It was the way she tugged at his jacket that spoke to me.

I was jealous.  He was mesmerized by what we were doing.  She didn't mind but she wanted his attention, all of it.  When she gently tugged at the zipper of his hoodie, it broke the spell.  He looked at her and his cheeks rounded with a smile.  His gaze locked back on her.  Just like she liked it.  Just like he liked it too.

I wanted to stare at them.  Watch them longer.  To see how he adored her because he did.  And I couldn't tell if she deserved it because I had to turn away.  But I let them linger in my peripheral.  He casually looked at the objects on the table for sale.  The soft part between his knuckles found the back or her arm.  He ran his hand down her arm and slipped her hand in his.  He didn't even have to lay eyes on her to do so, just having her near he knew where to reach.

That's what I miss.  That time in life with no responsibilities.  Life existed in the small moments with a boyfriend.  That's why I write YA.

Look at my stash of crack!

This is the stash on my bedside table:

It's Not Summer Without You  by Jenny Han
(2nd book to The Summer I Turned Pretty)
Just Listen AND Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen
(My girlfriend snagged these from a garage sale.)
Madapple by Christina Meldrum
The Pilot's Wife By Anita Shreve
Self-Esteem  (Mine needs a pick me up.)

I can't wait to get started.  But I have to admit, I'm a little nervous.  I might neglect my WIP if I get too involved but reading does light a fire in me to write so...I'll just have to take the good with the bad.

What are you excited about reading right now?

I HATE SPAM! Get out of my comments!

So lately I've been hit with spam in my comments.  Like every other day.  So I turned back on the "type in this word when you comment".  Well it didn't help.  Can someone please tell me if/when you comment on my blog do you get the prompt to input the special picture word?  Secondly, are any of you having to deal with this?

Unfortunately that means I will be forced to turn on my comment moderator for a while.  So if you don't see your comments instantly know it's because I'm weeding out the annoying worthless SPAM!!!!

Sorry for the inconvenience.

UPDATE:  Amalia saved me.  I will try moderating posts older than a couple of days since my spam is usually not on current posts.  Hopefully this will solve it!  Thanks Amaila!

My Week (and then some) Blog Break

It was not as fruitful as I wished but progressive so I can’t complain…too much.  

There are just not enough hours in the day for me, ever.  Or like someone once commented “or too many hours needed for sleep.”  I wrote about 4K words and edited three chapters for my critique partner (where I cut about 3K so I net 1K, ugh), who always gives me the most invaluable advice.  And she is like an encyclopedia of all things writerly.  (My made up word and I copyright it here and now.  If you use it, give me credit.)  I did spend a lot of time thinking about what happens next in my story, though I don’t allow myself to dive too far into the future, I am pleased with the ideas I came up with.

I did come to the sad realization that my goal to have my book complete by SCBWI convention in LA is not going to happen.  Now, I do feel my first draft will be complete by then but it will not be ready to share with agents.  But hopefully I will snag the ear of an agent or two and win them over with my writerly whit,   (yes I just threw that in there) so later when I come to call with my query letter they will be like “oh yes her, the dazzling writerly whit girl.”  Okay, okay I’ll stop.  But it’s my fantasy, let me believe whatever.

t-shirt and jeans

They were my staple in high school and they are my staple now.  Of coarse my t-shirts have evolved from the squared off v-neck tee to a more stylish "flatter my broad shoulders and cinch my waist" cut but none the less, it is my daily uniform.  

I have a fetish with jeans, incase you didn't know (see here.)  In high school it was the "MC hammer days" (and that's the closest you'll ever get to my age) and baggy jeans were "in."  My dad always complained, "why don't you wear jeans that fit, tighter jeans?"  Really dad?  You were encouraging me to wear tighter clothing?  That's cool.  I was a stick in high school so those baggy jeans on me looked like "I date the line backer on the football team, grab a rope to hold them up" boyfriend jeans of now.  But don't let the jeans fool you, I girl them up just fine...accessorize!

Well as much as I love jeans talk, I have a point.  My WIP is a dystopian book.  And in this bleak future the one thing that does not exist is jeans.   My novel starts ten years after a cataclysmic event so jeans should still be around, right?  (I have a pair of French Connection jeans that old at least.  Mint I tell you, condition not color.)  Now I didn't do this on purpose but I notice that the clothing my MC wears is a cargo pant; brown, khaki or gray.  Her shirt is a white tank, because it's hot there but sometimes covered in an oversized button up shirt (to protect her skin from the prickly hairs of the tomato plants.)  So in my mind's vision, I can picture all these people in the story and not one person is wearing jeans.  The horror!

"Why?" you ask.  I guess if the world stops existing as we know it (no technology, electricity, modern conveniences) they might as well take away my jeans.  I mean, if it's going to be hell on earth that would include, no jeans.

What do the clothes in your book say about you?

EDIT: Good point Dominique (see comment below) What do the clothes in your book say about your MC?

boy meets girl and…and…nothing

I have the perfect girl.   She meets a heavenly boy.  The first encounter is electric.  Something intangible draws them together that neither can fight.  A look, a touch, a hitch in breath leads to the growing need that pulses their blood.  

And then…

After that first chance meeting…

I’ve got nothing.

I can create a dynamic meeting.  I can even jump weeks into the future and have them spinning in love but that middle ground, the getting to know you period, I suck.  

I don’t know how to make my characters get to know each other without it looking obvious/cheesy or come off angry.  Yes angry.  For some reason when I can’t get my couple to… become a couple, I have the girl mad at the boy.   Guess I’m releasing my own writer frustrations.  So my two love birds either know nothing about each other and I let their imagination flame.  OR they intimately know everything about each other, down to the color of her favorite panties.   BUT this middle, I have trouble writing.  I literally stare at the page waiting for something, anything to occur between them.

It’s the most awkward, painful part to write and once I push through it, I know it will be two or three revisions before I get it quite right.  So until then I have a fumbling unnatural mess of almost love, wading through the painful process of getting to know each other.

How about you?  What stifles your writing?  

(Phew, I promised a post today and I barely made it.  Thanks to everyone being patient.)

One more day...

Sorry lovely peeps but Gw/1i needs one more day to herself but I promise I'll be back tomorrow.

Taking a week to UNPLUG

I can't tell you how excited I am to take a week off from blogging.  Not because I don't adore every single one of you but because I GOING TO WRITE!

Two weeks of hell kiddos on spring break and I am ready to send them back to school.  (I just hope when I push them out of the car at the curb they won't get the wrong impression. Maybe they should wear their skateboard pads this morning, hum).  Who said that?  I swear I think there are other people talking in here.  Anyway, I love them (kiddos that is) but my writing is therapy (along with my exercise) and I need a "children break". (That's what us stay at home moms call school.)

Okay dearies, I see you loves next week.  Have a nice one.  Muah!  (that's a kiss in text)

The Magic Button on My Butt and A Little About Me

The Magic Button on My Butt

The last two weeks the sweet little angel monsters (ugh, lots of telling modifiers there) that I gave birth to have been out for spring break.  This results in less than 1000 words written on my WIP.  During this Mom-I-need-(fill in blank) two weeks (aka Spring Break, I think it's cruel to call it a "break") I have been reminded of my original child birth theory. 

In the process of growing a baby in my belly, I also grew an invisible magic button on my butt.  It’s simple really.   I sit down, it alerts the children and violá, they need something.   Now I raise self reliant boys but it never fails the moment I put my butt to the surface, “Mom!” and I’m up again.  Just a theory I have.  On with the show...

A Little about Me

I’ve noticed I share a common trend amongst other writers.  We have a creative gene that goes beyond writing.  We all enjoy doing something artistic/creative.  Some enjoy scrapbooking, knitting, photography and much more.  Here is what I love doing, when I have the time and I’m not writing.

Designing Jewelry – A few years ago I started my own company and loved the creative side of making jewelry but the demand for mass production stilted me.  I've studied to be a glass artist and I can melt glass into beautiful beads, see here.

Decorating – I enjoy interior design and I stroll through design magazines all the time.  My personal style is French Country/Urban Loft.  The juxtaposition of the two really speaks to me.

Fashion, Fashion, Fashion – I love Fashion!  Layers of clothing and accessories are like art to me.  I make style files for different looks, accessories, and jewelry.  Yes, I love shopping but it’s not just shopping.  In the last year I have really honed in on my personal style and what looks good on me and I feel great.

Painting – Alas, an art I have neglected in the last few years.  Well I can’t do it all.  And of all my talents, painting is my least skilled but I still enjoy it.  I hope to do more in the future with painting but for now, it sits on the shelf (with that first book I wrote.  Hey, at least they have each other.)

I also enjoy a lot of other hobbies but these are the artistic hobbies I do.  So what artistic things do you do for fun when you’re not writing?

Prepping for the Muse

Photo by TheBusyBrain

Next week the kids will be back in school and I plan to take my blog break then.   BUT… my writing muse has slowed down on my current WIP.  Something I didn’t see coming because (though I knew it was inevitable) prior to the last two weeks, I’ve been writing 3-4K a week.  I’m now at about 40K, *halfway there dance. Woot Woot!*  To be ready for my writing time next week, I’m prepping myself to tap into my muse. 

Resolving myself of all Duties – This means I need to have all the laundry done, house clean, children nurtured, hubby loved so when I sit down, there will not be any guilt for what I should be doing instead of writing.  Something I try to do before every writing day but life does happen.

Download New Music – I can’t function without new music, new Indie music to be more specific.  It’s like my second crack addiction, because I burn through new music like a junkie.  Downloading new music feeds my soul therefore puts me in a creative state of mind.  In this state, I feel moved, inspired, rejuvenated all things that will bring out the muse.

Make Time for Thinking – Once I clear my plate and download some tunes, I will take time to think, about my story.  This will probably happen while I’m doing cardio at the gym or my favorite place, riding in the car, especially if I’m alone.  But taking time to think about what happens next readies my mind for what to write.

I’m sure I’ll come up with more things to help prep me but I’d like to hear your ideas.  What do you do to call upon the muse?

Are your photos legal?

Photo by Horia Veron

Of course I'm not talking about that stash of photos you have hidden in your sock drawer, wink  wink.  I'm talking about the photos you post on your blog.  When I found a photo to suit my post needs, I checked the webpage for a copyright, if I didn't see one, I assumed it was okay to use.

WRONG!  Not the case.  So after doing a little research and wanting to be a law biding citizen, I found a blog post that contains some great information:

Photos you can use without breaking the law...  
The post has a lot of great information on what is or is not legal and breaks it down by levels.  Keep in mind the post reminds us it's not a lawyer, just one person passing on information.  It lists a few very helpful links.    One, I learned about the Creative Commons on Flickr.  It breaks down the different copyright levels of Flickr photos from "you can use my pic, just give me credit" to "COPYRIGHTED, don't touch or I'll sue you."  


Another link refers to a totally free and copyright free images from stock.xchng.  Here I found some pretty cool photos, some not so cool but at least your legal baby.  Check out the other links they list for more information.   


Hope this helps you on your blog journey and keeps you on the right side of the law.

SCBWI 2010 Summer Conference in LA, are you going?

I'm so excited!  My first writer's conference!!!! I joined SCBWI about two weeks ago and I can't wait to get networking.  You hear about writer's finding their agent at conference, I'm sure not the norm but it inspired me to set a new goal for myself.

One day I will have publishing deadlines (the thought freaks me out).  Why not give myself a deadline for my book.  Not just finish my book but have it finished, critiqued, redacted, reviewed, cleaned, and polished by the conference.  I'm halfway through writing it, so I think this is a plausible goal for me.  You never know when a pitching opportunity can come about and if I am finished, I will be ready.

To learn more about SCBWI go here or more about the conference go here.  They also have a conference blog here.

Do you plan to attend?  

Has your WIP had a physical lately?

After having a Critique Doctor review my WIP (btw, Diana liked my new piece), I found it suffers from a few common illnesses.  My WIP is like an old bag lady that hasn’t had a physical in twenty years; some of her ailments are creepy.  Here are a few things your doctor might check for:

rhinoredundancy virus [rahy-noh-ri-duhn-duhn-see] –noun

any of a varied and widespread forms of a word responsible for many redundant uses, including the common repeat.

Most of the time, I catch and correct this mistake before I send it out for review.  It’s something I do ALL THE TIME with a really obvious/descriptive word or verb.  It’s quite comical now how often I do it.   But I also have my favorites:  feel, like, look.

                                              

tellyngitis [tel-uhn-jahy-tis] –noun Pathology.

inflammation of the telling, often with accompanying sore dialogue tags, hoarseness or loss of show, and dry story.

Need I say more?

swinetense flu  [swahyn-tens] –noun Pathology.

a highly contagious form of verbs caused by infection unable to filter the past, present and future virus first isolated from swine.

This is a new illness that has been popping up.  Like most pieces, my WIP narrative is past tense and my dialogue is present tense.  But lately it’s been all over the map.  I can only guess it’s coming from all the books I’ve read lately in first person.  My WIP is desperately trying to be in the present.  If it becomes a problem, I might have to revise.

rheumatoid edititis [roo-muh-toid][ed-it-it is] –noun

acute or chronic inflammation of a WIP joints, often accompanied by pain and structural changes and having diverse causes, as correcting of writers tell, information deposition, or loss of MC voice.

I get this every time just before I send a chapter to my critique partner, which I don’t mind.  Usually it’s been awhile since I wrote the chapter and it gets it first real edit.

writer’s blockkemia [blok-kee-mee-uh] –noun Pathology.       

any of several cancers of the muse marrow that prevent the normal manufacture of word and thought cells and platelets, resulting in nothing, increased susceptibility to taking a break, and impaired word clotting.

See this is what happens when I have time away from the computer (aka vacation, kids out of school).  If I’m not writing every day, I lose my momentum, my mojo and the MC’s voice slowly slips from my memory and I have trouble getting started again.

What does your WIP suffer from?

Blogs that make me happy and thanks...

Better late than never, though in real life, I am never late. Kind of wrapped up in my WIP but I'd like to take a break and say thank you, to the recent blog awards i've received.

Thank you Matt from Pensive Sarcasm

His blogs crack me up.  So instead of listing "10 Things that Make Me Happy," here are

10 7 Blogs that Make Me Happy

1. Hello Ello 2 - The blogs about her mother are so funny see here and here.  But she also posted a very moving article about whitewashing and I appreciate her bringing this to my attention.
2. Write on Target - Debra's Subliminal Monday's are very cleverly written.  It's her subliminal parts that have me cracking up.
3. Shooting Stars - Bethany and Suzette are two heartfelt women who are a positive force on the blogging community.  They are inspiring and believe in paying it forward.  Thank you ladies.
4. 10 Stories Up - Lindsey Carmichael is a Canadian/bookseller/writer who posts book reviews in a very thorough way.  Her reviews are honest without being damning which is refreshing to find.
5. YA Highway - If you are writing a YA novel, this blog can be very informative.  Here they dive in and discuss all things concerning YA.
6. Kidlit.com   - Mary Kole, a literary agent, provides amazing and invaluable insight to what she likes as an agent.  She takes a writer's manuscript and injects her comments so we can see how her mind flows as she reads a piece.  Her blog is changing my writing for the good.
7. The Literary Lab - Three writers give their advice on writing and spread their love of fiction.  Personally my favorite is to read Scott G.F. Bailey's posts.  Sometimes he comes across harsh or in your face but that brashness, only drives his point home.  His words have been a wake up call for me.

Also thanks to Christine Danek at Christine's Journey for the Prolific Blogger Award.  Apparently, "By definition, a prolific blogger 'is one who is intellectually productive...keeping up an active blog that is filled with enjoyable content.'"  That's me?  Too awesome!