So the New Year has come and is really not so "new" anymore and this is my first post. Ugh. Apologies. Sorry. Ooops...etc etc...
My excuse? This is my busy season. "An accountant," you assume. No - I am a 4th grade Girl Scout leader and (drum roll please)... IT'S COOKIE TIME!!!
Now all of you out there smiling as the thought of little Brownie and Junior scouts headed to your door peddling their boxes of cookies with promises of summer camps they wish to attend and homeless shelters they wish to help with their profits - stop and think of the poor leader who has to lug all the hundreds of boxes of cookies to her garage and disperse them to the eager little girls and then keep track of the thousands of dollars that flow in daily in dribs and drabs (in single bills and grubby coins, I might add).
Yesterday, my husband watched as I laid out my order forms and receipt packets to prepare my Cookie Selling Packet for my girls. "I guess I'll start parking in the driveway," he said. Yup, I guess he will. His side of the garage will soon be full of cases of Thin Mints and Samoas and my dreams full of bounced checks and Cookie booths on the horizon.
Just another reason why this current book is still in progress...
How do all you fabulous writer moms do it? I haven't written in two months! I think this weekend, I'm going to make it a priority to open a box of Do Si Do's and bang out a chapter...
Have a fabulous weekend - see you on this flip side!
Friday, January 28, 2011
Thursday, December 16, 2010
I guess we just keep plugging away...
So, last year I made a New Years resolution to read more. I already read quite a bit...every night in bed, sitting in the car waiting for the kids to be done practices. Sometimes I've even been known to read while making dinner if it is a really good book. But I wanted to read even more...I wanted to make a serious dent in the never ending shelf of books that I want to delve into. So I set myself a goal of 2 books a month (not alot really...) That's only 24 for the year.
Well, now it is closing in on the end of the year and I realize I haven't even come close. Not only did I not meet my resolution, but I read so far under my goal that I'm a little depressed about it.
But rather than throwing in the towel, I'm going to try again this year. What were your resolutions for 2010? Were you more successful than me?
Well, now it is closing in on the end of the year and I realize I haven't even come close. Not only did I not meet my resolution, but I read so far under my goal that I'm a little depressed about it.
But rather than throwing in the towel, I'm going to try again this year. What were your resolutions for 2010? Were you more successful than me?
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Book Club worthy?
Yippee, Hooray, Yee-haw!
Yes, the kids are back in school! (Well, two out of three anyway...but at least I'm no longer out numbered...)
It's such a relief to be done with all the running around that goes with the approaching school year. School supply shopping must be the most universally despised outing by moms everywhere. We avoid it all summer long which is why we ALL end up at Target and Office Depot on the last week of summer vacation. My school mandated supply list for two kids went something like this: 24 pack crayons, 12 pack colored pencils, 24 pack colored pencils, large white eraser (not pink, mind you), 4 folders in specific colors with NO DESIGNS, 2 folders with designs, 1 pack wide ruled loose leaf, 1 pack college ruled loose leaf ...you get the idea. Add in one crying toddler because it was her third store in one day and she was looking at the McDonald's located INSIDE the other side of the Walmart (who's bright idea was THAT?) and you'll see why I hate school supply shopping. I'd like to say it all works out in the end, but when you get home and begin to load the backpacks, you always find there is something you forgot. For me this year, it was a yellow highlighter for my 6th grader (and yes, it had to be yellow).
But there IS a part of back to school preparations that I do enjoy: the summer reading book report. It is gratifying to see how far the kids have come since the past school year - how much their vocabulary and handwriting have improved since June. But reading over my son's report last week, I had to stop and wonder: As a writer, am I ready to have such detailed and specific questions asked of my work? And more importantly: Would there really be an answer?
Was I really foreshadowing the ending when I had the MC plant a willow tree rather than a birch or an elm? (Couldn't I have just always wanted a willow in my own yard?) Was the fact that the nanny's name was Savannah indicative of the MC's southern roots? (Couldn't I have just liked the name?) And most importantly: Was I, the author, really trying to teach a lesson or universal truth during the course of my novel? How would my novel rate as a "book club" book? And does it even need to be?
Is it possible that authors don't always intend for the literary contraptions that appear in their books or could it possibly just be a manifestation of their underlying talent that these devices arise from their subconscious? What do you think? How would your own work rate as a "book club" book?
Yes, the kids are back in school! (Well, two out of three anyway...but at least I'm no longer out numbered...)
It's such a relief to be done with all the running around that goes with the approaching school year. School supply shopping must be the most universally despised outing by moms everywhere. We avoid it all summer long which is why we ALL end up at Target and Office Depot on the last week of summer vacation. My school mandated supply list for two kids went something like this: 24 pack crayons, 12 pack colored pencils, 24 pack colored pencils, large white eraser (not pink, mind you), 4 folders in specific colors with NO DESIGNS, 2 folders with designs, 1 pack wide ruled loose leaf, 1 pack college ruled loose leaf ...you get the idea. Add in one crying toddler because it was her third store in one day and she was looking at the McDonald's located INSIDE the other side of the Walmart (who's bright idea was THAT?) and you'll see why I hate school supply shopping. I'd like to say it all works out in the end, but when you get home and begin to load the backpacks, you always find there is something you forgot. For me this year, it was a yellow highlighter for my 6th grader (and yes, it had to be yellow).
But there IS a part of back to school preparations that I do enjoy: the summer reading book report. It is gratifying to see how far the kids have come since the past school year - how much their vocabulary and handwriting have improved since June. But reading over my son's report last week, I had to stop and wonder: As a writer, am I ready to have such detailed and specific questions asked of my work? And more importantly: Would there really be an answer?
Was I really foreshadowing the ending when I had the MC plant a willow tree rather than a birch or an elm? (Couldn't I have just always wanted a willow in my own yard?) Was the fact that the nanny's name was Savannah indicative of the MC's southern roots? (Couldn't I have just liked the name?) And most importantly: Was I, the author, really trying to teach a lesson or universal truth during the course of my novel? How would my novel rate as a "book club" book? And does it even need to be?
Is it possible that authors don't always intend for the literary contraptions that appear in their books or could it possibly just be a manifestation of their underlying talent that these devices arise from their subconscious? What do you think? How would your own work rate as a "book club" book?
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
How nice to return from a couple weeks of kid craziness - camps, practices, play dates and of course the obligatory summertime tummy virus for everyone - only to find an award waiting for me! Thanks Catherine!
In keeping with the rules of the award, I must now pass it on to five other blogs of note along with posting their links here. I hope you'll take a minute to check out these thought provoking and inspiring blogs!
1. Brian Keaney at Dreaming In Text
http://odyllicforce.blogspot.com/
2. Julie Musil at her self titled blog
http://juliemusil.blogspot.com/
3. Stu at Stusplace
http://stu-stusplace.blogspot.com/
4. Lydia Kang at The Word Is My Oyster
http://lydiakang.blogspot.com/
5. Jessica Brooks at My Thoughts Exactly
http://coffeelvnmom.blogspot.com/
I hope you'll check them all out and get the same insights and laughs that I do from following each! Happy reading! And as always...check out Catherine's fabulous blog at
http://catherineawinn.blogspot.com/
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Thinking about my WIP...
So I was cruising through all the fabulous blogs I follow and came upon a post at The Writing Room (by Catherine A. Winn) that has had me thinking for days. Her post Working on WIP or Goofing Off truly struck a cord with me - her essential idea being that so long as you are thinking about your project, you are still working on it.
I love that! It explains so much about why I feel unproductive some days simply because I haven't gotten my page quota finished, yet I feel like I've spent the whole day thinking about this character or that scene. It explains how the characters that begin in my head suddenly become friends and house guests that I don't want to leave. If we as writers spend so much time getting to know our characters (while we cook, while we drive errands, while we fall asleep at night...) then of course they become more well rounded, more present to us and then their story simply falls onto the page (okay more or less...) At least that's how I see it.
It seems to take me AGES to finish the first 50 pages of a new book. Painful almost. But then suddenly I'm in too deep and the story just takes over...the characters do what they were meant to do, no matter how much I might disagree or warn against it. They have a mind of their own.
So I'm curious, do you spend alot of time thinking and "living" your characters before putting them on paper? How do you find your stories unfolding? And if you have a moment, take a stroll over to The Writing Room at www.catherineawinn.blogspot.com!
I love that! It explains so much about why I feel unproductive some days simply because I haven't gotten my page quota finished, yet I feel like I've spent the whole day thinking about this character or that scene. It explains how the characters that begin in my head suddenly become friends and house guests that I don't want to leave. If we as writers spend so much time getting to know our characters (while we cook, while we drive errands, while we fall asleep at night...) then of course they become more well rounded, more present to us and then their story simply falls onto the page (okay more or less...) At least that's how I see it.
It seems to take me AGES to finish the first 50 pages of a new book. Painful almost. But then suddenly I'm in too deep and the story just takes over...the characters do what they were meant to do, no matter how much I might disagree or warn against it. They have a mind of their own.
So I'm curious, do you spend alot of time thinking and "living" your characters before putting them on paper? How do you find your stories unfolding? And if you have a moment, take a stroll over to The Writing Room at www.catherineawinn.blogspot.com!
Monday, July 19, 2010
Textbook or Netbook?
I read an article lately that suggested in a few short years, the use of textbooks in classrooms will be a thing of the past. Instead, each child will have their own laptop computer with the textbooks downloaded.
My first thought was how fabulous it would be not to have to cover any more textbooks in September! No more cutting brown shopping bags and fitting it around the book! My second thought was how nice it would be not to see my kids schlepping TONS of heavy books back and forth from school, their backs bending under the weight.
I couldn't really think of any downside unless it be the expense involved...the expense of replacing spilled on, virus ridden and lost laptops. The worry of lost computers left behind at sporting practices and dropped from counter tops in the rush to pack schoolbags.
I wonder if making laptops a necessary item might also make it more difficult to monitor web usage of children. Currently, I ration and monitor the amount of time and which sites my children use. If they are on the Internet for school, who's to say cyberbullying and inappropriate usage won't sky-rocket?
What's your thought? Textbook or netbook?
My first thought was how fabulous it would be not to have to cover any more textbooks in September! No more cutting brown shopping bags and fitting it around the book! My second thought was how nice it would be not to see my kids schlepping TONS of heavy books back and forth from school, their backs bending under the weight.
I couldn't really think of any downside unless it be the expense involved...the expense of replacing spilled on, virus ridden and lost laptops. The worry of lost computers left behind at sporting practices and dropped from counter tops in the rush to pack schoolbags.
I wonder if making laptops a necessary item might also make it more difficult to monitor web usage of children. Currently, I ration and monitor the amount of time and which sites my children use. If they are on the Internet for school, who's to say cyberbullying and inappropriate usage won't sky-rocket?
What's your thought? Textbook or netbook?
Friday, July 9, 2010
Famous Authors?
I've decided that the quickest way to get your book published is to first be famous - then you can write any old thing and they'll slap your photo on the cover and print it. Heck, you'll even get a tour of Good Morning America and The Today show to boot!
Since when did being famous (and by this I mean playing a professional sport, being an "actor" or doing something seriously questionable but acquiring fame via internet) mean that one had a talent for writing?
It seems to me that many publishers are interested solely in making money rather than looking for quality writing and unique ideas and storylines. Didn't there used to be a time when the ART of writing was simply that: an art? Somehow it seems like a "lost art" when I see every actor and athlete putting out books while serious authors who have studied the craft and spent YEARS on it can't even get an agent to request partials.
Or perhaps, I'm just grumpy today...
What's your take?
Since when did being famous (and by this I mean playing a professional sport, being an "actor" or doing something seriously questionable but acquiring fame via internet) mean that one had a talent for writing?
It seems to me that many publishers are interested solely in making money rather than looking for quality writing and unique ideas and storylines. Didn't there used to be a time when the ART of writing was simply that: an art? Somehow it seems like a "lost art" when I see every actor and athlete putting out books while serious authors who have studied the craft and spent YEARS on it can't even get an agent to request partials.
Or perhaps, I'm just grumpy today...
What's your take?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)