Set Me Free

Set Me Free

Come rescue me
From this web I'm in
Come help me
Fly away from here

I need to get out
I'm dying
Come save me
From this surrounding

I'm going crazy
I need to fly
Why won't you save me
Do you enjoy seeing me cry

Come rescue me
Help me get released
Come to my aid
Set me free

Fact Or Fiction?

I've been doing some thinking lately and it brought about a question: When you are a fiction writer, how literal do you take the facts?

When I sat down to write my first MS, I researched every aspect (which I'm sure most writers do, and if you don't, you should). I have Irish characters in my story, and they use Irish Gaelic words here and there. So, my first stop was to translate some words I wanted to use. I decided to find a good site, with Irish people, who would have first hand knowledge. After looking around, I found an amazing site with wonderful people who entertained my questions that ended up going way past translations.

My first question brought on many more. And each time,  I gained more knowledge about what really happens in Ireland vs what Google/Bing/etc said happens in Ireland. The people who responded to my inquires where so helpful, even when I asked a question they had no answer for. There were times that something I wanted to know was too far fetched, and in those instances-they flat out told me. The best answer I got was when I asked about checking into a hotel at a certain time-what would a room service order be?

A Unique Idea That Has Been Done Before

When I began my first MS, I was so excited to write a unique vampire novel, something different from all the others out there. Every idea I came up with I jumped online and searched to make sure it was unique. Being that so many people write very successful vampire stories, I wanted something that would grab someones attention, make them say-Hey, this is different. And I did it, or so I thought...
I live in Oklahoma, so my MCs live in Oklahoma-nothing special there, someone's already done it
I come from a few different nationalities, Irish, Polish, Czech, Dutch, Native American and German. So, I thought, Irish vampires, that's not something people do-I was wrong on that one.
I even recently decided my vamps needed to be called another name, everyone uses vampire these days; so why not use an Irish word to name my vampires-oh, wait, apparently thats been done as well....

Love Is Lovely

Lust
Oblivious
Voluptuous
Ecstasy
Infatuation
Sensual
Arrogant
Liquor
Optimistic
Variant
Eccentric
Lingering
Yearning
Tantalizing
Hypnotic
Incredible
Non-peril
Glistening
Love is such a lovely thing

What The F***!?

So, I've been working on my rewrite and revision, critiquing and being critiqued and it brought something to my mind.
When I began my MS, I made sure my characters only said, I think, about one curse word each-I mean, Damn, was the extent of that. Problem is, my female MC is just like me. She curses, just as I do. When I say I curse, I mean...I cuss all the time. That's just who I am. It has nothing to do with a lack of intelligence or the desire to be "bad." There's a standing joke in my family

Will There Ever...

I would normally space my poetry out, but I am working a new angle. Each week I will post one or two poems. I can't schedule my blog posts because I write them when inspiration hits. People say if you want a following it's best to have a set day that you post something, have a routine. Well, I can't do that. What I can do though, is give my followers a new poem or two each week. Now, they won't always be new, some will be poems I wrote when I was younger, but anywho. If you would like a guarantee that there will be something to read on my blog, my poetry is the only thing I can guarantee will be posted weekly. Now, on to the poem. This was selected at random, I told myself whatever page I opened to would be the poem I post, so, here it is.

Will There Ever...

Will there ever be water
Clear enough to see to the end
Will there ever be fresh air
For us to breathe in

Will there ever be clear skies
For the birds to fly
Will there ever be a person
Who isn't to busy to stop and say hi

Will children ever get to play outside
Without parents having to worry
Will anyone ever have
A true happy ending like bedtime stories

Will there ever not
Be homeless people on the streets
Will the rich ever know
How it feels in a coach seat

Will there ever be a time
When every addict seeks help
Will there ever be
A promise kept

Will there ever be
True happiness in this world
Will forever, ever be
More than just a word

Write, Revise, Rewrite, Enjoy!

I completed my MS, Created With Love, in June of last year(Don't know what MS means? Go here From The Write Angle Blog. Make sure you have a look around before you leave, their blog is very informative and useful, plus the writers on there are fantastic people. Check it out even if you don't need their glossary.). I began writing it in May and completed my revisions (at least 10 drafts total) by the end of June beginning of August. I joined a critique group on the fantastic Agent Query Connect site (Writers: go there, right after you read this post...seriously, I mean it) in Oct of last year. In December, it was suggested that my story needed more. So, I began my rewrite.

The first thing that happened when my rewrite started?

Close Your Eyes (Color Blind Part Two)

I debated whether or not to do both part one and two. The final decision was to put them both up. So, here is the part two of my Color Blind poem...

Close Your Eyes
(Color Blind Part 2)

Red, blue, green, yellow
Every color is unique
Each one
So pretty

Black, brown, tan, white
No color is superior
They're all equal
To each other

Yet discrimination
And separation, is everywhere
People judging by colors
From here to there

But some colors mix
To make a rainbow
And together they are
So beautiful

Don't judge something by color
Whether blue, purple, black or white
Just reach out with your heart
And close your eyes

Color Blind (Part One)

This is one of the first poems I ever wrote, I think I was around twelve. Being that today is a day that we honor the memory of a man who fought for equality; for our country to be one that everyone could come together in....I thought it was a fitting day to post this poem.

Color Blind
(Part One)

Many people see colors
Many see the outside
Many can't look deeper
And this you can't deny

I don't know why they do it
I can't see what they see
I wish they could look deeper
Deeper into me

Many people are different
And that's how it has always been
But that doesn't matter
If all you see is skin

I know you can't get people to change the way they feel
I know because I've tried
I just wish that one day
Everyone can be color blind

Celebrate The Dream

Martin Luther King Jr Day is an important Holiday for me. It is to celebrate not only the memory of a man who put his life on the line to fight for equality and unity; but also to recognize what he was fighting for. I live in a place where it is very common for racism to happen daily. And not just racism-Oklahoma has so much discrimination, it's ridiculous.

My mom grew up in a time that racism was still happening-a lot. She told me a story once about a boy she liked and gave her number to. He called the house one day, and my grandpa found out he was not a white boy and my mom got in trouble-BAD. He was like that, always. I never knew though-he never showed that side of himself to me.

How Do You Cope?

Many, if not all of my blog posts are inspired by events that occurred during the day-or at least the event brought on the idea. Tonight my children's Papa(on their dad's side)-John Henry Hill, Sr- lost his fight with cancer (at the age of 77). And between my ex and his siblings, my children and me-it made me curious, How Do You Cope?

Obviously, if you've read anything about me-or know me-you know I cry. Technically, I cry-I write a poem-I cry some more-maybe write another poem, and this is not necessarily the exact order of events, but that is how I cope. For me, nothing helps with the emotions better than crying until it's all out and then writing a poem (again, no particular order). I am different than a lot of people-I've been told by many, many people that I am beyond overly sensitive. I won't argue, sometimes I think my sensitivity is ridiculous-but that is who I am.

When Does Your Opinion Cancel Out The Rest?

I am a member of a crit group on AQC and my group is fantastic-as is the site(writers-go check it out :) ) I also recently gained two crit partners from Query Tracker(another good site) and am swapping chapters with them. My purpose for wanting to have wonderful people to critique my MS is to make sure I have it polished as best I can.
I have been working with my group for a few months now and just recently began re-writing my beginning and adding more to my middle and end-based off feedback I got from my group. The re-write feels better then the way my MS was before, so I am glad I listened to them.

The Beauty of a Woman

The Beauty of a Woman
By: Me :)

The beauty of a woman cannot be found in the clothes she wears.
The shape of her body, or the way she fixes her hair.
The beauty of a woman must be seen from her eyes, the entry to her heart.
The place where love resides.
The beauty of a woman is not in something superficial.
It is in her soul.
It is the caring-the love that she gives.
The passion that she shows.
The beauty of a woman-is just that, a woman.

I hadn't posted a poem in a while, so I figured why not :)

Happy New Year-And All That Comes With It

Well, my Countdown to Christmas days 18-25 were stolen by-everything. All the business, the hustle and bustle so to speak-took over my time and my countdown was lost. But-since there is no use dwelling on what could of been, we will move on to what will be :)

I have many things on my mind to talk about right now but since this is my first post of 2012, I am going to talk about resolutions...I will begin this topic with my resolutions

1. Write ( Technically, I do this daily, but still-got to put it on the list to make sure I continue)
2. Have Faith in what I write (This one is complicated for me. I love what I write, but then I am easily swayed by others opinions. I begin to question a large bit of what I have written because of what they say about it. Funny that this resolution also brings on another blog topic that I have floating around my head-will post it later...)
3. Complete all the revisions on my completed MS-complete aside from all the revising that I keep doing. This resolution has a deadline due to number 6...
4. Complete and polish my query letter
5. Complete and polish my long and short synopsis (This and number 4 will be the hardest for me)
6. Begin to query agents by May 2012 (This has been my goal I set shortly after I completed my book and really started to research all the industry things. My reason for May is because that will be one year since I wrote my book-Perhaps I am ambitious, but oh well-it is what it is)
7. To be healthy (This is a resolution I have had for many years and I do live healthier each year. I continue to put it on my list because it never hurts to become healthier)
8. To make real time for myself (I say real because most of the time I spend-just me-is late at night, very late at night. Once the kiddos are asleep and nightly chores are done. And even then, most of the time my me time is spent writing, which is okay and all-but at 26 I should find time to do something outside of the house-something other than household shopping, running errands, driving people (family) around, etc. This is another hard one as most of my day consists of the prev mentioned chores)
9. Find something that interests my children (They are wild and get bored easily. I know I am biased, but my kids are too smart-they may not be geniuses, but sometimes they are way too smart. My three year old can spell and write her name, but wont. She said-Mama you can write my name and if you wont do it, my sister knows how. Why should I do it myself when I can get other people to do it for me....Word for word, that was what she told me. I know that does not make her uber-smart, but it was just an example... Anyway, they don't care about TV, they don't care about toys-like em, but couldn't care less if they don't have them, they both read-but get bored with it quickly (1 or 2 books and they are done), point is they get bored. Therefore they think up things to do that they think will be fun. This usually means doing something they shouldn't. No matter what I try-no matter if I am right there, they do the wrong thing and its simply out of boredom. So I would like to find something that occupies their minds that seems to move at the speed of light. This is going to be the ABSOLUTE challenge for me)
10. To be on time (This one is general because I am late-at least 95% of the time. And i mean late in every single thing I do. Dr appointments, practices for my daughters sports and activities for both of them, taking them to school-even if they are not late late, its a mad dash around the house and to the car and into the school just to attempt to be there before the teacher takes attendance, late with posts in my crit group---Period, i am always late...I was even literally born late-Mom was due towards the end of November and I didn't come until December 18. Everyone who knows me has a constant joke about me being late. Some people even tell me the time to be somewhere as 30 mins earlier to try to make me on time)
11. This is my final resolution and it is sorta vague...I want to be better (At everything. I do my best in everything I do, but there is always room for improvement. I don't think negatively about myself or any aspect of my life, but I want to improve in every aspect of my life-Better writer, better listener, better reader, better mom-daughter-sister-aunt-cousin-niece-granddaughter-friend; just overall better. I will never be the best, and that's not a low confidence thing, just how I feel. I do not think anyone can be the best-but everyone can be better.)

And that is my longer than usual list of resolutions. Some of them will be a big challenge, but I am confident that I will be able to cross out each one. So, anyone reading this-feel free to post your resolutions or even goals for 2012, or comment on mine. I just thought about them and thought resolutions are such a common topic at the beginning of each year-why not make it my first post of the year?
Happy New Year everyone, may 2012 be your year. May it be the year that your dreams come true-whatever they may be(as long as they are nice) May you be blessed with happiness in 2012.