In which I play catch up

Marianne announced big news this week. Her novel, Isn’t She Liv Leigh, has been accepted for publication with Samhain Publishing. Go on over and give her a belated congratulations if you haven’t already.My article Confessions Of A Contest Junkie: How To Survive-And Thrive-In The Literary Contest Circuit is making a return appearance over at the Long and the Short of It review site. It was originally published in T-Zero a couple of years ago. I’d forgotten they let me get away with such sub-headers as:

  • Is it cold in here, or is it just me?
  • Thank you, sir. May I have another?
  • Here comes the judge
  • Does Size Matter?

As you can probably tell, it’s an in-depth and serious look at the subject.

Yesterday was the Marvelous Miss B’s birthday. We bought a metric ton of Starbursts (on the approved food list) for her to bring in as a treat. I got an email from her teacher last night. She gave each child in her new kindergarten class exactly one (1) Starburst. Not one package of Starbursts, but one, solitary Starburst square.

I was wondering why there were so many left over. Next time, I’m going to have to send her to school with some specific instructions.

Andrew was chowing down on them last night while he did his homework. After a bit, he pushed them away with, “Man, I gotta stop eating those. When the hormones kick in, I’m going to have zits.”

He’s nothing if not astute.

Two chief ways

Two of the chief ways an essayist can prove interesting are, first, by telling readers things they already know in their hearts but have never been able to formulate for themselves; and, second, by telling them things they do not know and perhaps have never even imagined.

~ Joseph Epstein

The writing class I’m taking has that writing quote of the day feature, and this one keeps popping up. Every time I see it, I think. You know, that works for fiction, too.

Conversations with my kids

This past weekend, Andrew discovered Back to the Future. Yes, that Back to the Future with Michael J. Fox. Andrew was so enthralled, he watched the entire trilogy. He liked the first and third one the best. According to him, the second is “a little weird.” Very astute.

 

I was telling him how I first saw the original in the movie theater. At the end, the DeLorean lifts into the air and Doc Brown says, “Where we’re going, we don’t need roads.” Then zoom! Bright headlights and fade to black. I told Andrew the theater erupted into spontaneous applause.

 

He gave me a funny for real? look.

 

“It was the 80s,” I said. “We did stuff like that.”

 

A few days later, after his second viewing of the first movie, he said to me. “You know what, Mommy? I should’ve clapped.”

 

In my pursuit of all things Geek Girl’s Guide revision-related, I spent sometime on the Scrabble website. (Ha. Did you even know there was a Scrabble website?) Through a murky path I can’t quite recall, I ended up on a Hasbro sponsored site that happens to have something I can only refer to as “Fashion Girl” stuff (mainly because I don’t know what it is).

 

Guess who discovered this site with me? Yes, America’s next top model, Miss B. We gave our “best friend” a makeover. Then, we made our own fashion magazine. Kyra called it: Fashion Designs, with the tagline: best fashions in the world by Kyra.

 

She had trouble thinking up a name for the cover model, so we called her “Fashion Girl.” And when you think of it, if we could refer to all fashion models this way, life would be so much simpler.

 

Then we filled in Fashion Girl’s Q&A:

  • Pet? Fashion Girl owns a pet rat named Igloo.

  • Favorite colors? Pink, Purple, Blue

  • Favorite Author?

 

Kyra asked, “What’s an author?”

 

“That’s someone who writes books. So, who is Fashion Girl’s favorite book writer?”

 

Kyra shifted on my lap and smiled up at me. “You.”

 

Ah, it’s true. Admired by rat-loving fashion models everywhere.

More revision brain

Ah, I love the smell of revisions in the morning. Smells like coffee and a brand new scene from Darcy in my inbox. Okay, so maybe it was closer to the noon smell of revisions.

Darcy and I chatted yesterday and that really helps, hashing out what it is we need to do and how we’re going to do it. Of course, sometimes we get stymied, like when we search for the perfect song that would cause a geek girl cheerleader some embarrassment to dance to. We had “the stripper song,” which most people know, if you hum a few bars.

Problem is, you can’t hum a few bars in a manuscript. So we considered:

  • Hot in Herre, by Nelly, and yes it’s spelled that way.
  • I’m Too Sexy (for My Shirt), by Right Said Fred, and yes, that’s a real band. They’re British.
  • Baby Got Back, by Sir Mix-a-Lot, popular, has staying power, but controversial (you don’t say!)

We went with I’m Too Sexy (for My Shirt), since even Andrew knows that one (it’s in one of the Shrek movies). But we’re open to suggestions.

Today, Kyra helped out around the house. She cleaned the bathroom (with a washcloth and water–I don’t give her toxic cleaning supplies). She folded laundry. Sort of. It’s difficult when some of the laundry is bigger than you are. And she gave me a makeover: 

makeover.jpg

You only wished you looked this good and had a little smiley friend in your hair.I’m thinking of using this if/when I need an author photo.

This is my brain on revisions


Your Personality Cluster is Introverted Intuition


You are: Multilayered and complexInspired and driven to achieve your goals

A visionary with a complete life plan

Intuitive enough to understand difficult problems, ideas, and people

What’s Your Personality Cluster?

Revisions are  … happening. Sorry for the delay between postings, but I don’t have a lot to say. I mean, what can you say when your day consists of: well, I stared at this scene for a while, then I deleted the word even. Then I put it back in.

You get the idea. Andrew was up early with me this morning. Actually, he woke up at four! He has a stuffy nose and couldn’t get back to sleep. So he’s on his computer, and in my internet, sucking up bandwidth.

I hope to be back later this weekend with some “witty junk” (to quote one of Darcy’s characters) to say. In the meantime, I will reflect on how multilayered and complex I am.

Homework

You know, there’s something sexy about the title “freelance writer.” At least once a month at the writing site I frequent, someone will post the “how do I get started in freelancing” question.

 

Goodness knows I’ve thought about it. I’d be lying if I said it hadn’t crossed my mind. These thoughts are usually accompanied by images of sun-drenched mornings pecking away at copy while sipping a latte at the local coffee shop, or soaking up the quiet atmosphere at the library while researching salient facts.

 

This, however, is not the reality.

 

I bring this up because I’m writing an article for the Wet Noodle Posse ezine. Actually, I’m supposed to be doing many things, such as judging a writing contest, oh, and a little task called revisions, but never mind.

 

I came up with the idea for the article. I know what I want to write about. I have notes. Even so, I had a major case of: mind, screen, both are blank.

 

Because when you get right down to it, writing articles feels like homework.

 

For the longest time, I never thought I was a writer; I never embraced the 500-word essay on my summer vacation, or even the topic of my choice.

 

The topic of my choice would be: I choose not to write this.

 

I have no problem with technical writing. I can tell people to chmod 777 all day long. But I can’t tell people how to make five fun crafts for under fifty bucks. In fact, just writing that sentence caused several synapses to misfire.

 

Ironically, the topic of my article is: making the most of online writing classes.

 

My favorite line so far (which will probably be cut): What if they gave a writing class and nobody came?

 

Indeed.

 

I’ll leave you to ponder that.

More Birthdays and Bolers

Kyra had her “friends” birthay party yesterday. (Her birthday isn’t until September.) She wanted it at the same place Andrew had his (the indoor inflatible, super jump/slides place), but with a different cake:


No one does ostentaious birthday cakes like Disney

Then, after the party, I drove the kids out to the campsite where Bob had the Boler set up on its maiden voyage.


The Boler in its natural environment


Kyra on the steps, wearing Andrew’s Naruto sleeping cap and playing with her new Island Princess Barbie–two camping essentials


Andrew steals a little reading time


Beef — It’s what’s for dinner


Marshmallows — It’s what’s for dessert


Synchronized Tag

I think it’s safe to  say a good time was had by all.

The a-musing side of revision

I found this over at Marianne’s this morning:


Your Inner Muse is Melpomene


You are most like this muse of tragedy.While you aren’t depressed, you don’t shy away from sadness.Although you do tend to be gloomy, you have a sensitive side.And this sensitive side helps inspire and help others.

What Muse Are You?

I’m gloomy. Nice. Real nice. Although the whole muse thing is appropriate, since we have a running muse joke in Geek Girl’s Guide.

Here are some things I did this week, all in the name of revision.

  • Looked into Krispy Kremes. Did you know they now have multigrain Krispy Kremes. Cuz you know, when I’m reaching for a Krispy Kreme, I’m thinking heart healthy.

  • Couldn’t remember how to spell L-tryptophan, so I Googled sleepy turkey chemical.

  • Looked up The Art of War and Sun Tzu.

  • Looked up Lara Croft and Tomb Raider (although this reference I may cut).

  • Sent Darcy lolcat inspired notes such as: IM in yr scene, makin’ changes.

Because we needed a visual:

cat2.jpg

On my mind

Concerts:

Hannah Montana and the Jonas Brothers are coming to town. Not to be confused with Santa Claus coming to town, although both events could cause the same amount of frenzy around here.

 

Andrew likes the Jonas Brothers. Kyra likes/loves/reveres Hannah Montana/Mylie Cyrus (yes, the offspring of Billy Ray Cyrus for those of you not up on your pop princess factoids–and honestly, I don’t blame you).

 

I’m not worried about content. I know this will be a kid-friendly venue. I took Andrew to the American Idols concert a few years back (the Carrie Underwood/Bo Bice year) and he had fun. It was good, clean fun.

 

The problem: it is also good, clean, LOUD fun. Kyra has very sensitive hearing, which I don’t want to damage. But I did a massive Google search on earplugs and that might be the answer. For all of us, since I’m not wild about the whole head ringing, slightly punch-drunk feeling I have after concerts.

 

Clearly, this is an all or nothing deal. I either take them both, or we don’t go at all. Besides, Kyra already has a concert outfit: “rock star” jeans, a Hannah Montana t-shirt, and hot pink cowboy boots.

 

Revisions:

These are definitely on my mind. Saturday I was, quite honestly, a little scared. It was silly really, because if we make a change and it doesn’t work, we can change it back or do something different.

 

Darcy and I chatted (via IM) on Sunday and that helped. Well, when we weren’t chatting about other things and I wasn’t fielding questions from Kyra (who spent part of that time on my lap–yay wireless keyboard), such as:

  • Do raccoons pee? (Yes.)

  • Does Darcy have a baby in her tummy? (No.)

We went to the dentist yesterday, so Darcy can anticipate questions related to her dental hygiene. (D., you’ve been warned.)

 

One thing I’ve really been thinking about is back story and the when, where, why, how of it. If you’ve read any fiction writing books, spent time near any fiction writing workshop, you’ve heard the conventional wisdom: delete/delay back story.

 

Conventional wisdom isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

 

Our (!) agent has asked us to not only move some back story closer to the start (!) of the novel, but add some in as well. I know. Color me surprised. But I’m starting to see the real possibilities in this. Anyway, by Sunday evening I was in that writing mode where you rub your hands together and cackle gleefully in delight. Kind of scary for those around you, but them’s the breaks.

You must remember this …

I haven’t done a quiz in a while. This one comes courtesy of Marianne, who happens to be Pretty Woman. I’m thinking about daring her to wear the Julia Roberts/Pretty Woman outfit to her first book signing (and when I say “Julia Roberts/Pretty Woman outfit” I mean the one with the thigh-high boots). Hey, I’ll go as Ingrid. Any day.

 


Your Love Life is Like Casablanca


“Kiss me. Kiss me as if it were the last time.”For you, love is never finished. If you’ve loved someone once, you’ll always love them.

You’re an old fashioned romantic… even if your relationships don’t end up as romantic as you’d like.

Your love style: Traditional and understated

Your Hollywood Ending Will Be: Complicated and ambiguous

What Movie Is Your Love Life Like?