Jesse Said Yes

(My First) Teaser Tuesday

2012-02-28T17:16:00.000-08:00

Life has been drinking me through a straw lately. Between work, online workshops, work, and more work, I don't even have time to go to the bathroom. And I mean that literally with all the urinary tract infections I have the pleasure of dealing with. Too much information? Sorry.

Anyway, I shall share a book teaser with you. Teaser Tuesday is hosted by Should Be Reading. You can do this too by:

1. Grab the book you're reading.
2. Open to a random page.
3. Share two teaser sentences.
4. Don't include spoilers.

The book I'm now reading is The Forever Girl by Rebecca Hamilton. Those of you who've been a member of Critique Circle for a long time might remember her from there. Here's the book and my teaser:

"Inky shadows from the oak tree in my front yard cloaked the soothingly dark windows of my colonial-style house from the eyes of prying neighbors, but something stood between me and my haven-a note posted to my front door. Get out now." - ch. 2

I'm about 29% finished with this book, and so far it's deliciously dark and sexy.

Willow Road

2012-02-21T16:37:00.000-08:00

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My horror short story called 'Willow Road' was published on Every Day Fiction. I would love it if you checked it out!

First Page Critique Contest

2012-02-18T00:16:00.000-08:00

Jamie Ayres is hosting a first page critique contest to celebrate Heather Birch's debut novel Halflings. Participants are to post their first 250 words on their blogs, then hop around to everyone else's to read their entries. Jamie will randomly draw five names to receive a critique from Heather. Does that make sense? After a 17 hour work day, that's the best I can do. Anyway, here's my first page from my YA dark fantasy titled The Grave Winner:

Dad, Darby, and I stood rooted in place long after Mom’s funeral. The weight in my chest threatened to suffocate me if I looked at the lid of her gleaming casket any longer. Instead, I focused on the black birds cutting across the sky in a sharp V formation. They pressed on until the clouds took them from me.

A different flutter in the corner of my eye pulled me back to earth. The movement took a few seconds to penetrate my numb brain. It was a girl. She crept in and out of the crumbling headstones, her body thick with mud and grime. Torn scraps of what looked like a prom dress hung from her scrawny frame. Her mouth sagged open like she was about to scream.

A shudder raced across my shoulder blades. I shook my head, afraid I might be dreaming. Darby stood next to me, and I reached out to touch her. She was real. Her ache was real. I felt it in the quiver of her bony body. But beyond her and the heaviness pinching my lungs, I couldn’t be sure of anything.

Inky black footprints tracked behind the dangling hem of the girl’s dress like a trail of burnt breadcrumbs. She stopped beside a tree and leaned her back against it. More darkness pooled at her feet and crept up the trunk behind her.

Sweat trickled down the back of my dress. What was this girl doing? And what was all the black stuff dripping underneath her?

Writing Workshops & Conferences: Are$They$Worth$It?

2012-02-14T17:16:00.000-08:00

Disturbing.

A few weeks ago, I heard about an online writing workshop hosted by YARWA (Young Adult Romance Writers of America). The workshop is titled Writing for the Young Adult Market: Where Do I Begin?

I spend more time than I should surfing the internet about the YA market and writing and publishing, so I wasn't sure this workshop would offer anything new. But, I filed the info away for later, just in case.

Normally I forget everything I file away for later, but not this workshop. I think it was because the instructor, author Jordan Dane, writes YA thrillers. Holy frozen tacos, Batman, I love YA thrillers! If Ms. Dane wrote YA contemporary, I would've immediately forgotten about it. But YA thrillers... yes, my precious!

Hee-hee. Get it?

So, I signed up. It was only $20. It starts February 20th and ends March 2nd. Here's a link to it. I have no idea what to expect or how an online workshop works, but I'm excited! I've never done anything like this before. But there has to be other ways to improve your craft other than reading, reading writing books, and writing all the time, right? Right.

Do you know of any workshops or conferences that are w$o$r$t$h it?

P.S. Happy Valentine's Day!

P.P.S. I liked The River, but I'm not sure I luuuuuurve it yet. Thoughts?

R.I.P., W.I.P.

2012-02-07T17:00:00.000-08:00

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I recently resurrected the first novel I ever wrote. It had been collecting dust on my flash drive. The characters were quiet inside my head compared to the obnoxious ones who want me to tell their stories next. So I picked the story up to get everyone else to hush. It worked, at least for awhile.

Now, the voices inside my head are shouting plot twists at me that have nothing to do with my first novel and everything to do with the ones they want me to write. And I'm starting to listen to them.

Maybe that first novel wasn't meant to be resurrected. Maybe it will always be my first completed novel with crater-sized plot holes, inconsistent characters, and a lack of structural sense. And maybe it's okay to just let it exist in all its imperfect glory on my flash drive. Some writers trunk their first novel forever, right?

There are some hidden gems in it, I think. But maybe those gems are kriptonite and my Super Girl writer skills can't touch them yet. Maybe they'll stay hidden until the day I turn into Super Woman. Then those gems better watch out!

So, at least for now, I'm saying goodbye to Pause so that I can properly listen to the chaos inside my head. Rest in peace, WIP. To my critique partners, I apologize. :(

Does this happen to everyone else? Have you trunked your first novel? Do you ever have so many voices inside your head that you want to reach in there and duct tape everyone's mouth shut?

Deep and Dark and Deadly

2012-01-31T16:42:00.000-08:00

No, this post isn't about my love for alliteration. It's about my obsession with all things scary. Movies. TV shows. Books. My cat during one of his Vietnam flashbacks. I love being scared, which is why I feel all skippy about next Tuesday. That's when The River premieres. This is The River:

Eep! I'm so excited! It's a two hour premiere, so I'm going to kick the BF out of the room to enjoy every single second. (He hates scary things).

Are you going to watch The River? Do you like scary things? What's your favorite scary movie/book?

Why I Write, Part II: Real Life Sucks

2012-01-24T17:00:00.000-08:00

There are times in life when I'm reminded why I like to live inside the world I create on paper. Last week was one of those times. A young woman died of cancer, and while I didn't know this woman, I know her family. The entire community felt the crush of this family's grief. All we could do was weep with them and wonder hopelessly how we could help ease their pain.

This is why I need to escape from reality and be in control of something. In real life, I'm not in control. Not really, anyway. Too many things can happen. Death can happen.

While writing The Grave Winner, I tried to imagine what it would be like to lose my mom since my main character had just lost hers. I didn't want to face that kind of reality, and after awhile I didn't have to since my MC took over for me. But at the beginning when I was trying to find my MC's voice, I wrote what I imagined it would feel like. And it broke my heart.

I kept repeating, "This isn't real. This isn't real" with tears streaming down my cheeks. Thank goodness it wasn't real. But I was in control of my fictional world. The MC's mom's death happened because I willed it to happen.

Real life doesn't work like that, which is why real life sucks. And so does cancer.

P.S. Sorry for the downer post. Next week, I'll puke up rainbows like this guy:

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"Research, Girl, Research."

2012-01-17T17:07:00.000-08:00

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When I got the idea for Pause, my BF said to me, "Research, girl, research." I took that to mean I could sit on the couch, eat a giant bowl of ice cream, and watch tons of James Bond movies. Why? Because Pause has a lot of spy gadgets and spy speak and spy worshipping in it.

I wanted to be in the FBI when I was a kid. Kendra, one of my characters, wants to be in the CIA. Coincidence? Nope.

Kendra developed many of the gadgets in the story herself. I love undercover gadgets. They're neat. Back when I wanted to be in the FBI, my friends made me a bullet proof vest out of maxi-pads. Believe me when I tell you it was not made for stealth, but it was still the coolest thing ever.

Besides getting fat while watching James Bond movies, though, I also scoured the internet. Cool stuff, that internet. Here's some spy related stuff I found:

1. dead drop - secret location where materials can be left for later retrieval. (I actually kind of used this in The Grave Winner, but it was mentioned only briefly).

2. dead telephone - signal or code passed with a telephone without speaking.

3. FINESSE - disguises developed by CIA using Hollywood consultants.

4. microdot - photograph reduction of a secret message that's very small.

5. PLASMA - device used to pick a lock

6. spy dust - a chemical marking compound used to keep tabs on people.

7. window dressing - used in a cover story to help convice the opposition or casual observers that what they are observing is genuine.

8. brush pass - something is passed between a two people quickly and without notice.

So yeah, cool stuff!

What about you? What kind of research have you done for your novels?

863 Words Closer to 'The End'

2012-01-10T17:04:00.000-08:00

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Anyone who's read some of my stories knows that I have a strange fascination with putting numbers in them. I'm not sure why exactly, but numbers have always been interesting to me. When I was younger, my parents would drive places, and I would add or multiply addresses on the houses we passed. So I wrote Willow Road about someone who did just that.

Anyway, while I was enjoying my Christmas vacation, I got in some good writing/editing time. Yay! But you know what I noticed? I wrote 863 words day after day. Not more, not less. 863 again and again. No, not 863 repeated all over the page! I'm not that crazy!

So, what does this mean? Why did I stop at exactly 863 words? Did I spot something shiny? Did my brain explode? Did I have to pee? All of the above? Maybe. Or maybe I just felt in my bones that 863 words was good enough for me.

863 words isn't a lot for a daily word count. Some people can blast out 5,000 or more in a day. I'd love to get over 1,000, but... 863 is pretty close. It's 863 more words than I had the day before. It's 863 words closer to 'The End'. I'm good with that.

What's your daily word count goal? Is it really the end of the world if you don't reach it?

Oops, I Forgot Our Anniversary!

2012-01-03T18:06:00.000-08:00

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Yep, I did. Our anniversary, as in me and this blog. My first post ever was December 10th, 2010. It was about how much fun I was having while editing my WIP. Here's the post: http://jessesaidyes.blogspot.com/2010/12/editing-revising-fixing-im-fixer.html

I was a silly, silly girl back then because editing eventually turned into a hate letter here: http://jessesaidyes.blogspot.com/2011/04/dear-book-im-writing-lovehate-letter.html

So anyway, for a year and some change I've been rambling. Some people stop by and ramble with me. I heart those people.

The post that has been visited the most is the one where I declare my love for my critters: http://jessesaidyes.blogspot.com/2011/03/ode-to-critters.html It's been viewed 97 times!

Critter is the number one search keyword that has brought people to this blog. Everyone loves my critters!

Here's to another year and much more rambling! :)

Can You Pull Your Characters' Pants Up?

2011-12-27T12:02:00.000-08:00

So I'm back from my Christmas trip to visit my brother and his family. My parents flew out, too, and we all had a grand time. It's been a while since I've been in a houseful of little children with adorable dimples, devilish grins, and unexpected (though cute) things falling out of their mouths every minute.

Here's an example of unexpectedness from my youngest nephew: "Windsey, Windsey, Windsey! (even the letter L sounds cute!) Can you pull my pants up?" I just don't hear that everyday. The BF is perfectly capable of pulling up his own pants, and Jesse doesn't wear pants, at least that I know of. He does slip into my closet every once in a while, and I have no idea what he does in there.

This is not my nephew. It's Justin Bieber, whom my niece looooooves. His pants need pulling up, too!

Anyway, pants were pulled up, and later on when I became the nephew-designated sippy cup holder, I thought about character arcs. Yes, I know it's weird, but I can't turn off my writer brain, and said nephew was playing with a brand new Christmas present so quietly, my brain took over.

So there I was holding his sippy cup and thinking about character arcs. My character needs to have one. She needs to come into the story with her pants down (figuratively, of course), and come out of the story with her pants up. There needs to be some sort of change within her, some sort of growth. Now all I have to do is figure out a way to do this.

First, I probably need to show that she's capable of change through memories, dialog, and things that are important to her. Jasmine (that's my MC's name) runs away from her problems because of a tramautic experience in her past. By the end of the story, I need to have her running towards her problems. So far, I've slipped a locket and a poster into the story that are both important because her sister gave them to her. That's about it so far, but I'm hoping that these early clues about these items will help show the reader that her sister is important to Jasmine, which hopefully will help facilitate the change.

Second, an outside force should put pressure on the MC to make/help them change. According to Dynamic Characters by Nancy Kress, "... change is threatening to most people, and they won't do it unless something drives them to it, usually pain or conflict" (201). Those would be all those boulders you throw in the way of your MC to make a good story. After all, a happy character is a boring character, in my humble opinion. Yay for me since I already know what outside forces and boulders I'll be using!

I sure hope I can help Jasmine pull up her pants by the end of the story and make it realistic. The whole bending down thing, grasping the waistband, and pulling up isn't as simple as it sounds.

So how about you? Can you pull your characters' pants up?

The First Line/Page - Bleep the Rules!

2011-12-20T13:59:00.000-08:00

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I've been reading a lot on the Internets lately about the importance of first lines and pages of your novel. If it doesn't pluck reader's/editor's/agent's eyeballs and hammer them into the pages (how's that for an image?), they'll stop reading.

Umm, I've never done that, and I've read some pretty boring first lines/pages. I give the story a chance beyond the first 250 words. Yes, I know I don't read billions of stories a day like some editors and agents do. But I'm not looking for an excuse to stop, either.

Let's examine the first line of my novel The Grave Winner: Dad, Darby, and I stood rooted in place long after Mom’s funeral. I don't think it's eyeball-plucking stuff, but I do think there's emotion hidden away in those twelve words. One reader told me once that I should start with a zip-bang-pow (my words, not hers) kind of line, but I respectfully disagreed. Actually, my main character Leigh disagreed. She whispered in my ear, "I'm at my mom's funeral. Do you really think I'm in a zip-bang-pow kind of mood? The story starts here. This is where you start the story."

I told her to breathe, then I told her I agreed.

Let's move on. The first paragraph reveals what Leigh sees, and tucked away inside those words are what she feels.

In the second paragraph, she sees something else that makes her wonder if she's hallucinating. No, I won't tell you what it is. ; ) Some people had a hard time with this, though. They wanted more of what Leigh was feeling. But did they really? I could have gone on for pages about Leigh's memories of her mom, about how her life will be so much different now. But nothing would be happening. It would all be an information dump flashback. I've read that's a no-no. So I weaved all of these memories in throughout the story.

Other "rules" I've read about first pages are:
1. Start the story with action.
2. Don't start the story with action so the reader can get to know the character.
3. Don't start the story with a line of dialog.
4. Set the scene first.
5. Don't use too much description/internal thoughts.
6. Don't start the story with your MC waking up/looking in the mirror/sitting.
7. Don't start your story in a house, school, graveyard because it's all been done before and it's now cliche.
8. I'm sure there are hundreds more, but I'm out of caffeine.

Did you notice that some of these are contradictory? Can you think of books that break these rules? I sure can. I get that these aren't technically "rules", just guidelines to make your writing stronger. But you know what? Bleep the rules!

Writers need to write what's in their hearts and heads. Writers need to listen to their MCs or risk being punched in the face. (Leigh has a wicked fist, and she isn't afraid to use it.) Don't worry so much about pleasing others and following the "rules".

My mantra in high school was the title of that Biohazard song "F@&* the Rules". It still is. Feel free to disagree with me.

P.S. Merry Christmas, happy Hanukkah, happy December! :)

YA Highway Winter Giveaway

2011-12-12T19:07:00.000-08:00

Ooo, there are lots of great goodies up for grabs at YA Highway's Third Annual Winter Giveaway. Check it out here!

First Book Trash, Second Draft Treasure... Maybe?

2011-12-06T17:02:00.000-08:00

There's a battle in my brain. Story ideas are throwing spitballs, shouting obscenities, and scratching their chins with their middle fingers at each other. It's quite rude.

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But the one that has my attention now is my first novel called Pause. Maybe because it's been sitting quietly in a drawer for so long, acting like an angelic first novel. It's total crap, though, and I can't believe I queried it. Yet underneath the meandering plot, the crybaby main character, and way too much internal dialog, there are some real tense moments and several plot twists. I still like the story.

So, I'm rewriting it.

Does that mean I'm not going to write every other story idea in my head? No. What Gifts She Carried and everything else will still be written.

Does that mean I'll like Pause after I've rewritten it? It kind of depends on my critique partners. If they give me permission to like it, then yes, I'll like it. ;) (I'll post a few chapters to Critique Circle soon).

Wrap It Up With Pretty Ribbon Or Give It To Your Cat

2011-11-29T17:16:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year when I bang my head against the wall and hope to rattle ideas loose for gifts to give everyone. Yay.

But that's not what this post is about. It's about story endings. Lately, most everyone has been dying at the end of all my short stories. Am I being lazy? Is that a cheap way out? Yes and yes. But these stories weren't search-inside-your-soul types, then suddenly a bomb explodes and limbs are piled on top of souls. Eep, sorry about that image. Nope, these stories were dark to begin with, and if readers thought at the beginning that everything was going to be okay, then maybe they've been banging their heads against walls too hard.

I have been known to write a story or six where no one dies. It's crazy, I know! The endings to these are tricky, though, probably because I'm lazy. Am I supposed to make everything pretty like that present up above? Because I suck at making things pretty.

Or can I leave endings looking like my cat got ahold of it? Maybe something like this:

This is Christmas after Jesse took over. See his butt?

This picture doesn't quite capture it, but wrapping paper was everywhere and kids were crying. It was messy. This kind of resembles my current novel's ending (that's how I see it anyway) where everything is all over the place and down is now up. A few loose ends have been tied, but most dangle loose. Is that okay?

I suppose I could detonate a bomb at the very end and kill everyone...

What are your thoughts on endings? Do you wrap everything up nicely? Or does it look like a cat pounced on your ending? Any ideas for gifts for people who already have everything?

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-22T17:23:00.000-08:00

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I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving! Let's be thankful for family, friends, and the food on the table!

Anna Dressed in Blood

2011-11-14T16:37:00.000-08:00

I started writing this book review in my head before I finished reading. It's receiving 5/5 stars, and I knew that about a third of the way through the book. That rarely happens with me because I automatically hate everything. Just kidding.

Summary: Cas kills ghosts. You know those nasty ones who won't leave? Yep, he kills them and sends them... somewhere. He's off to hunt down the ghost called Anna Dressed In Blood. She has a bad habit of delimbing everyone who comes inside her house. After Cas's head gets smashed by a jock with a two by four, he wakes up inside a house. Inside Anna's house. Oh. Crap.

Here's what I liked: 1. Cas. Ms. Blake did an amazing job characterizing him. He had faults and insecurities, had a beautiful relationship with his mother, and was a likable boy. 2. Anna. Her introduction into the story was epic. I won't say anything else for spoiler-type reasons. 3. Ms. Blake - I blazed through this story, but I had to stop every once in a while to reflect on the writing. I had to read many sentences again and again because Ms. Blake puts descriptions and reactions in ways I've not seen before. The writing was crisp and refreshing and so like a Diet Coke at 1:30 in the afternoon.

Here's what I didn't like: (cue the crickets chirping because I got nothing)

My rating: 5/5

Will I read the sequel: Yes! When does it come out?!

Do I recommend it? If you can handle YA horror, gore, and some naughty words, then yes!

Together Forever

2011-11-10T16:14:00.000-08:00

My women's fiction/horror short story was released today by The Red Asylum! Check it out here and click on current issue at the top. It's a pdf, so it may take a bit to load. I hope you like it!

Writing With Strut Music

2011-11-07T16:53:00.000-08:00

Raise your hands if you listen to music while you write. What kind of music? Do any of you draw inspiration from music that you later put into your writing?

I can't listen to music while I write. If Jesse is snoring, it distracts me. Mostly because it's so cute, but also because it's noise. I do draw inspiration from music, though. Scenes form in my head that are completely unrelated to the song's lyrics, and before I know it, another story idea is brewing.

Speaking of music, do any of you wish you had your own theme song that plays whenever you walk into a room? Or is that just me? Because here's what I want mine to be: (Warning: talk of dead people and bad words, then the music starts):

Now that's a song you can strut to! Or draw inspiration from for select characters/scenes. I'm going to go strut around my house while I listen to this song...

I Have More Tabs!

2011-11-01T17:31:00.000-07:00

Check it out! I have three tabs now. Now if someone could just tell me how to make my name bigger... :) Ooo, with pretty lights around it, too!

My Main Character's Dad

2011-10-25T19:16:00.000-07:00

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Recently, I caught up with Mr. Baxton, my MC's dad. I cornered him outside his accounting office when he was leaving for home. Leigh, my MC, knows nothing about this interview. I beg you not to tell her or she'll never tell me her stories again.

Here's a transcript of our actual conversation:

Me: Mr. Baxton, I, uh... work with your daughter at school. Do you have a minute?
Him: (frowns) Is something wrong?
Me: No, I just want you to know that I adore Leigh.
Him: (smiles) That makes two of us. We always talked about... (the smile slips off his face)
Me: About what?
Him: (clears throat) My wife and I, we... always talked about how we should have named her Moxie.
Me: (nods) How are things going at home?
Him: We're not actually at home. We're in a hotel because our yard turned into a black nightmare.
Me: I know.
Him: Our yard is just like the Hendersons', only none of us are back from the dead. How does something like that happen? Sarah coming back. Our yards. All of it. It's like something out of a book, not real life.
Me: Have you seen Sarah?
Him: No, but I've heard enough about her around town since no one can stop talking about it. I have seen her parents, and they're... confused and grateful and... I can't even think what this must be like for them.
Me: (pauses) Do you believe in magic, Mr. Baxton?
Him: I don't know. I was raised to believe in the practical and the predictable. I'm an accountant, after all. But my grandfather, he believed in magic, which is why I hardly ever saw him when I was younger. My parents didn't want him around me, I guess.
Me: But a part of you still believes in magic?
Him: My grandfather left me some of his things when he died. Some of it seems to work, but the rest of it...
Me: Please don't use that book, Mr. Baxton, or anything related to dark magic.
Him: (looks at me sharply) How do you know about that? Did Leigh tell you?
Me: (takes a step back) She's told me some things. I need to go.
Him: What did any of this conversation have to do with Leigh? What did you say your name was again?
Me: I need to go.

My comment about the book completely slipped out. Leigh said it was called Resurrection: Dark Magic to Bring Back the Ones You Love. I remember her horror when she discovered that book, and I honestly hope her dad never decides to use it...

P.S. The picture is of Aaron Eckhart, the guy who plays Two Face in The Dark Knight. He's about how I imagined Ken Baxton to look.

P.P.S. Thanks, Joe! That was fun!

The BF Says Writing is Work - Let's Ponder This

2011-10-17T17:03:00.000-07:00

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dictionary.com (yes, I'm too lazy to open a real dictionary) defines work as "exertion or effort directed to produce or accomplish something; labor; toil." That sounds about right. But just yesterday, my BF said, "All you do is work, work, work on the weekends."

I was about to come back with a snarky retort, but took a pause instead. I'd just told him I'd finished a short story, a snippet of another, and sent off more query letters, and he was calling that work? The query letter part? Yes. Definitely. But the writing part?

Huh?

That's not work, at least to me. Sure, it's hard. Sometimes you want all your characters to become zombies just so you can shoot them in the head because they're not listening to you. Sometimes the plot makes absolutely no sense (chime in here, first draft TGW critters). Sometimes you wonder if you're wasting your time, when you could be, oh, I don't know, cleaning the pigsty you now live in.

Yep, it's hard. And yep, you're exerting yourself and you're eventually going to accomplish that final draft. But, at least in my mind, work is something you have to do. Writing is something I want to do. It's my escape. Writing has become such a huge part of my life, I honestly think I would completely lose it if I stopped. I get quite antsy if I haven't written anything in a while. Antsy, as in grumpy, as in don't come near me, BF. ;)

Did I explain all this to the BF? No. He wouldn't understand. He's not a writer. Instead, I distracted him with talk of BLT sandwiches. AND GUESS WHAT WE HAD FOR DINNER?!

So, what do you think? Is writing work? Please help me ponder this.

P.S. I went to the Lynyrd Skynyrd and ZZ Top concert this weekend. It was pretty cool. Foo Fighters epic, it was not. It was still a lot of fun.

P.P.S (or is it P.S.S.?) The picture has little to do with this post, but gosh it's cute.

One Times One Is One

2011-10-14T14:54:00.000-07:00

My flash fiction story is out today at www.weirdyear.com. Warning - it's weird, but it's only around 420 words!

Rats Saw the Foo Fighters

2011-10-12T17:15:00.000-07:00

Denver, Colorado. October 9, 2011. I sit in a not-too-crappy seat, my eyes glued to the stage. Mariachi el Bronx plays first. They're not bad. It's a mix of punk and mariachi. Strange combination, but they're talented, and it works. They even play an accordian!

After their set, my feet can't stop tapping. Not to the beat of Mariachi el Bronx's songs as they run through my head. They tap just because.

The next band, Cage the Elephant, takes the stage. The lead singer staggers out, probably drunk. He pretends he's a fish and dances like that while he wails. I want to slap him with a dead fish because that dance is not cool. The guitar relies too much on distortion. They remind me of Nirvana, and not in a good way. During the last song, the lead singer tries to jump on the guitarist's head. Guitar Dude throws down his guitar in disgust and stomps off the stage. I don't know if it's all for real or for fake.

I have to pee. I run to the bathroom and back again before the roadies have cleared the stage. Then my feet double their tapping rhythm. Streams of people rush to their seats. Thousands and thousands of them. Their excited chatter swells to cheers when the lights dim.

But nothing happens.

The chatter starts back up again. I grip the arms of my seat and shake them, like I'm trying to propel the seat, the concert, everything forward.

The lights dim again. The crowd erupts. I pound my fist on my BF's leg. He winces.

A guttural riff of a guitar fills the arena. Red and white strobe lights flash across the stage.

Then this happens:

I can't move. I'm more than a little star-struck. Everyone must feel the same way because they're all pulsing and cheering. That kind of excitement in the air can only be compared to Harry Potter book release parties, at least for me. But I can't cheer along with the throng of people, because I still can't move. Except my feet. They're tapping away, in time with all my favorite songs.

Best. Concert. Ever. Even if I couldn't move. Much.

So now I'm deeply in love with everything Foo Fighters, especially Mr. Dave Grohl. That guy is so talented, and I've always had a thing for boys in bands. In fact, my BF is a wicked drummer. When I met him, he was in a punk band. And now you know why he's my BF. He's okay with my Foo Fighters/Dave Grohl obsession. He's the one who bought a Foo Fighters CD today. :)

Here's the Foo Fighters' opening song. If you could see me in this video, I would be the one not moving.

P.S. - The title of this post refers to the book called Rats Saw God by Rob Thomas. Rats, as in there were tons of us there, and the Foo Fighters, the gods of rock. Don't you feel uber-enlightened now? ;)

3.5 Points for Divergent!

2011-10-03T16:22:00.000-07:00

I finished Divergent by Veronica Roth a few weeks ago, but it has taken me a while to think about how I felt about it. It's a YA dystopian novel that has received much buzz on the Internets. I was naturally stoked since I love all things dystopia. Make of that what you will.

Anyway, here's the summary: Sixteen-year-old Tris must choose one of five factions (Candor, Abnegation, Dauntless, Amity, Erudite) to devote her life to. She's grown up in the Abnegation faction, but will she stay?

No, I won't tell you.

Here's what I liked: The writing - Ms. Roth's words were crystal clear and detailed when they needed to be. Also Tris, her selflessness, and the wicked hot romance between her and Four. Yes, that's the dude's name, and no, I won't tell you why.

Here's what I didn't like: throughout much of the book, I'm pretty sure I had this expression on my face:

Why is society divided into these five factions? Why these five? Why must sixteen-year-olds decide which faction they will devote their lives to? Why? Why? Why? Nothing was explained. I get why Hogwarts students were sorted into different houses in Harry Potter. So they'd have a section of the school to sleep in, right? Also, so the teachers could say, "Ten points to Gryffindor!" But the factions? Nope, I don't get it. Usually I'm okay with unexplanations, but this was a major plot point. Maybe things will be explained in the sequel? Maybe?

Some of the twists in this book came out of nowhere. Foreshadowing is an author's friend, but maybe foreshadowing and Ms. Roth got into a fight.

My rating: 3.5/5

Will I read the sequels? Hmm... I don't know yet.

Do I recommend it? I would recommend it to die-hard fans of The Hunger Games, but I would warn them that it is not The Hunger Games. Part of the reason I picked this one up was because of the comparisons everyone made and that people raved on and on about it. Maybe I'm missing something, or maybe I loved THG so much that everything else is meh.

Animal Scene Contest Finalist

2011-09-26T16:58:00.000-07:00

The lovely and talented Mysti Parker hosted an animal scene contest a while back, and I'm a finalist! Go here to read the entries and vote for your favorite. Don't forget to leave a comment for the chance to win one of five books!

Bingo Is Not A Four Letter Word

2011-09-19T17:10:00.000-07:00

Say what? Let me explain. No, there is too much. Let me sum up. I used to have a t-shirt in high school that read Bingo Is Not A Four Letter Word. People would read it, look at me, read it again, and go, "huh?" I would give one of two explanations, depending on how blank their stare was:
1. "Well, Bingo really isn't a four letter word" or
2. "You shouldn't be ashamed if you play Bingo."

But what if someone has read one of your stories and gives you a blank stare/doesn't get it? That could be a problem. Could be. Ask yourself these questions before you freak out:
1. Are they really literate?
2. If yes, do they read fiction?
3. If yes, do they read your genre?

If you answered yes to all three questions, don't freak out yet! See what other readers think to see if they all say the same thing. If they all look at you with blank stares/don't get it, one of two things has happened:
1. IT'S THE ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE! IT'S TIME TO FREAK OUT!

or 2. You need to do some serious rewriting/clarifying. You're allowed to freak out a little, but soon your story will be fixed and you can go back to playing Bingo.

P.S. Last week, I really wanted to wear this t-shirt because it fit my state of mind:

YA Confidential Contest

2011-09-18T11:54:00.000-07:00

If you read or write YA, you should definitely check this contest out. YA Confidential is giving away lots of ARCs, a query critique by agent Sarah LaPolla, and a five page critique by agent Vickie Motter. Go here to enter.

I Have Tabs

2011-09-12T17:25:00.000-07:00

Uh, actually just one tab. The Author Page tab up above. See it? You should totally click on it. That is all.

10 Things To Do While You're Querying

2011-09-05T14:56:00.000-07:00

Rather than check your email every five minutes waiting for responses to queries, why not check it every six minutes and eighteen seconds? During that six minutes and eighteen seconds, here are some things you can do:

1. Twirl around in your swivel chair.
2. Figure out how to make other pages on your blog. (Honestly though, does anyone know how to do this? Can you pretty please tell me?)
3. Clean out your refrigerator. Better yet, come clean out my refrigerator. :) I'm pretty sure the yogurt I have in there has furry socks to warm its little yogurt feet.
4. Write something.
5. Plot something. There's a new story idea foaming in my brain right now that refuses to stop bubbling. Eww! The foam just squirted out my ears!
6. Resist the urge to share with the online world how many queries, rejections, fulls, and partials you have out. It's hard, but it makes you look more professional.
7. Develop a secret code that no prospective agent can crack and post it on your blog so you can share how many queries, rejections, fulls, and partials you have out. I'm still working on this one.
8. Teach your cat how to walk on a leash. Yes, the BF and I are really doing this. Either Jesse has crossed the line to kitty sainthood or it really is working!

These cats are not Jesse, but you get the idea.

9. Get really busy at work. Can you say homecoming?!
10. Read a book. Analyze plot, character, wording, etc, but don't compare it to your own book because you might cry.

Once you have accomplished all or part of any of these ten things, run to your computer and check your email!

The Hunger Games, ZZ Top, and the Prize Patrol

2011-08-30T17:05:00.000-07:00

My brain is incapable of coming up with anything to chype about. Except The Hunger Games. I could chype all day about that. But I won't because I'm hungry. Here's the teaser trailer:

Watch it. Memorize it. Listen to Rue's whistle at the very end. I. Can. Not. Wait. For. This. Movie.

In other news, I'm suddenly a rockin' kind of girl who likes to rock out at rock concerts. The weekend after I see the Foo Fighters, ZZTop and Lynyrd Skynyrd are coming to town. The BF and I bought tickets. I'm already planning my outfits because I'm a girly-girl.

What else is happening? Well, when I was little I wanted to work for Publisher's Clearing House Prize Patrol. You know, those people who knock on doors with balloons and confetti and say "You've just won a million dollars!" My job as a librarian is pretty much the same kind of thing. I hand out prizes, candy, free-trip-to-the-state-fair information all day long. I'm the school's prize patrol. No wonder I'm so tired.

Critique Contest

2011-08-26T16:13:00.000-07:00

YA author Gennifer Albin is holding a critique contest at her blog. Check it out here.

The 1st Amendment Says I Can Start Sentences With And, Or, & But

2011-08-23T17:31:00.000-07:00

Remember back in whatever grade that was when your teacher told you to never start a sentence with a conjunction? I kind of remember it. But I never understood that rule. Why can't I start a sentence with a conjunction? Who decided it was bad? We do it all the time when we're speaking. For example:

"Let's have homemade pizza tonight," the BF says.
I shake my head. "But it's too hot to have the oven on."
"Or we could have sandwiches."
"And ice cream?" Hope shoots me up to my tip-toes.
The BF shrugs. "Ice cream sandwiches it is."

See? If I can start sentences with conjunctions, you can do it. I give you my permission. 'Tis a silly rule.

P.S. Yay! Ice cream sandwiches for dinner!

Something I'm Looking Forward To

2011-08-17T16:48:00.000-07:00

In the midst of getting ready for school, pounding my head against the desk to get inspiration for bulletin board ideas, going to meetings, pounding my head against the school's ancient computers, and going to even more meetings, I did something fun. Like holy moly fun.

The BF and I bought tickets to go to the Foo Fighters concert!!!!

I'm so in love with the Foo Fighters, I would marry Dave Grohl. (Sorry BF, but are you really surprised?) I can't wait. I can't wait. I can't wait. Oh, sorry. Too much head-pounding and my brain goes wonky. Go figure.

Here's a video of a Foo Fighters song that is always playing in the back of my wonky brain:

This has nothing to do with writing because my brain... well, you know. :)

Dialogue Contest Finalist

2011-08-09T15:45:00.000-07:00

Yay! I'm a finalist in Mysti's Dialogue Contest! I'd love it if you would all visit the link, read the entries, and vote for your favorite. You don't even have to vote for me if you don't want to!

Book Pusher Un-Anonymous

2011-08-08T17:05:00.000-07:00

http://www.cafepress.com/+book-pusher+ornaments

School starts very soon. I officially go back on Wednesday. Bye bye summer vacation. But I think I'm ready for it to be over. I'm finished editing The Grave Winner, though I'm still waiting for one last beta read. My query letter and synopsis are ready. I've written a few short stories this summer. It's been a productive few months.

Last week, I started putting together my massive beginning-of-the-year book order so the kiddos will have new shiny books to read when they start school. It's done. Now I'm all excited to get these new books ready for the library and do my job as a book pusher.

Here's a normal day:

A kid walks in the door, and I usually say, "Hey. You. I got this book here with your name all over it. You know you have to have it. You better take it or else."

He smiles and reaches for the book. "Or else what?"

"Bad horrible things." I type in their check out number because I have them all memorized (almost). "And your cooties are all over it now, so you have to check it out. HA!"

"Whatever, Miss Loucks," the kid says. Then he rushes out with a huge smile plastered to his face.

It happens again and again, day after day. I feed young brains with books, and they keep coming back for more! I'm a book pusher.

Summer Writing Contest

2011-08-05T16:37:00.000-07:00

Today must be the day for contests! Rachel McClellan over at Blackbird in My Window is hosting a first 500 words contest with agent Lauren Ruth. Lauren's interests cover a wide range, so it's not just MG or YA. Check out the details here. Good luck to those who enter!

Micro Synopsis Contest

2011-08-05T11:11:00.000-07:00

YAtopia is having a Micro Synopsis Contest with agent and author John Cusick. If you have a completed YA or MG manuscript, check the contest out here!

The Knife of Never Letting Go

2011-08-01T12:26:00.000-07:00

I've never done a book review on my blog before. I don't know why. There's tons of great books I could review, but the one I'll do today made me really want to chat about it right after I finished reading it. By chat about, I mean chype about (see previous post). So here I go with my chyping review.

The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness is YA SciFi. Todd Hewitt lives on a planet where all the women are dead, and all the men and animals can hear each other's thoughts. This is called Noise, because as you can imagine, men's and animal's thoughts are pretty loud sometimes. One day, Todd and his faithful dog Manchee take a stroll to get some food, and he hears a break in the Noise. All hell breaks loose, and soon Todd and Manchee are running for their lives.

Sorry, that's all I can give away.

Here's what I liked: Todd and Manchee - their conversations with each other were laugh out loud funny. Todd - an extremely likable character. The villains - they were so deliciously evil. The plot - not like anything I've ever read before. When I read the summary of this book, I thought Oh great, another book with telepathic characters. But, I'd never read one where everyone, including animals, was telepathic.

Here's what I didn't like: The story kind of plods along until about the end of chapter three, then quite suddenly picks up. There were a few more instances where the pace could have been sped along. Todd learns things at the beginning that he won't share with the reader, which drove me crazy. The book was written in first person which is supposed to allow the reader into every nook and cranny in the MC's brain. I felt left out. :(

My rating: 4.5/5
It's been awhile since I've read a book that I needed to chat/chype about. If a book can crawl under my skin enough to make me want to do that, then yay. I think part of the reason why I needed to say something about it was because it was an emotional roller coaster to read. One minute I was laughing, the next I was sobbing my eyes out and had to stop reading. It's good stuff if a book can make you do that.

Will I read the sequels? Yes. Even if the book didn't end with a cliffhanger, I'm so invested in the story now, I kind of have to. That's saying something, too. I've started several series where the first book was just meh, so I didn't continue.

Do I recommend it? Yes. :)

eBook Contest

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

Author Katie Salidas is giving away all four of her ebooks to one lucky winner. She writes vampire novels, and who doesn't like vampire novels?! Enter here.

Click, Clack, Moo: Sound Words That Chype

2011-07-25T14:43:00.000-07:00

Chype, you ask? I'll explain. The BF made up that word. It's the sound of typing and chatting at the same time. I chype quite often while I'm typing a story/email/a bunch of random letters for no reason and tell him all about something that seems important but probably isn't at the same time. I'm chyping. I'm an extreme multi-tasker.

So anyway, you know that children's book called Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin? It's an adorable book with a lot of sound words in it. I love sound words. I use them often in my writing. They're good for characterization, like if someone has a pink tafetta dress on, and they swish every time they move. All the swishing drives the main character crazy, then before you know it, pink tafetta dress girl is dead. No more swishing. This does not happen in Click, Clack, Moo, by the way.

Sound words can also add tension. If the main character hears a strange sound, like a rustling in the dark garage for example, all sorts of creepy things will run through the reader's head of what it could be. I love that!

Yep, I like sound words. Tap, whisper, clank, jangle. Moan, hiss, rustle, sigh. Even swish. What are some of your favorite sound words?

Pitch Contest

2011-07-24T13:26:00.000-07:00

There's a two sentence pitch contest going on at Chanelle Gray's blog. Check it out here. Whoever wins gets a manuscript read and critique by agent Victoria Marini!

Win a Free Edit!

2011-07-15T13:40:00.000-07:00

Editor and writer Cassandra Marshall is giving away a free edit to one lucky winner. Enter here.

Gearing Up For Vacation #2

2011-07-11T19:49:00.000-07:00

After four email robot rejections, I finally was able to submit my first 250 words in the contest. Email robots are picky, even more than all my English teachers combined. Only twenty-five people can enter through the time window - I was number twenty-five. The robot told me so. There was a second window later in the day, but my internet connection crapped out on me, and I wouldn't have been able to enter. So it was close. Too close. I feel a story brewing with email robots and time windows and cutting things close... Hmm. I'll file that away for later.

In other news, I've started writing the sequel to The Grave Winner, which is titled What Gifts She Carried. It would be an understatement to say I was excited. I have to know what happens to these characters because even darker, more horrible things will drop in their paths. (I'm giving the computer an evil squint as I type this).

And, oh yeah, I'm going on another vacation! I leave Thursday to visit my parents in Liberty Lake, Washington, a small but super cute town outside of Spokane. I haven't seen my parents in almost a year, which is way too long. Last time I visited, they put real estate brochures all over their house in their not-so-subtle attempt to get me to move out there. I'd go if I could bring my job with me...

So, I'll be MIA for awhile, but don't worry. The BF and I put this video together of cute pictures of Jesse. If you watch it enough times, you'll be so smitten with His Majesty's cuteness, you won't even miss me. The music comes from the soundtrack to the TV show Cowboy Bebop. The second song is meant to be sleepy-sounding, not sad. Even though Jesse just knocked over the trash can and used coffee grounds flew all over the carpet, he's not dead.

I'm Terrified, So I Guess That Means I'm Finished

2011-07-05T16:52:00.000-07:00

Fourteen months ago, I started my novel The Grave Winner. Today I finished it. I've edited it like a crazy lady, um, I mean a sane writer. I've read and reread every critique I've ever received on it. I thought about critters' concerns and questions. I've added, deleted, rewrote, and rewrote again. And it's finally done.

The story has changed a lot since I first spewed it across my notebook. The reason Leigh was chosen is much different now, but I don't think I'll repost anything to Critique Circle because the changes are so minor in individual chapters. But then on a grander scale, it is very different from drafts one and two.

I've planted seeds I'm excited to work with in the sequels. Some of them are brand new too, so I won't say anything more about them.

So, yeah, it's done, and I'm terrified. Now the real work begins. I'll tell you my plan: I'll enter the first 250 words into a contest next week. Those first 250 words are winners, if I do say so myself, and I've won other contests with those same words. If I win, an agent will read my book. No promises - just a read and critique. If I don't win or if the agent tells me I suck, I'll take a ride on the query highway for awhile. When I get impatient with that, I'll look at small publishing companies. When that gets old, I'll enter Amazon's Breakthrough Novel Contest. If I lose that, I'll self-publish. So if any of these first roads lead to doom, this story will be published somehow. I'm too in love with it to let it sit on my computer forever.

In the meantime, I'll plot the sequels and write at least the first chapter of another novel that's knocking around in my head and won't leave me alone. Writing will be therapy for my terror. That and chocolate.

Pack Up the Dead Body and Take It To New York City!

2011-06-27T16:54:00.000-07:00

Hee-hee. This is just a bit of vacation humor. I recently took a trip to NYC, and on the beautifully wooded drive to tour West Point, I made the I'm-just-joking remark, "This would be a good place to dump a dead body." Open mouth. Insert shoe. Someday I'll learn that not all my thoughts need to be spoken aloud. That was my writerly brain working, as it always does, and I was thinking those deep woods would be a good place to dump a dead body fictionally. Not for real, yo.

Thankfully the people who were with me were able to laugh. Then they told me about the Harlem Suitcase Murder. Who needs a wooded area to dump a dead body when you can just stuff them in a suitcase?

More about stuffing things in suitcases later. Here's a picture of West Point:

Pretttttty.

And since this is kind of a murderous post, here's a picture of Napoleon's guns and swords at West Point:

And to show you that I'm not all murdery, here's a picture of the Peace Fountain:

Now back to stuffing things in suitcases. If your MC was going on a trip, what would they take with them? What would they pack it all in? This might be a good way to get to know your characters. My MC Leigh would pack her Ipod, Grrrl t-shirt, black eyeliner, leather studded wristbands her mom gave her, the family photo that still has a little bit of dirt on it, and some spare band-aids in case she gets bitten by a spider again. She'd throw it all in her backpack, then she'd be ready to go. No dead bodies - not for this MC.

Your turn!

Gearing Up for Vacation #1

2011-06-13T17:43:00.000-07:00

My brain is a bit scattered because Vacation #1 is right around the corner. So I will leave you for a couple weeks with the following video of Special Agent Jesse on an important mission:

Synesthesia: Hurray! It's Not A Disease!

2011-06-07T16:46:00.000-07:00

It's that time again when I tell you to go out and buy the book Word Painting: A Guide To Write More Descriptively by Rebecca McClanahan. If you haven't bought it yet, shame on you. If you have, don't you just love it???

In her book, Rebecca discusses synesthesia, something I'd never heard of. It's when you describe an object, person, or place by using one sense to suggest another. For example, what color is silence? What is the shape of grandma's laughter? What does fear smell like?

I recently read a book where I thought synesthesia was successfully used. In Invincible Summer by Hannah Moskowitz, the main character has his first, um, "encounter" with a girl. The main character says his world turned purple during that particular moment. Did his world actually turn purple? Nope. But to him, that's what color pleasure is.

Have any of you used synesthesia in your own writing? Have you seen it successfully used in other people's writing?

YA Highway Two Year Anniversary

2011-05-31T09:52:00.000-07:00

The blog YA Highway is giving away lots of books to celebrate their two year anniversary here. Check it out!

Rotten Apples in the Desk: I Smell Something Icky

2011-05-30T13:44:00.000-07:00

German poet Friedrich Schiller kept rotten apples in his desk in hopes that the stench would trigger imagery while he wrote. Umm, ewww. I'm not sure that would work for me, but it worked for him, so there you go. He might have been onto something, though. Memories are hidden in our sense of smell. A certain men's cologne makes me want to gag because of the boy I used to know who wore it. My BF's normal everyday smell intoxicates me and makes me remember why I love him. Aw, shucks. I got a little mushy there.

Anyway, smell is one of those things that can make your characters come to life. Everyone smells like something, whether it be stinky feet, cinnamony, like dirt if they've been working in the garden, or like something curled up and died in their mouths. Yuck. Go ahead and sniff yourself right now. I give you permission. I smell like Dove soap and barbecue, just so you know.

Unrelated to smell, but just as important to make your characters come to life, are the sounds associated with them and how they feel to touch. Do their corduroy jeans swish together when they walk? Do their heals click-clack on the pavement? Is their skin ear lobe soft all over? Or do they feel gritty and slimy with dirt and sweat? If it's the latter, it may be time for a shower. Just sayin'.

This post is meant to help sales of the awesome book Word Painting: A Guide to Write More Descriptively by Rebecca McClanahan. She breaks description writing down, big time. You should go buy this book. So, yeah, all of this rambling is thanks to Rebecca. Thanks Rebecca!

In other news, I might be doing final edits on The Grave Winner. I think it's almost there. I think. I'm not doing Tram's pov in it because I like Leigh too much and it would be too confusing anyway. I figured out a way to make it all tie together with little rewriting. Yay!

Also, Happy Memorial Day! Take a second to remember today's not about an extra day off, beer, and barbecues. : )

Oh, and one more thing! I've been having trouble posting on people's blogs lately, so if it feels like I've vanished, blame Blogger!

YA/MG Critique Contest

2011-05-27T10:27:00.000-07:00

Author Kari Townsend is offering a critique of the first five pages of a YA/MG for the winner of this contest.

Eye Against I

2011-05-23T18:03:00.000-07:00

In today's fast-paced world, it's hard to actually notice our surroundings. For writers, that just won't do. To draw your readers in so much that they're matching their breaths to your main character's is exactly what you need to achieve. One way to do that is to paint a clear picture that will grab the reader by the eyelids and fasten them to the pages. Ouch, yes, but it's true.

In the book Word Painting: A Guide To Write More Descriptively, Rebecca McLanahan discusses ways to notice your surroundings to effectively paint your stories.

The Gliding Eye - Artist Claude Monet converted a boat into his floating studio. He did this to capture shadows and reflections, or movement. Sometimes to truly see things, we need to get moving. Endorphins power up our brains and help clear them, which is exactly what we need to slow down and see what 's happening around us.

The Dream Eye - Why is it when we have a vivid dream, we jump to our dream encyclopedias or Google to see what that vampire's-face-turned-twisty-playground-slide really means? Why can't we just savor the visual weirdness, feelings, and dialog? Our dreams reveal imagination. Look at them, remember them, but there's no need to analyze them.

The Naked Eye - One of the many exercises in Word Painting is to study one object for a full ten minutes. Don't let your mind wander. Pick the object up, smell it, taste it, memorize it. Then describe it. Here's mine: A thousand tiny scratches blemish the yellow mixing bowl, inside and out, marking each assault of the egg beater, my crappy dishwasher, and time. Despite its rough handling, no chips or cracks have deformed it. The inside is glossy white and slippery enough to glide off your head should you wear it as a hat. It's much too heavy to wear comfortably, though. A vague scent of Lemi-Shine, and now shampoo, brushes my nose. I lick the bowl, willing it to taste like brownie batter. But it tastes cold and glassy, not like brownie batter. :)

So yeah, this book rocked. My next few posts will be devoted to it's awesomeness. Go forth and buy it here.

Rejected and Worst Email of 2000

2011-05-16T17:39:00.000-07:00

Rejection is a sharp blade through the heart, digging and stinging. It hurts. I droop. I drag. I look like this:

After a deep breath, I yank the blade out and fling it away. I pick up my bottom lip. After all, it's not the first time I've been rejected, and it won't be the last. My latest short story "Together Forever" was rejected by an online magazine, so I sent it elsewhere. As writers, as humans, does anyone ever get used to rejection?

And now, for the moment you've all been waiting for. The number one worst email of 2000 is (dundundundudndundundundudndudndudnd *that's a drum roll*):

Situation: A systems analyst created more problems when he wrote this e-mail to explain a problem.
E-mail:Will the unti cost in momsat that has change now since you have fix it—will it update THE AIM ICS STD COST TO-NIGHT Because I will need to send mass ICS act again because some Std(wrong) went to Vista—

Sandy also says that last yr he did not key ing sytle no that they were their with the cost and he just changed the cost What on lstovr

(taken from Worst e-mail contest winners. (2000, January 25). TechRepublic.)

Here's my analysis: someone known as 'The Aim' has an STD that will cost them something serious to-night!!! Better get that checked out, 'The Aim'.

Best Online Fiction of the Week

2011-05-13T15:16:00.000-07:00

My short story Alpha Female Office Wolf was named one of the best online fiction stories of the week by Full-Stop.net. You can see their review of it here. They spelled my name wrong, but I can live with that. I appreciate the review and making the list!

Number 2

2011-05-10T19:51:00.000-07:00

It's the last two weeks of school. So, all I'm capable of doing is copying and pasting something from an old college assignment onto my blog. Sorry. I'll be less brain dead never.

Here's number 2 in the Worst E-mail of 2000 Contest: (taken from Worst e-mail contest winners. (2000, January 25). TechRepublic).

Situation:A salesman didn’t impress a potential customer when he pitched his product with this e-mail.
E-mail:Dear Mr.Jones,

Looking for a siample and easy installation device you don't have to apply another telephone line but all staff in your office could connect Internet, buy another printer server, or buy another fax sever? Looking for the CD-R's? Look no further. Right here. We are pleased to inform you that we can provide you these products exactly what you need.

It's a bunch of started, but not finished, thoughts. *sigh* I can so relate... Ten more days.

My First Published Short Story and Number Three In the Worst Email Contest

2011-05-02T17:16:00.000-07:00

Work Literary Magazine published my short story Alpha Female Office Wolf! I'm so excited! You can click on the title if you'd like to read it.

and

I just might be the only person who finds these horrible emails funny, but here is the number three worst email of 2000. Taken from: Worst e-mail contest winners. (2000, January 25). TechRepublic.

Situation: A customer who complained about software received this reply from the company’s “CustomerCare” department.

E-mail:
Dear <professional>,
What probleme you refering to? We no problem have with window 98 or toher system. We do not have any problemsrunning <Software product> on these operating system. None of our customer have such problem. What you talking about?

Thank You, “<company> CustomerCare"

Wow. That's customer care? We big problem have with customer care. What you talking about?

Number 4 in the Worst Email Contest...

2011-04-25T17:56:00.000-07:00

...in the year 2000. Old, but still funny. Taken from: Worst e-mail contest winners. (2000, January 25). TechRepublic.

Here it is:

Situation:
A student sent this e-mail to his computer instructor. Should the teacher deduct points from his next exam?

E-mail:
i am ussualy home before classes in the morning-before 9 on wed. and thursday.. and b4 1200on monday..of b4 2on tuesday.and friday

my major is microsoft networking i expect to learn how to better maintain a PC within a home and network inviorment..

Umm, huh? Maybe while this person is learning how to better maintain a PC, he/she can also learn some keyboarding and spelling skills.

Would you look at that? Suddenly the font size is growing, and I'm pretty sure I didn't accidentally push something. Pretty sure... Okay, now I'm laughing at myself rather than the Number 4 in the Worst Email Contest.

How Teh Jumped Inside My Keyborad and Ruined My Spelling Forever

2011-04-18T17:28:00.000-07:00

Teh. It's not a word but it should be. I've seen it all around the internets. At first, I had no idea what it meant. Then, when I read it in context, I realized it's 'the.' Now when I type 'the', 88% of the time, I will type 'teh.' And it makes me angry. At myself and at people who don't proofread.

So to make myself feel better, I'm posting the number five in the Worst Email Contest of 2000. Why 2000? Why not 2010 or 2011? Because I only have teh (dang it!) tttthhhheee results from 2000. Here it is, number five:

Situation: A systems analyst created more problems when he wrote this e-mail to explain a problem.

E-mail: Will the unti cost in momsat that has change now since you have fix it—will it update THE AIM ICS STD COST TO-NIGHT Because I will need to send mass ICS act again because some Std(wrong) went to Vista—

Sandy also says that last yr he did not key ing sytle no that they were their with the cost and he just changed the cost What on lstovr

Taken from: Worst e-mail contest winners. (2000, January 25). TechRepublic.

I'm pretty sure this is some kind of foreign language that kind of sort of resembles English. You'll probably go blind if you try to decipher it for too long.

Have any misspellings jumped inside your keyboard?

First Page Shooter

2011-04-13T19:31:00.000-07:00

Literary agent Suzie Townsend is hosting a First Page Shooter, in which she or her fellow agent Joanna will critique your first 250 words, any genre, middle grade to adult. Go here for details.

Dear Book I'm Writing: A Hate Letter

2011-04-11T16:48:00.000-07:00

Dear Book,

Remember when I posted on my blog about how lovely it was editing you? How I had Pearl Jam's "The Fixer" running through my head? How I was having tons of fun because the "hard" part was over?

What was I thinking????

There aren't any songs running through my head now because I've lost my mind. (see scary picture below)

Now I'm doubting your characters, your plot, and your entire existence. Nothing makes any sense any more. I wish you would write yourself.

Sincerely,
(I feel better already) Your Writer

2011-04-08T18:54:00.001-07:00

H79PBUD9EE3T

An Interview With Me

2011-04-07T16:23:00.000-07:00

Mysti over at Unwritten has an interview with me. Check it out!

I Just Spilled the Secret Ingredient All Over Myself

2011-04-04T17:27:00.000-07:00

In Donald Maass's Writing the Breakout Novel, he says the secret ingredient in setting description is detail. I would be a fool to disagree. Stories that describe the coffee percolating, the knife smeared with strawberry jam on an otherwise empty counter, and the woman running back and forth to the refrigerator in her rainbow toe socks draw you in. You see everything! While every single detail isn't necessary and would bog down the story, picking three to five tiny details that stand out in the room will help the reader get a crystal clear visual.

So, I'm trying to do this in my own writing. Just yesterday, I wrote a scene in a room with one slanted bookshelf, an office chair with wheels, and a buzzing overhead light with a moth flitting around inside it. Hopefully those specific items will paint a clear picture for the reader. I'll find out when it gets critiqued. ;)

On a slightly unrelated note, I have clam chowder cooking in the crock pot right now. I came home from work to add the not-so-secret ingredient (milk) and managed to spill most of it all over myself. Ah, Mondays...

My Characters Won't Tell Me Everything - What Do I Do?!?

2011-03-28T19:03:00.000-07:00

Here's an excerpt from an actual conversation I had with one of my characters:

Me: What's PL?
Tram: It's the PL.
Me: Oooookay. Where is the PL?
Tram: I can't tell you. You're human.
Me: (sighs) I kind of need to know what PL is. I'm the writer. Why are those two letters in your head?
Tram: (silence)
Me: Are they someone's initials?
Tram: (blinks)
Me: An acronym for... post lick?
Tram: (looks at me like I have a horn for a nose)
Me: Fine. I'll get it out of you. (gives him the evil eye) Somehow, I'll get it out of you.

I'm still not sure what PL means. If I try to kick his butt, I'll lose. Bad. I could threaten or bribe him, but honestly, he's kind of scary and intense. I guess he'll tell me when he's ready. Maybe?

What can I do to get him to tell me what PL is? Any guesses as to what PL is?

Oasis for YA

2011-03-26T09:45:00.000-07:00

The lovely ladies over at Oasis for YA are holding a contest to celebrate 300 followers. The lucky winner will receive a critique on their first chapter from all five ladies! Click here to enter.

I'll Have Mine Medium Rare With a Dash of 'Why Should I Care'

2011-03-21T19:33:00.000-07:00

I just finished reading Writing the Breakout Novel by Donald Maass. Just typing that made me feel like an egotistical ickypants, but yes, I would like to write a book that makes me millions. Who doesn't? Maass analyzes why certain books hit the bestseller lists while others don't, and what those books have in common.

One of those things is steaks. Gah! I mean stakes. Darn empty stomach. Maass says breakout books need to have both personal and public stakes. In other words, what happens if the main character doesn't achieve their goal, both personally and publicly? Will the main character lose a loved one? Will a loved one come back? Will the world erupt into chaos if the main character fails?

To raise personal stakes, Maass recommends asking yourself, "How can this matter more?" Why should we care about the main character? Hopefully the author will show you why by creating someone you want to root for.

Maass says to raise the public stakes, ask, "How could things get worse?" This makes sense. In really good books, don't things usually go from bad to worse? That keeps us riveted! We have to know if the main character, whom we are now rooting for because of the personal stakes, succeeds with his/her nearly unattainable goal.

Great advice, Mr. Maass! So, how does everyone like your steaks? Better yet, how do you like your stakes?

Grrrrrrrrrrrr

2011-03-16T20:09:00.000-07:00

That was the sound Jesse made at the vet's office today, a deep, guttural, "You touch me, you die" kind of sound. But everyone survived. Even the vet. As a special present for my kitty cat, I'm posting this video of him napping. I'm obsessed, I know.

An Ode to Critters

2011-03-07T17:13:00.000-08:00

No, not the movies (see funny photo above). I mean the super-intelligent, highly dedicated group of other writers I've been fortunate enough to find who critique my story(ies). Yesterday (at least I think it was yesterday; the weekend went by in a blur), a critter pointed out yet another plot hole. Yay Joe! I grabbed my shovel to fill in the hole, and something wacky happened. My MC came up with a great come-back line to some kids on the bus who noticed her yard was... different. That line did two things - 1. it provided a moment of comic relief (which is good, because things get seriously unfunny in the second half) and 2. it was major foreshadowing. I held my shovel like an idiot, blinking at the computer screen, trying to understand the awesomeness that had just happened.

Now I know why Novel Number One wasn't published - becuase I didn't put it through the ringer at Critique Circle.

So to all my critters, everyone who has ever given me a critique, thank you. You've all provided different perspectives and made me truly think about how the story needed to be told. And a giant thank you to Mysti who's read and critiqued the whole story almost twice and Joe who keeps throwing me that shovel. Like I told Mysti - the leprechaun told me there are Godiva chocolates in the magic pot for all of you at the end of the story. : )

Kidnapped by Dr. Seuss

2011-03-02T17:23:00.000-08:00

Happy birthday to a genius storyteller who's nonsensical rhymes and zany characters still make people laugh! I've been busy planning Dr. Seuss's birthday celebration at school, and I think it was a hit. I think I'll get decked out Cat in the Hat and Fox in Socks style everyday. Maybe I'll check out this amazing video everyday, too.

Setting the Mood With Weather

2011-02-21T17:17:00.000-08:00

The weather in Kansas can change dramatically in ten minutes. I timed it once. My moods reflect the weather, which means I have bipolar disorder. Not really, I'm just making a point.

I was thinking about the weather in my current work in progress the other day. The story takes place in Kansas. It's spring time (almost in real life too. Yay!), which means the weather is even stranger than normal. Since I'm the author, aka Mother Nature, I can call up a hurricane to blow through Krapper, Kansas if I wanted to. But a hurricane doesn't fit the story. And no, a tornado doesn't either. My characters already have too much to worry about. But weather can really add to the mood of the story. During a particular dramatic moment, it's pouring rain, flashes of lightning are parting the sky, and thunder is shaking the ground. To switch it up a bit, I have another panicked moment later in the story where the sun is too bright, the air is too still, and my main character sees death surrounding her.

Weather sets a certain mood. If you're going for intensity and creepy, rain could work in the scene. If you want contrast, scary events on a perfect day could work too. Look out the window of your imagination and see what it's doing outside.

So what's your weather like, real or imagined?

Borrowing From Real Life

2011-02-14T16:57:00.000-08:00

A drama-free life is a happy life, so that's what I strive for. I leave the jaw-dropping plots to my characters. But I do occasionally throw in some tiny details from my life into my stories. For example, spiders. I hate them. They skitter sideways on creepy, hairy legs and are too unpredictable. I will screech and run away whenever I see one. Yet they're in my current story. Lots of them. Why? Because I'm trying to face my fears. And because two dead spiders, a mama and a baby, are stuck to my garage wall, and have been since I moved in since I refuse to do anything about them. Moms and babies play a large part in my story, so I thought, "Why not spiders?" While writing the spidery scenes, I freaked myself out. So much for facing my fears.

Another thing I threw into the story from real life were lyrics to an awesome song I like to play on the game Rock Band. It's The Fratellis's "Creepin' Up the Backstairs." Here's the song:

One line from the lyrics is "Take your brother's car keys." That's why Jo is always taking her brother's car keys. It fits her personality too.

So how about you? Do you search for drama in real life or strive for drama-free living? What are some things you take from real life to put in your stories?

Feeling Human

2011-02-08T16:50:00.000-08:00

I feel like a human bean, I mean being, again. Last week, not so much. The flu dragged me by the heels into the cluttered basement, where I marked time into the closed door with my fingernails. Yikes! I've been watching too much Paranormal Activity 2! But anyway, I was trapped for a whole week with the flu. No fun.

Between moans and complaints to Gabe, I thought about writing. My characters gave me sly smiles and beckoned me closer. I thought they were going to eat me (did I mention I had a fever?), but then they comforted me.

I thought about the different plots taking shape in my head, the ideas that could melt away if I didn't get better soon. At the urging of my characters and those plots waiting to be written down, I finally did get better.

And it occurred to me during my upward climb: I'm addicted. To my characters, to those ideas taking root in my brain, to writing a word, a sentence, a paragraph that makes me smile. I'm addicted, and that addiction helped me get better faster. The drugs helped too, though.

Anyone else addicted? Have you taken your temperature today? Have you seen Paranormal Activity 1 or 2?

Brought To You By the Letter X

2011-01-28T18:54:00.000-08:00

X is a nifty letter. It has a great sound. Go ahead and say it aloud. X. Nifty, huh? It has punch and it's kind of sexy. Probably because it's in 'sexy', but still. X....

Anyway, when my current novel idea jumped inside my head, it was followed closely by Leigh Baxton. Leigh herself is punchy (just ask the boys in the story), and sexy (just ask the boys in the story). Did you notice the X in her last name, by the way? That's no coincidence. She's also built like a twig and short, kind of similar to her first name. The name fits the character. The character fits her name.

The name Leigh Baxton just came to me. I didn't have to think too hard. I didn't have to go here, though that's a great starting point. What about the rest of you? Where do your character names come from? Do they have the letter X in them? Should they?

Award Happy Dance

2011-01-21T19:19:00.000-08:00

There's been a lot of happy dances this week! This one is for my first blog award! Mysti Parker from Unwritten awarded the Fair Dinkum (good buddy) Award. Thank you, Mysti!

With this award, I am to share informational tidbits about myself and award five other bloggers. Here I go with the tidbits:

1. I've thought about going to clown school.
2. I'm addicted to crack-ERS. HA! Crackers, not crack.
3. In high school, I co-wrote and performed in a play, and received a standing ovation.
4. I once wanted to be an FBI agent, but then decided I was too goofy. (See number 1).
5. My biggest fear, more than anything else in the world, is throwing up.

Now it's time to award five bloggers. All you have to do is what I just did. And the awards go to (in no particular order):

1. Sarah Ahiers at Falen Formulates Fiction
2. Demitria Lunetta
3. Ryan Sullivan at The Dark Corner of the Mind
4. Deboarah Burns
5. Trish at Adventures of Molly Mavis Gumnut

That was fun! Let's do that again!

Honorable Mention Happy Dance

2011-01-19T15:58:00.000-08:00

I entered the first 500 words of The Grave Winner into a contest hosted by Lydia Sharp over at http://lydiasharp.blogspot.com/ and received an Honorable Mention! Yay! My insides are all fluttery! Every entry received a critique; here's mine with Lydia's comments in red:

We stood rooted in place after Mom’s funeral, just the three of us. The weight in my chest threatened to suffocate me if I looked at the lid of her gleaming casket any longer. I focused on the sky instead, at the black birds cutting across the wisps of clouds in a sharp V formation. The dull thump of my heart echoed the rhythm of their beating wings. They pressed on until the clouds took them from me. {love that description. Saying they "took them from me" feels like comparative imagery with the loss of the character's mother. Very well done.}

A different flutter out of the corner of my eye pulled me back to Earth. The movement took a few seconds to penetrate my numb brain until I realized I was staring at a girl. She crept in and out of the crumbling tombstones, her body thick with mud and grime. A dress, or the torn remnants of one, hung loosely from her scrawny frame. Her mouth sagged open as if she was about to scream. {ew, for real? That would make me scream. Good descriptions, though. You got a physical reaction out of me.}

Darby, my little sister, stood next to me, and I reached out to touch her. I wasn’t sure anymore if any of this was real, if I was completely losing it, but Darby was real. Her ache was real. My hand slid over her bony, quivering shoulders and squeezed her closer to me.

Inky black footprints followed the girl like a trail of burnt breadcrumbs. She stopped beside a tree and leaned her back against it. More darkness pooled at her feet and crept up the tree trunk behind her. {I love that you got to this weirdness so quickly, no messing around. I'm definitely hooked.}

Sweat trickled down the back of my dress. A sudden breeze brushed spring air over my arms and sent a faint smell of rotten hamburger meat past my nose. My stomach rolled, but the breeze and stink faded to nothing as quickly as it had come.

The girl turned her head and looked at us. The whites of her eyes blazed behind the mud that covered her face. Her open mouth held the same black gloom that fell at her feet.

I gasped as recognition hit me.

I knew the girl. Knew of was more like it. Her social circle was my social nightmare. Her name was Sarah, a popular cheerleader who committed suicide one week ago. {ack!} Poor Sarah, everyone said. She couldn’t handle the pressure of popularity and performing kicks and splits in front of everyone anymore. She’d sliced her wrists open to release her from those horrible demands.

So how could she be here when she should be in the ground? I had to be hallucinating. My grief, the unbearable weight in my chest, was climbing up to press on my brain.

But if Sarah really was standing over there by the tree, I couldn’t let Darby see her. That would be too much to handle in one day. I wanted to fold her into me or flip her glasses off her face. Instead, I willed Sarah to go away.

Her darkness crawled up the earthy brown bark to the tips of the tree’s branches and ripped away the silky song of its leaves, leaving it empty and naked.

This is a big mess of awesomesauce. I love it. Sorry if my comments aren't very helpful, but I honestly don't see much to improve upon here. You've effectively pulled me into this very quickly. You have great voice and excellent description and a whole lotta intrigue. Superb.

Thanks again, and best of luck with this!

Thank you so much, Lydia!!

10 Ways to Make Your Head Explode With Story Ideas

2011-01-14T19:17:00.000-08:00

Earlier this year, I was asked to speak to the high school fiction writing class. I spoke while the class looked at me through half-closed eyes, their mouths slack. Gotta love those high school students. They perked up a bit when my computer screamed. It does that on occasion.

Anyway, one of the things I talked about was how to come up with story ideas. I came up with ten:

1. The What-If Game - What if the football hero injured his leg... and it hurt him so much he tried to cut it off? What if people had three ears? What if Germany had won World War II?

2. Think of a title first. I did this with my current novel, The Grave Winner. It just jumped into my head. Then I thought: why would anyone win a grave? Eventually the story came to me. This same thing happened again, and now I have another idea for a novel floating around in my brain based on just a title.

3. Think of a catchy first line. In my first novel, Pause, the first line is "Are you ready to faint today?"

4. Make your dreams a reality on paper. It worked for Stephenie Meyer with Twilight. It worked for me too. The idea for Pause came from a chase dream and my increasing age.

5. See it - watch the story play out in your head like a movie.

6. Hear it - listen to music, close your eyes, then write down what you see in your head.

7. Read the newspaper - especially the Weird News part.

8. Real life - enough said.

9. Start with an interesting character.

10. Start with an interesting place.

Where do your story ideas come from?

First Chapter Contest

2011-01-08T11:55:00.000-08:00

There's a contest going on over at this blog: http://lydiasharp.blogspot.com/ Whether you win or not, you'll get your first 500 words critiqued. It sounded kind of fun, so I entered.

I Lust Verbs

2011-01-04T16:38:00.000-08:00

Maybe it's just me. It wouldn't be the first time I lusted after something/someone no one else gave two shakes about. But every time I read a strong, creative verb in a sentence, I drool a little. Yes, it's gross. But while I dribble down my chin, I reread the entire sentence to experience that lust again. And again and again.

No need to question my sanity - I checked out of reality long ago. But my lust has stirred in me the need to make a list of my favorite verbs since lists also make me lust. The following are just a few of my favorites in present tense. Some of them look like nouns, but could be used as verbs.

lance
lick (no, I don't write erotica!)
arc
echo
loll (not to be confused with LOL)
scar
prick
sheet
slice

That's all I can think of at the moment. What are some of your favorite verbs?

A Shower Won't Help

2010-12-28T15:17:00.000-08:00

Let's be realistic: no one has a sparkly clean mind. They're messy and complicated, kind of like the directions for my new crock pot. Bits of information are scattered all over the place. But a scattered mind is what makes us human, so at least we have that as an excuse.

A critique partner asked me once how I make my stories so polished. I'm still not exactly sure what he meant, but I answered back by saying, "They sure don't start out that way." Maybe that's because I start writing the first draft on notebook paper, not computer. In that initial shotgun blast, I have to keep up with the story by writing in shorthand. My typing fingers are too slow. Below is an example of how dirty/messy/complicated and unpolished my writing is:

Lines and whole sentences are crossed out. Phrases are scribbled in the margins. Eventual destinations are marked with stars. It's crazy! But that's what fell out of my messy head.

Of course, this word vomit winds up on my computer so that I can sort it out, but still. Writing is messy, and showers won't help.

So, writers, what do your first drafts look like?
Anyone, what's on your dirty minds? Wait, do I want to know?
Anyone, do you have any good recipes for my new crock pot?

Shooting From the Hip, Lindsey Style

2010-12-20T17:52:00.000-08:00

I like cowboy movies. Maybe it's the swagger and the scuffed boots, or the squinting into the sunset with a toothpick jutting out of a parched mouth. Whatever the reason, I like them. Maybe that's why I live in a certain famous historically rich cowboy town. Actually, there's no 'maybe' about it. The thought of squinting into the sunset like Wyatt Earp, maybe even standing in the exact place he once did, thrills me. I'm kind of a nerd like that.

Is there a point to all this, you ask? Chill. I'm swaggering and my spurs are jingle-jangling. I'm caught up in the moment.

There's a saying in the writing community, "Shoot from the hip." My guns are out and pointed at my computer screen, but in a friendly howdy-do way. Because sometimes I do shoot from the hip. This means I don't plan what I write, it just comes. When this happens, I try to keep up with my brain. That's what happened last summer when I sat down to write The Grave Winner. I got as far as chapter four with no idea where I was going to go next. Then I twirled my guns out of their holsters and started shooting. But the ideas came so fast as to what would happen next, I had to write them down. No way was I going to forget them. After a third of the book was written, I shot my guns again. Here's a picture of the bullet holes:

It's messy and hardly legible, but you can kind of make out the chapter numbers on the left. So I wrote the second third of the book based on these bullet holes, though some of the tiny details changed. My momentum carried into the last third, but soon I had to get my guns out again.

My point, and I do have one, is that I don't know what's going to happen next until the smoke clears from my blazing guns, and an outline appears in my little notebook like the above picture. I do both - shoot from the hip and outline.

What do other writers out there do? If you're not a writer, what's your favorite western movie? While I await responses, I'm going to YouTube the preview for True Grit and squint at the computer screen while I watch it.

Why I Write, Part I: I Suck at Speaking

2010-12-14T17:46:00.000-08:00

There has been a lot of drama in the bureaucratic part of my school district lately including finger wagging, playing the blame game, and administration suspending. The teachers and I all wrote down positive things about the suspended administrator and planned to confront the bureaucracy at a meeting. Everyone read what I wrote beforehand and said how phenomenal it was. I think I was expected to speak at the meeting as eloquently as I wrote, but as soon as the tears started flowing in the room, I was useless. All I could do was try to silence my sobbing and sniffles. I guess that was okay because other people spoke instead, though I could feel people looking at me expectantly. This is why I'm a writer and not a speaker. And yet somehow I can speak to children with no problem.

Editing + Revising = Fixing. I'm The Fixer!

2010-12-10T17:34:00.000-08:00

While I edit my latest YA novel, the following song repeats again and again:

Yay, Pearl Jam!

My first draft felt rushed in some ways, and covered in a thick layer of dust in others. As I begin editing and revising, I'm slowing it down in places and polishing my computer screen with LemiShine. It's working, I think. My house smells like lemons, anyway.

Knowing how the story ends has helped the editing process. I completely changed my original ending from one of Everyone is Skippy Happy to It's Over, But Gee Whiz, Is Everyone Alive? I like the new ending better; it fits the entire tone of the book. What was I thinking with that original ending?

I'd like to pump up the word count, but it seems to be dropping. All the fluffy flowery writing has to go, though. Out with the unnecessary speech tags when the character's action does the trick. Wave goodbye to"I looked, I watched, to me, at me." They're all gone. But when I get to the action parts, I'll be like that Pokemon character named Slow Bro. Action sequences are difficult for me to write because I'm trying to keep up with how it plays out in my mind. I have to remember that no one else is seeing exactly what I'm seeing unless I describe it to them in perfect detail. Well, maybe not perfect, but as close as I can get.

Editing is hard, but super fun. I like my story enough, (who am I kidding - I love it!) that I'd revisit, play with it, revise it forever. As long as "The Fixer" keeps playing, I'll keep fixing.