wasn't growing as a writer then I shouldn't be a writer.
10. Show vs Tell: Show! Show! Show! Though I find myself telling when I should be showing some of the time. I have learned the difference but I have to keep working at it.

These are my top 10. Things that I am learning to do, to avoid, that overall strengthen my prose. This is me growing.

My Strengths: Authentic Dialogue and Character Development.
My Weakness: Describing the world with all 5 senses.

Questions:
From the time you started writing, what have you learned about your own writing, and what have you most improved on?
What is your strength, and what is your weakness? (We all got em)

House Moment

2010-05-14T08:05:00.000-07:00

For those of you who watch the series House, the diagnostic genius, I had my Aha moment. Remember I said just a couple of days ago that I was ditchin 40k words in my WIP. Yeah, I did it, took a few days to think, simmer on some ideas that were developing and felt a little lost. Okay, I felt wildly out of control and frustrated. Until last night after a meeting with my critique group where we went over a concept chapter I had written. I came home after a few suggestions, and my brain just clicked into gear. I know the plot now better than ever and dumping that roadblock of 40k words has proved to be the best move I've made yet. The plot is stronger, it's better, and best of all it can now go FORWARD. Finally!
So I am excited and ready to get back to work on this thing, and batter batter batter sawing this thing out of the park. I have to be short in the post again today, have physical therapy in an hour *groan* and will most likely be in pain later, and may I add grouchy. So while I am still psyched about it, I wanted to share...the story is back and better than ever. Doin a happy dance!
Everyone have a great weekend, and I will have to start some sort of tracker thingy on my progress. When I write, I write fast. So here we go again...improved, plot solid, and characters developed beyond my original this time. Squee!
Off to physical therapy to be tortured. *double groan*. Progress report coming soon.
Question:
Since I am fast writer, to those of you who do or have done Nano, is it really that helpful? Would it be something I might benefit from? I don't know that much about it, and any advice or prior experience would be helpful =D