Wednesday, February 29, 2012

To Do List: Review

This is more a weekly or biweekly or even monthly type of thing, but it's still on the to do (at least you should have it on your to do)

Review:


Yep, it's on there, and yep, I'm talking about reviewing that book you just read. I already talked to you about reading, so I know you're doing it, right? Yes, of course you are. Now, that book you just finished? Go review it somewhere. Even if all you do is go to Goodreads and mark it with five stars and write, "I loved it!" (Or 1 star and say, "I hated it!") There are several places you can go to review a book, and you don't have to write an excessive review. Just take the time to put your feelings about the book out there. Good or bad, reviews are important. So many people out there base what book they are going to read on what the reviews have to say about it. So many authors look for your reviews to find out how their audience feels about their writing.

How do you make the time for this in your to do? Well, since we all read at different paces, it's that much simpler. This is not a weekly to do, but it should be on your list regardless. Fit in a time to say something about each book you read. It's only going to take up five minutes max (well unless you feel like you need to write an excessive review-which is okay, it just may take more time.), and you can do it first chance you get after the book is done. My Goodreads and Amazon reviews typically take a total of five minutes to write both. Then, by my choice, I write a blog post about the book. Since I can schedule blogs to post when I choose, it's easy to make time to write up a review on my blog. Point is, authors need to have reviews for their books, and readers need to have the option to check out the reviews before they read the book.

Yes, another short and sweet one. Makes some of my other to do posts look way too long, but it's another easy thing to check off the to do list.

Happy Reviewing :)

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Storyteller

Today is a short poem for the writers :)

Storyteller

Names constantly swirling
Around in your head
Adventures and misfortunes hover
While you lie in your bed

What ifs and maybes
Fill up your thoughts
Movements and pictures
That never stop

Strange places and people
Take up your dreams
You find the oddest friends
In people you've never seen

Your hands begin
To have a mind of their own
Your imagination strives
To find its own home

Monday, February 27, 2012

To Do List: Promote

Still checking off those to dos. Next up on the list, perhaps one of the most dreaded on the list:

PROMOTE:


It's almost a dirty word, isn't it? Promote, so important for us writers, yet such a menace. Wouldn't it be great if we could just connect and then leave it at that? Just count on everyone we connect with to go out and buy our book (or visit our blog/website/etc)? Yes, it would be, but it just doesn't work out that way.

Therefore, we must promote ourselves. This is where those connections we've made come in handy. Jump on Twitter and tweet something about your book/blog/website/etc. Get on Facebook and write a post about it. We have to promote ourselves if we plan on doing anything with our work. It's just the way things go. Easiest way to accomplish this to do? Work it in with your Connection time. I know, I know...you've just figured out how to work making connections into your daily to do, and here I am suggesting you add something more to that time-frame. Yes, yes I am. It's okay though, I promise, don't freak out. All you have to do is spend a few extra minutes to add a little something about your "product" while your reaching out to connect with people. It will not take much more time, you can add the details into your tweet or whatever you are doing to build connections. A tweet here, Facebook post there, or even an email to some of your connections and BAM you've checked Promote off the to do list for the day.

This was a short and to the point one, because it's just so simple. We already touched on making connections, so it's just a very little bit more work to add promoting into that time.

Happy Promoting :)

Sunday, February 26, 2012

Something Sunday

Well, here's my first something Sunday. I love to talk about things I like. Books, blogs, websites, and more. Today I'm going to give a shout out to The Write Angle Blog. Their Twitter page is @WriteAngleBlog and you can email them: fromthewriteangle[at]gmail[dot]com.

I love this blog, I frequent it, follow it, tweet and retweet about it. The people on there are awesome, and so are their tips and what not. Everything about that blog is great. Every writer should follow it, talk about it, read it, etc.

Contributors:

R.S. Mellette. You can find him on Twitter @RSMellette
Calista Taylor: She tweets @calistataylor and she blogs at A Steampunk Reverie.
Mindy McGinnis (AKA BBC or Big Black Cat): She meows @bigblackcat97.
R.C. Lewis: Find her on Twitter @RC_Lewis.
Jemi Fraser: She's on Twitter @jemifraser.
Matt Sinclair: Find him @Elephantguy68.
Darke Conteur: She tweets @Darke_Conteur.
Lucy Marsden: I don't have a blog or website for her, but she does tweet @LucyMarsden.
Robert Lewis: He tweets @robertklewis and he can be found over at Criminal Element too.
Pete Morin: On Tiwtter @petermorin.
J. Lea Lopez: She's also on Twitter @JLeaLopez.
Sophie Perinot: Find her on Twitter @Lit_Gal.
Brenda Carre: Twitter @brenda_carre. (I have her links although she hasn't been active on her website or Twitter in a while. You could still check her out though)
Jean Oram: Jean is the newest member to the blog. And she definitely knows how to keep busy. She's on Twitter @jeanoram for witerly things and @KidsPlay for kids stuff. She also has a site for her Kids Play stuff: It's All Kids Play.

Whew, that's a lot of names/links up there. Please check out all those wonderful people. They are truly fabulous. Don't forget to visit the Write Angle Blog PLUS each of the contributors blogs/sites/twitters or whatever. Many of those names up there also have books out, &/or books coming out very soon. Make sure you keep an eye out for their books.

Their writing his great, their tips are useful/helpful, they are nice people who take the time to write the tips they put up on the blog-so be nice and take the time to check 'em out. I know, I know, I just keep saying the same things, but really-I love their blog! I can't say it enough: Go, Go, GO It'll be worth your time. Because even if you don't need their writing expertise, you can still find plenty of useful things at their individual blogs. BUT Check out the Write Angle Blog and their individual blogs-don't leave one out because you think it doesn't pertain to you.

Okay, I'm done. CLICK THE LINKS NOW! I wasn't yelling, not really. It's more I'm just very enthusiastic about things that are worthy. :D

Happy Sunday! :)

Saturday, February 25, 2012

Men, Kids, Friends, and Laptops

Oh the week I've had. It's been great and horrible all wrapped up together nice and neat-or not so neat. WILD is the best way to explain the ride i've been on all week. Between trying to better organize myself, CRAZYYYYY kids, attitudes (from everyone myself included), my asshole ex, and all things writer related...this week has been exhausting. I hit bottom, fell through, and haven't stopped falling.

I'm okay though, i can handle it. Everything will balance out eventually. Last Saturday I ranted about details. What did you say? You didn't read it? Oh, well, It's right here. :) This week, so many things went wrong, and so many things went right that I'm going to do a mix of ranting and excited talk.

First off, let me just say-Men: If you make a child or children, please take care of them. And I don't mean just sometimes care about them, I mean ALL the time. My ex is a great dad in the sense that he absolutely loves our kids. And I mean, truly unconditionally loves them. The problem is that he also unconditionally loves himself. He thinks that as long as our kids are provided for, he doesn't need to give me any money for them. Yeah, doesn't work that way. I don't care if the mother of your child, or children is the most famous best-selling author-you still need to provide for them. It may suck, but you do. And please do NOT pass up an opportunity to spend time with them because you want to go out instead. I mean damn, your child(ren) should ALWAYS come first. You should NEVER chose hanging out with friends over them-it just shouldn't happen. UGH! Please men (and women who know men that have kids) never put anything before your kids.

Now, on to more pleasant things....I did a lot of connecting this week and it felt great. Maybe I'm a little lame, but I don't have many friends outside of my online friends. I don't do much that would allow me to connect with people outside of the internet and the TWO friends I have (who have been my friends for almost 15 years) don't live anywhere near me. So, whatever friends I connect with online are what make up my circle of friends.
Something else-For the time being, my house is completely cleaned. It's usually clean, but with two little ones, it doesn't stay that way. There are always a sink-full of dishes, floors that need swept and mopped, a lot of dirty clothes (especially since my 3yo hates being dirty and changes her clothes frequently), and more. It takes a lot of work to keep up with the house, as I'm sure anyone else with kids understands. But this week, I was able to get more help from my kids and we kept the house clean. All that's on the cleaning list for this weekend is sweep, mop, and laundry. It makes me feel good and means that I have more time to play with the kiddos and hopefully keep them from being as crazy.
One last thing that made me enjoy this week-I got through a lot of my critiques, although I still have some to do before tomorrow, I'm still proud of what I did get done.

I'm adding one more thing that was irritating this week. Well, truly this has been happening for almost 3 weeks now, just gradually getting worse. My laptop (which is a mini) is unhappy. I don't know exactly what the hell is going on with it, but it's soooooooooooooooo slow. It takes me forever to get anything done on it. Each day this week it has gotten worse. I'm tired of the slowness and I was already starting to dislike the size of it, so I'm going to move on. It probably won't happen for about a month or so, but I'm going to get a new laptop. I think when I do, I will let the girls play some games on it.

Anyway, that was my week. If you have a headache just reading this, be positive, trust me-it's much worse if  its happening to you.

Happy Saturday :)

Friday, February 24, 2012

Almost

*gasp* I forgot to post a poem for today. My mind has just been all over the place. So, I fished this out of an old poetry book, I think I was around fifteen or so...

Almost


Almost made me cry
Almost made me sad
Almost made me
Feel bad

Almost made me believe you
Almost had me fooled
Almost got me
Drowned in your pool

Almost made me hurt
Almost made me sorry
Almost is the word
Yeah, right, more like hardly

Almost this and that
Almost brought me down
But everyone knows
Almost doesn't count.

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Thursday TAG! - Blog Hopping Meme

Something happened yesterday tat gave me an idea for my Thursday slot. I will be coming up with questions for various people. The questions will not be the same for everyone and I will have to make sure they are willing to do it. Then each Thursday I will post them. It will be my Thursday TAG!

To kick it off, I'm doing this blog hopping meme. I was tagged by E.M. LaBonte, to do this, so, my answers are below and I've tagged some people also. And if you're reading this and you were not specifically tagged-you are tagged now. Just copy and paste the questions below to your blog, answer the questions, and tag seven (or more) people. If I didn't tag you by putting your blog at the bottom and you would like me to put you on my tagged list, leave a comment with your blog address and I will add it in. :)

Blog Hopping Meme


1. What is your dream vacation?
Hang on just a sec, let me go look up this word 'vacation' :p  For real though, I haven't been on a vacation in about seven years. However, since we are dreaming here, I would love to travel in general. Ireland, Scotland, Germany, Poland, Canada, various places throughout the U.S. and I'm sure if I really thought about it I could come up with a lot more places.

2. Are you spontaneous or do you like to plan ahead?
I consider myself to be both. Everyone is always joking about my To Do List that I write out everyday-sometimes several different ones in a day. So, obviously I do plan ahead. However, I also tend to do things that are not in my plans.

3. Tell us one thing you want to do but don't dare do it.
Only one? Because I'm sure I could think of a few things. But, if only one, I'd say mountain climbing. I think it would be so fun, but I am afraid of heights and I'm afraid to put myself into a position that could be so dangerous.

4. What's your biggest phobia?
There is a tie for this one. I'm always scared of losing my kids in any kind of way. And I'm scared of screwing up in raising them. I don't think I'm a bad mom, but I always worry if I'm doing everything right.

5. If you were stranded on a desert island-what three things would you want with you? (Not including laptop or family)
Logically, I would say a boat, and I don't know what else. But then I over analyze this question and think-if I'm stranded does that mean I couldn't save myself if I had a boat? So, I'll say, 1 package of pencils (:p), 1 box of paper (:p), and a pencil sharpener. I write, a lot, so I think I'd be good with that.

6. Name three blessings in your life.
My family, being alive in general, Faith. It's really hard to only name three, I have many blessings that I'm very thankful for.

7. What was your nickname in high school?
I didn't have a nickname that every single person used. But, Kandi or Kandi Kane was a nickname majority of my friends called me. It came from a boyfriend in middle school, and then it just stuck after we broke up.

8. If you could meet the President of the United States, what would you say to him?
I don't think y'all want to spend that much time on my blog....LOL no, for real. One thing I would say is-why don't we have a biracial/multiracial option on forms? I mean, some places put it on forms, but not many and no government forms I've ever filled out have it as an option. My kids are Black, White, and Indian and I never mark only one race. Even places that want me to, I tell them no-I won't do it. They are all three, and I will not just pick one because that's how the forms are written. There should be an option for what race they are-or some way to input each race they are. Just saying...

9. If you could be any literary character for a day, who would you be?
There are so many great ones, I couldn't pick. I don't think I would want to anyway. My life may be crazy, but even one day away from the madness and my kids would be sad.

10. What is your favorite quote?
Being the quote-aholic that I am, I don't have one favorite. I like this one: "I can resist everything expect for temptation." and this one: "I am so clever that sometimes I don't understand a single word I am saying." These are both by Oscar Wilde I do believe.

Okay here's my list:

Caterina Torres
Kristen H Davis
Jacqueline Gardner
Ali Cross
Jean Oram(She also has a great site for people who have kids, nieces/nephews, grand kids or any kids in their lives Kids Play you should check that one out as well. Though I am not tagging her kids play blog :)
Jeremy
Joey Francisco
Alex J Cavanaugh
Angie Sandro

Yeah, I know, I tagged more than seven people, but honestly I had to make myself stop here or I would've tagged about twenty or more. So, there's my list, check 'em out. And for those tagged, go post your meme-can't wait to read what everyone has to say :) Don't forget, just because your name isn't on my list, doesn't mean you can't participate.

Just copy and paste these questions to your blog and don't forget to tag seven other people :):

1. What is your dream vacation?
2. Are you spontaneous or do you like to plan ahead?
3. Tell us one thing you want to do but don't dare do it.
4. What's your biggest phobia?
5. If you were stranded on a desert island-what three things would you want with you? (Not including your laptop or family)
6. Name three blessings in your life.
7. What was your nickname in High School?
8. If you could meet the President of the United States, what would you say to him?
9. If you could be any literary character, who would you be?
10. What is your favorite quote?

Happy Hopping :D

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Ash Wednesday, Day 1 Of Lent

Today marks the first day of the season of Lent. It is Ash Wednesday, which may or may not mean anything to you. For me, it is just what I said, day one of Lent. The day I begin my reflection, repentance, and sacrifice for the next forty days and nights leading up to Easter (That's not counting Sundays for anyone who was thinking, wait-that's forty five days ;)

I've written and re-written this post countless times now. My main problem is that I go on and on about this topic. I'm a religious person, and I love God, I read the Bible to my children (although not as often as I used to) and I attend church (again not as often as I used to). So, when I talk about anything related to God, I tend to get a bit wordy. I want to keep this post informative, and yet not lengthy.

Lent is a confusing subject for many people. Those who don't participate in it, don't understand the point. All they see is someone giving up chocolate(or whatever other things people give up for Lent). They don't get the meaning behind it. Lent is about sacrifice. We give up something that is difficult to give up because we are making that sacrifice. I'm not Catholic, I'm Episcopalian, so anything I say is based off how I was raised-as an Episcopalian. During the forty days of Lent we give up something that is difficult, something we will miss, something that we will struggle to do without. (OR we make some sort of a lifestyle change that is difficult) Jesus went into the desert and spent 40 days and nights with nothing. He resisted three temptations from Satan, and came back to preach to his people. This was not the only time Jesus made a sacrifice, but it is where Lent comes from.

The point (from my POV) is that if Jesus can make sacrifices and resist the temptations, why can't I? I mean, I'm only doing it for 40days, he did it much longer. Lent is a time to reflect and renew. We take this time to have an outside view of our lives, and determine how to better ourselves. Making sacrifices that will aid us in life. It's not such a difficult thing to accomplish, if we are truly committed. This year, I've had trouble determining exactly what I should give up. It's an issue I've never had. But everything I think of, is just too simple. It's all stuff I don't care enough about to really matter-I could easily resist any of the things I've thought of giving up.

So, I'm going to "give up" things that I know will be a challenge. Things that I will have to work at to do. It will be more of a lifestyle change than actually giving up something. But it's still going to be a sacrifice.

I'm going to put more focus into my wrterly things: my MS (I will have revisions done by the end of Lent), my blog (I will decide what I want to do with each day, I will get it done), my critiquing (I will stop procrastinating when it comes to my weekly crits and my crits that don't have a weekly time-frame) and new WIP (I will get my first draft completed and possibly my second draft as well), my synopsis (I will get it written) and query (same as synopsis). I'm going to renew my commitment to everything in my writer life. In addition to this, I'm going to spend more real quality time with my kids. We do a lot together, but I want to find even more to do together. I'm going to go back to the nightly ritual of reading them the Bible. We eat dinner together, but I tend to keep thinking of my book(s) while we are eating. That's family time, and I'm going to make sure I keep it that way. I'm going to find more activities we can do as a family (I'll probably be exploring this site (Kids Play) much more).and we will do them.

That's one hell of a list, but I will do it. I know I still made this a long post, but for the life of me, I just couldn't shorten it. I'm excited that Lent is here, and I'm excited with my choice for what I will do to better myself this Lent season.

Happy Ash Wednesday! :)

To Do List: Connect

I know I've said this about some other things on the To Do List, but THIS is the most IMPORTANT thing on your list. Writer or not, everyone needs it.

Connect:


We all need to connect with other people at some point in our day. We need the support we get from those connections. You may only have one true friend in life, but your acquaintances are important too(heck they may one day turn into people you consider true friends). Support is a vital factor to survive life, it just is.

Connecting with other people is especially important for writers. As a writer, you will have something you want to promote-be it your website, blog, book, or any variety of things. You may even want to promote something for someone else. Even if you're only connected to ten people, it will still aid you in whatever you are trying to get out there. You Tweet or post on your Facebook, two of your followers/friends re-tweet or share your tweet/post and then a few of their friends do the same thing, and so on. Word of mouth is a fantastic way to get yourself out there, and you need to connections to spread the word.

I have not been on Twitter very long, but I love it. I never thought I would, but I do. I've discovered books, online writing conferences, great sites with fun things to do with my kids (@KidsPlay Fun Kids Stuff) and even the IndieGoGo Donation Page to Help Joshua Fight Cancer. The point is, had I stayed away from Twitter, continued to think it was pointless, I would never have found some(if not all) of this stuff. We have to build connections, that's the way the world works.

We need people to support us and people to give our support to. We need people to help us thrive, people to help thrive, people to thrive with us. To accomplish this, you have to jump into the social media pool. Twitter, Facebook, Google +, Klout, and all those many many places to connect with other people. I will not lie and say this is an easy thing to check off your to do, but it is not impossible. The importance means you should schedule time into your day to connect. In even five minutes you could: Follow ten new people on Twitter, re-tweet five Tweets, Post a Tweet, Update you Facebook status, and follow back all your followers. And depending on your internet speed and how fast you are with a computer, you may even have a little time to spare. Five minutes and you've already made numerous connections. So how do you mark this off the to do? How do you not?

Happy Connecting! :)

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Shrove Tuesday, Pancake Tuesday, Fat Tuesday, Mardi Gras

Call it what you want, but it marks the day before Ash Wednesday. Of course, depending on your beliefs, today can mean many things-or nothing. For me, it signifies the day before Lent begins. A day when I celebrate, confess, rejoice, and feast. A day when I indulge in whatever I will be 'giving up' for the fort days of Lent.

Mardi Gras is an overdone version of celebrating this day. People tend to party a little harder than the original intent of 'celebrate.' Mardi Gras AKA Fat Tuesday came about in France. It stems from the fact that originally all fats and fatty foods were consumed on this day to prepare for Lent.

Pancake Tuesday is more my style. Pancake Tuesday stems from the same concept as Fat Tuesday originally did. The traditional thing to do during Lent was to remove meats, eggs, fats, milk, and fish from your diet. So people feasted, sometimes from Sunday. I've heard many different things about how it used to work. But one thing that always stuck with me is this: Beginning on Sunday people began to feast, and continued feasting all the way to Tuesday. By the time Tuesday came along, there was mostly eggs, fats, and milk left-therefore, they made a feast of pancakes. I don't know how true this really is, but I do know that the pancake idea is a good way of getting rid of the ingredients that you cannot eat during Lent.

Now, I will get into the whole Lent subject more tomorrow in my Ash Wednesday post, but I'll say this: I'm Episcopalian, and I've always been. We've celebrated Lent always, from the time I was big enough to eat regular food. My children will also be following the ways I do during Lent. We are not as strict as it was back in the day, but we do follow a certain regimen. Tomorrow, the adults in the house will fast during the day (I don't ask my children to fast, but they are not allowed to eat meat and they are not allowed to have a super big breakfast/lunch. I don't do this to be mean, I do it because I think it's important. They will have the option of branching out to other beliefs when they are older, but for now, it is what it is.) For dinner we will have fish and a veggie or two, that's it. Friday will be the same way-every Friday leading up to Easter Sunday. I say all this to say, I do not do Pancakes today simply to get rid of ingredients in my fridge and pantry that would go bad otherwise (especially since aside from Ash Wednesday and Fridays, we do still eat meat), I do it because it is tradition. It doesn't hurt that my kiddos love pancakes :)

So whatever you call it, whatever you believe: Happy Shrove/Pancake/Fat Tuesday! Feast and celebrate, and have a fabulous day :D

Details

You laugh in my face
While hiding in disgrace
Keeping the steady pace
Of allusion

You allude me every chance you get
Staying the course you set
Making sure I always fret
About the resolution

You resolve to ruin me
Steady and precisely
Hiding behind the scene
Stealing my conclusion

You conclude you've won
Satisfied by the damage done
Giddy from the fun
Of destruction

But in your destructive path
There is something you lack
My imagination cannot be trapped
By detailed creation

Monday, February 20, 2012

To Do List: Read

Every writer must also be a reader. So why is it so hard to find time to read? I used to have a major problem marking this one off my to do, but I have figured out ways to accomplish it. So today's to do is

READ:


Books are important in life, and everyone, writer or not, should be a reader. With all the other various things that we have to get done in a day, or even things to work on, our books(TBR lists) get left behind. It's time to put read on your to do list, and actually mark it off.

So, I told you that you need to do it, now let's talk about HOW to do it.

Reading is one of the easiest things to check off the to do list. I know it may not seem like it, but it truly is. There will be days when you think your to do for the day is so massive that there is no way to fit time in to read anything, but you are wrong. Everyone has, at the VERY least, five minutes of 'free time' in their day. I know you may not think you have any free time, but it's there, I promise.

It is important to read, period, there is no way around it. Reading is a must, and if you even have five minutes to do it, you should. So to mark it off, look over your entire to do, and find those gaps where you have free time. When you find those gaps, schedule in your reading time for the day. It will be there, you just have to look for it.

Happy Reading :)

Sunday, February 19, 2012

Something Sunday

I wrote my first book review Sunday Feb. 5 on Calista Taylor's Viridis. It was exciting to talk about a book I read, and how much I loved it; to recommend a book to others; and most of all, to promote a fellow writer. I decided then, that the first Sunday of every month I will post a book review. My next review will be on  Sunday, March 4 over Ashfall by Mike Mullin. I have not finished the book just yet, but so far I'm enjoying it and can't wait to write that review as well.

This morning, I was thinking about my blog. Right now, I have a blog series happening every Monday and Wednesday where I focus on conquering the To Dos of a Writer's busy life. Every Tuesday and Friday is when I post my poetry (although I am thinking about opening it up to other writers as well. Where they could post a very short story or a poem-something like that). And as I stated above, the first Sunday of every month will be a book review. But that leaves the rest of the Sundays of the month, as well as Thursdays and Saturdays. I know I don't have to post every single day, but I want to, so.

I'm throwing around some ideas for Thursdays to be guest post day. Get some other writers and non writers to write up a post of their choice for my blog. I haven't gotten my idea for it all the way set, so it's not happening yet, but that's what I really would like. And for Saturday, I think I'm going to make a recap of my week sort of thing.

Now-what about Sundays that have nothing, right? Yes, that's right, those poor singled out all alone Sundays. Well, those days will be for recommending and promoting. I will talk about books, blogs, websites, and everything inbetween. I have tons of ideas for what I want to post. If you have anything you want me to recommend/promote or whatever: A book, blog, site-ANYTHING; leave a comment on this post, email me, Tweet me, find me however you want-Here's My Contact Info. (FYI if you have a book you'd like me to review, you can contact me for my book review Sunday as well)

My Something Sunday will kick off on Sunday, Feb 26. Come back and check it out. And don't forget to let me know if you have something specific you want me to talk about :)

Happy Sunday!

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Critiques, Revising, Writing, and Details

I have decided what I will do. My Saturdays will be for random thoughts that coincide with some topic that relates to my week. Exciting, right? Yes, of course it is. Read on: :D

This week I managed to complete some critiques, writing, and revising and I got some reading done. I also got some feedback from one beta reader, and two critiquers. It was helpful information and it has given me plenty of work to do. The feedback also gave me a topic to rant about. DETAILS!!!!

When I read a book, I only care about the story. What do the characters look like? You don't need to tell me, I will make it up with my own imagination-and will more than likely skim the details you provide. Sorry, I know you put a lot of thought into each character, but those details just take up my time. Time I want to spend reading the actual story. What does the room look like that they are in? I don't care! Again, nothing against you and your writing, but I just don't. That is just more detail that means nothing to me. I only want the story! What's their tone of voice? Their body language? Yep, you guessed it-I don't care. Seriously, the story is all that matters and those things will not move me through the story, they just won't. All they do is give me more words to skim over. Just give me the story, nothing else. I know other people want those details, I know they consider them important information to the story-I don't.

That being said though, I have to revise my story to include more details. All those details I hate reading, I have to add in to my MS. Regardless of how I feel about it, majority of readers want to read that stuff. It would be easier if I like them, but since I don't it's making it harder to write it. My story is flat because I'm struggling through revisions/writing, trying to add in details. Editing used to be my downfall, I hated editing. Right now though, I would rather be editing in general, rather than having to add in details. Details, is my new frenemy. We may not like each other, but I have to deal with it

I spent this past week, pouting about the details and I will be spending this week overcoming them. Details will not be the reason my story falls flat. I want to share my story (Eamon and Sheena's story) with everyone, if that means I need to add more details to the MS, then that is what I will do.

Happy Saturday! :)

Friday, February 17, 2012

Lust

Lingering glances
In each others direction
Light touches
Showing affection

A quick good-bye hug
Then an added hello
Gradually becoming more frequent
Release, more slow

Pecks on the cheek
Moving to the neck when close
Leading to the gentle touch of the lips
Deeper, more enticing, eventual

Caresses of the hands
End up on the arms
Comfort making them roam
Causing alarm

A nip of the earlobe
Tongue teasing the collarbone
The need growing
Finding even more places to roam

Wandering hands
Rising hear within
The desires like fire
The flames envelope them

From the first look
First brush
Comes a need
An unmentionable lust

Thursday, February 16, 2012

The April 2012 A to Z Challenge

Do you have trouble coming up with ideas for posts? Are you someone who likes to take on challenges? Or are you just someone who likes something different to do and have fun doing it?

I am all of the above, and that is why the A to Z Blog Challenge 2012 caught my eye. I have been trying to branch out with my networking. I'm on Facebook a little more often, browsing around. I went from being a Twitter hater to a Tweep who Tweets all the time. I have had my blog for a long time now, and gradually began posting more and more and have finally gotten into a bit of a routine. Once I found the site for the challenge, on Alex J Cavanaugh's Blog, I knew I had to do this challenge.

I browsed the A to Z site, added my name to the list of participants, and began to brainstorm what I would do with each letter. I haven't decided exactly what I will post for each one, but I am glad I found the site early enough that I have a little time to think it over. I'm excited to have something challenging and fun to do, I can't wait for April 1st.

So...What are you waiting for? Head on over to The Site and sign up. It's going to be fun :)

Here's a list of everyone who has signed up so far:


Wednesday, February 15, 2012

To Do List: Revise/Edit

Next up on the To Do:

Revise/Edit:


Some of us writers may think this is not on our everyday to do, you're wrong. Revising/editing is something we do daily. You revise your ideas for your next MS, you revise one of your MSs, you run through one of your current WIPs and edit, the blog post you just wrote-you revise/edit it. No matter what the task, editing is going to happen each day.

I myself have a hard time marking this off of my to do list, so I understand that it is definitely a difficult task to accomplish. However, it's not an impossible one. Just like with Write, you also have to automatically set a time for Revise the minute you put it on the to do. Pick what you want to edit for the day, pick when you want to edit, and then do it. Even if you say-I'm going to revise this paragraph, it may not be much, but you have to do it. Our MSs are our masterpieces, usually, and they should be treated as such. If you write something, you can't just think it's brilliant after the first draft, or even the second. My first MS has had so may drafts I lost count. Doesn't make any difference because I want it to be as polished as it can be.

When you are revising a MS, it can be even harder to actually mark this off the list. It's your baby, you are attached and don't want to change a thing. You need to. No one can write a perfect MS the first time round, it's impossible. So, how I said even if it's one paragraph? That's exactly what I mean. Or it could be a few sentences. If you are overwhelmed with just the thought of having to edit anything, it's easier to accomplish if you set your goal low. One paragraph may not be much, but in the end, it'll feel good that you can mark Revise of your to do. And that is the best advice I can give to anyone who struggles with getting this task off of their list-aim for a minimum revision, something you can get done. If you do more than your goal, you'll feel super fantastic, and if all you do is manage that one paragraph, or even those couple of sentences-you'll still feel accomplished because that was the goal for the day.

Make sure your goal is an obtainable one for you. Then set the time, and just do it. When you're feeling like the revisions are sucking you dry-go back to your group and vent or whine. But if you remember the importance of editing your work, it will help you work harder to check this off your list.

Happy Revising :)

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Happy Valentine's Day!

This is one of my favorite holidays. Romance is a lovely thing, and today it's everywhere. This is the day for a man to stop procrastinating and finally, ask that special lady to marry him. It's the day when that little boy gets the courage to declare his "love" for the cutie in his class. The day for new love to blossom, and old love to be renewed. Romance is beautiful, and I'm not just saying that because I write romance. Can you say you don't agree it's sweet? If so, oh well, I love, love, and today is Love's day. Let's celebrate it.

Do something special for someone today. Show a loved one, or loved ones how much you love them. It can be something as simple as a card. Or even a post on someones Facebook wall that says, Hey, I'm thinking of you today.  Just do it. Kids, parents, spouse, lover, friend, it doesn't matter, as long as you let them know what they mean to you. And have a Happy Valentine's Day!!

I Love You

It is Valentine's Day after all :)

I Love You

I love your eyes
your lips
I love your hugs
your kiss

I love your voice
your words
I love your personality
your sweetness more

I love your hands
your arms
I love your strength
your hold

I love your smile
your skin
I love your color
your complexion

I love everything about you
everything you do
Simply said with three words
I love you

In His Eyes (Indelibles Valentine’s Anthology)


Looking for a good book? Check out:


Just in time for Valentines Day, The Indelibles bring you a one-of-a-kind young adult anthology! Sixteen original short stories, all from the point of view of our favorite male characters - some are old flames from our novels and some were dreamed up especially for this anthology. 

Let these imminently crushable, swoon-worthy guys show you what romance looks like – in his eyes. 
The contributors to In His Eyes include award winners, frequent “Top 100” placers, and hot 2011 debut authors. 


In His Eyes is FREE at Smashwords, and $0.99 at Amazon and Barnes&Noble - hopefully to go free there as well by our release date on February 14th for Valentines Day. Or you can add In His Eyes to your TBR list on Goodreads.

For more information about The Indelibles, check out our(their)  blog, facebook page, or follow us on Twitter.

Stories included in the Anthology:

Surprise, Surprise by Stacey Wallace Benefiel, author of Glimpse: Half the women in Melody's family can see the future, which makes it nearly impossible for Raleigh to surprise her. What's a guy to do for Valentine's Day when his girlfriend is always one step ahead of him? 

First Kiss or First Kill? by C.K. Bryant, author of Bound: Love isn't always rainbows and kittens, sometimes it can be downright deadly. (A deleted chapter from Bound.) 

Shattered by Ali Cross, author of Become: James and Desi use each other in an effort to cling to the darkness in each of them, but in the end they discover that love changes you. (A chapter of Become from James’ POV.) 

Before by Jessie Harrell, author of Destined: When a younger Eros is exiled to a land that doesn't believe in the Greek gods, he finds the first love of his immortal life. Read Eros' first person account of his romance, and heartbreak, in the time before he met Psyche. 

The Qualm Before the Storm by Karen Amanda Hooper, author of Tangled Tides. Yara Jones doesn’t want to be a mermaid. Treygan doesn’t want to be the monster who turns her. You can’t always get what you want. (A short prequel to Tangled Tides.) 

Unspeakable by S.R. Johannes, author of Untraceable: When Mo sees a strange girl in the woods, he follows her. He soon realizes they are both in a dangerous position and might not get out alive. 

In the Beginning by Katie Klein, author of Cross My Heart: Seth is falling hard for Genesis Green, but the guardian angel is determined not to interfere, until an accident changes the course of their lives forever. (A short prequel to The Guardian.) 

A Chance Encounter by Cheri Lasota, author of Artemis Rising: Finnian's eyes hide a terrible secret. But a girl on the train home, the girl in tears with a secret of her own...She sees right through him. A scene from the upcoming novel, Echoes in the Glass. 

Family Bonds by Heather McCorkle, author of The Secret of Spruce Knoll: A Halloween party filled with teens who can channel energy and use it to kill, what could go wrong? For Spruce Knoll fans who are dying to read more about Fane. 

Getting Closer by Lisa Nowak, author of Running Wide Open: Megan is smart, hot, and an upperclassman—in other words, way out of Cody’s league. So why did she choose him? (An excerpt of Getting Sideways.) 

The Almost Assassin by Laura Pauling, author of A Spy Like Me, releasing Spring 2012: Malcolm tries his hand at the family business but his conscience and a beautiful "spy" may be his downfall. 

Mind Games by Susan Kaye Quinn, author of Open Minds: Raf wants to take Kira—the only girl in school who doesn’t read minds—to the mindware Games, but his friends have other plans. (A short prequel to Open Minds.) 

By The Firelight by Elle Strauss, author of Clockwise: When Nate McKenzie asks an unpopular girl to dance on a dare, he's in for the time of his life. 

A Very Alien Valentine’s Day by Magan Vernon, author of How To Date An Alien: After surviving confinement and an intergalactic war for his human half, Alex, now he has to live through the biggest challenge of them all: Valentine's Day. 

Aligned by RaShelle Workman, author of Exiled: A half-Eternal boy and an Eternal girl must free millions of tortured souls from a creature whose been feasting on their pain and suffering.

(This description was brought to you by:  Karen Hooper author of Tangled Tides )



Now,  go check it out.

My review for this will be up soon :)


(I am not an Indelible, I am just a messenger telling you that you should check out this Anthology and all the other wonderful books by the amazing authors who are members of the Indelibles. )

Monday, February 13, 2012

To Do List: Write

So next up on the to do:

Write:


Every writer has this on their to do list, hence the term "writer." It's not a favorite of mine, well it is sometimes, but not usually. Therefore, it tends to be a forced task. But I make sure I do some writing everyday. This could be anything-adding things to a MS already completed, working on your WIP (I'll pull out the glossary on my Favorite Blog.just in case you need it :) , posting on your blog, starting a brand new WIP, or just brainstorming. Whatever it may be, you're going to write everyday, even when you don't realize you're dong it.

So, how do you check write off your to do? Ah tis much less complicated then critiques. It is simple, once you put Write on the to do, automatically set a time to do it. Doesn't matter what time of day, or for how long, just that you make the time. As a writer, this is the most important thing on the to do list. You must make time to do some kind of writing each day-the more we write, the more we improve. If you find yourself struggling with checking this off, even when you decided on a time to do it...Then that group I mentioned you needed to join? Yeah, this is one of those times they come in handy. Go to your forum, seek their support, or their foot (you know, kicking your ass into gear :) They are writers too remember? Which means they too have days when it's hard to become motivated. Which in turn means they understand.

Now-get on with it!

Happy Writing :)

Saturday, February 11, 2012

Every Little Bit Counts

I recently decided I would post reviews of books I read. This is a new thing for me. I've reviewed books on places such as Amazon and Borders (when they were still around :(  However, I thought it would be a good addition to my blog, something else for my readers. Especially since my readers, read. *GASP* I know right, odd concept, a reader, reading. BUT it does happen. Huh, who woulda thunk it...

So, I posted my first book review for my blog. First up was Calista Taylor's Viridis. (IDK if I really did it "right" but it gives you a bit to help you decide if you think you may want to read it-which you should read it.) (If you haven't read my review, and would like to: Here's the link :) This was only my first review of many more to come. There will be more and I will also recommend books as well....

The other day, I began following @Drunk_on_Books who sent me a DM telling me he is looking forward to any book recommendations I have for him. I thought, huh, recommendations, okay, I could do that. I love to read, and I love to spread the word about books. Then I thought, wait, what if I recommend a book that he thinks it total crap and doesn't want anymore recommendations from me? So I was on the fence. I sucked my worries up though and gave him my recommendation for Viridis and also one for Edge of Hyperspace by Scott Seldon.

Now, I only have 9 followers on my blog. BUT I have 157 followers on Twitter and I have two different Facebook accounts and different friends on each. Point being I am not a complete nobody, and therefore I am perfectly capable of spreading the word about someones book(s). And I love spreading the word.

Every review, every recommendation, every mention brings your book to a readers attention. Even if you think the person talking about your book is just a little silent fish in a sea of much bigger fish with much bigger prescnece. Don't knock someone who is willing to talk about your book(s)...Every little bit counts.

Friday, February 10, 2012

Writing

The inspiration
Of each word you write
The motivation
That is life

The experience
Your teacher
The knowledge
Your keeper

The narration
Is your only guide
The reality
That it's not a fun ride

The imagination
Shining light on truth
The story
In your head, screaming at you

The heart
Helps your thoughts progress
The soul
Does all the rest

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

To Do List: Critiques

Here is my first installment of the writer's to do list and how to get it done. If you want to see what's on the to do and/or if you have suggestions: Go Here.

Now, for the first thing up on the To Do:

Critiques:

Some of you may say, This isn't on my list, so it doesn't pertain to me. I say WHAT!? If you are a writer, you should also be a contributer. One way, and the best way, is to critique your fellow writers work(s). If we don't extend the olive branch, then how do we expand our fan base? (And if you even think a fan base doesn't matter...you need to rethink the whole writer thing) I'm a member of a critique group (which I'm sure I've mentioned) on AgentQueryConnect (which I know I've mentioned) and I love my group. We are a fairly new group, and each week we post a chapter or few for the others in the group to critique. Currently we are all beginning to wrap up our first MSs, and although I've been lucky enough to get to read each of their stories-I will buy them and read them again when they are published. In addition to my group, I swap chapters with two different people that I met on QueryTracker. And I recently began helping out with Caterina Torres' Short Stories. When I have time, I also critique queries on AQC. Through doing all this, I have gained: Friends and other writers to critique my work(s) and to give me opinions on my work(s). If that is not motivation enough for you to add critiques to your to do list, then you may not be ready to call yourself a writer.

Now that you are convinced, let me give you some tips on how to manage this task:


     1. Join some writer forums first and foremost-they will aid you in your journey and will become a very important part of it as well. This will help you network your work and yourself, it will help you connect with other people who are going through the same thing as you. This is a place that will help ground you. It will be somewhere you can go after you just got your first or thirtieth rejection letter, where there will be people to help lift you out of the funk and away from that feeling of failure. I have mentioned the best two in this post, but there are others out there. Find one, join it, and participate.

     2. Now that you have joined a forum, browse around. I don't know of other sites, but AQC and QT both have places you can put out a "Want Ad" that let's people know you want a critique partner. In addition, there are groups that you can join and places to post queries and synopsis to have critiqued. And it's going to give you the opportunity to begin critiquing others works.
     3. Once you've done those two things, you're set. Let it happen, let people find you and don't stop seeking out critique partners and groups until you've successfully found some.
Most groups are going to have a certain way of going about things. For example, in my group, we post a chapter or few each week. When I found my one on one partners, we decided what would work best for us, which ended up being 1-3 chapters/week as well. This pace works for me, and it's typically the best time-frame to use.
    4. You have your group(s)/partner(s) and you have your setup....Now what? Do it! Make that commitment, it will help you in many different ways. As long as you keep up your end of the critiquing, you will have a partner/group that will be useful and will be there for you in your journey-with each MS. If you agreed to one chapter a week...critique that one chapter a week. There may be weeks that you are swamped by other things, but you must set aside sometime to get your critique(s) done. No matter how much you have to do. Critique groups and partners are going to play a vital role in your writer life. They will be able to pick you up when you're down, they will be able to push you to do your best, they will be there to say your plot sucks or is great. Regardless, now that you have partners in your journey, you have support that you can only get from people who are going through the same things you are.
SO-Are you a writer? Then you find the time to check it off. I know I say it so simply, but that is only because somethings are just that simple. You need your critique partners and therefore, you need to find time to tend to them.

Happy Critiquing! :)

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Learn

I've made mistakes
That can never be changed
Done things I shouldn't have
And all with no shame

You have to do wrong
Or everyone would be perfect
So I'm not ashamed of actions
Just try to keep 'em in check

Things I've done
No-one will ever know
But I'm older now
And have learned to grow

Mistakes are part of life
It's okay to make them
Just use your head
And make sure you learn somethin'

Monday, February 6, 2012

So Much To Do...

As a writer, I can say my to do list each day is massive:

Critiques, writing, revising, reading, connecting, promoting, reviewing, learning, researching, blogging...okay, this list could continue, but I'll stop there. And let's not forget the list that is not writer related. Take kids to school, clean house, cook, homework help, job outside of writing/school for self, time with hubby/significant other, family time, grocery shopping/errand running, school functions, volunteering....again, this list can also go on and on.

What I'm going to do, is address each task, on both lists. I will tackle them, talk about them, and give some tips on how to successfully complete them. I will first take on the writer related to do. Then I will take on the non.

Check out my first topic CRITIQUES on Wednesday, February 8.

Is there something on your writer or non writer to do that you would like me to address, but I don't have listed above? Post in the comments, or Contact Me and I will fit it in there.

Thanks! :)