One of the best things you can do for your readers is to surprise them.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Monday, June 16, 2008
Beat it!
You know how there are some things that you've "always wanted to do"?
And you really have no good reason why you haven't done them?
Well, I've finally done it!
African drum lessons, baby!
Djembe drums, to be exact.
My new drum:
Phoebe is very suspicious of this new animal:
This is a recording of me practicing yesterday.
Well, okay...that was someone similar to me practicing yesterday.
And you really have no good reason why you haven't done them?
Well, I've finally done it!
African drum lessons, baby!
Djembe drums, to be exact.
My new drum:
Phoebe is very suspicious of this new animal:
Well, okay...that was someone similar to me practicing yesterday.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Thank you
...and to water my garden, especially the scavolea that needs watering constantly but I bought it anyway so what was I thinking?
Friday, June 13, 2008
Love this writing
I loved this piece by my Smoky Mountain Soul Sister, Kerry Madden.
My two favorite parts:
They led a back-deck life of wine and jazz and never went anywhere except to visit troubled adult children "in the desert."
and
If something needed fixing, Connie would appear in her wig and muumuu and sad story about the price of things.
My two favorite parts:
They led a back-deck life of wine and jazz and never went anywhere except to visit troubled adult children "in the desert."
and
If something needed fixing, Connie would appear in her wig and muumuu and sad story about the price of things.
Pollen Part 2
How bad is this pollen, you ask?
So bad, Phoebe has Pollen Nose:
So bad, Phoebe has Pollen Nose:
So bad, I have resorted to hanging bed sheets on the screened porch!
A nice look, isn't it?
A nice look, isn't it?
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Ouch!
I've always been lousy at sports.
The last one picked for the team.
For good reason.
I'm even lousy at Wii Fit.
There's this soccer game where you're supposed to head butt the balls that are being kicked at you.
I miss....
...a lot.
And THEN, they start kicking SHOES at you!
Soccer shoes with cleats.
You're supposed to duck.
Duh!
It hits me in the face every time.
And it makes this big thwack noise.
Notice the score. (Yes, that would be 7 balls hit out of 67 kicked at me.)
The last one picked for the team.
For good reason.
I'm even lousy at Wii Fit.
There's this soccer game where you're supposed to head butt the balls that are being kicked at you.
I miss....
...a lot.
And THEN, they start kicking SHOES at you!
Soccer shoes with cleats.
You're supposed to duck.Duh!
It hits me in the face every time.
And it makes this big thwack noise.
Notice the score. (Yes, that would be 7 balls hit out of 67 kicked at me.)
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Writing Tip Tuesday
Today's advice from Stephen King again. (Hey, the guy does know a little about writing).
Description is what makes the reader a sensory participant in the story.
Good description is a learned skill, one of the prime reasons why you cannot succeed unless you read a lot and write a lot.
It's not just a question of how-to, you see; it's also a question of how much to.
Reading will help you answer how much, and only reams of writing will help you with the how.
You can learn only by doing.
Description begins with visualization of what it is you want the reader to experience. It ends with your translating what you see in your mind into words on the page.
Description is what makes the reader a sensory participant in the story.
Good description is a learned skill, one of the prime reasons why you cannot succeed unless you read a lot and write a lot.
It's not just a question of how-to, you see; it's also a question of how much to.
Reading will help you answer how much, and only reams of writing will help you with the how.
You can learn only by doing.
Description begins with visualization of what it is you want the reader to experience. It ends with your translating what you see in your mind into words on the page.
Monday, June 9, 2008
Summer goals meme
I've been tagged by teacher extraordinaire Megan Germano for the Summer Goals Meme -
- Take African drumming lessons
- Sign up to be a Meals on Wheels substitute driver
- Spend as much time as possible on my screened porch
- Update all my brochures and create some new promotional materials
- Remember how lucky I am
Yoohoo!
Remember my Yoohoo boat story?
I made a Yoohoo boat, too!
And I sent one to my editor and one to my agent.
Friday, June 6, 2008
So what do ya think?
Is it time for new slippers?
I'm totally bummed. As you see, I love these slippers. I wear them constantly and have had them for a bajillion years. But that big tear on the right one is causing them to be too big, so it's getting harder to walk comfortably in them. Sniff.....They are L.L. Bean Wicked Good Clogs.
They are Wicked Good.
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Writing Tip Tuesday
Today I turn once again to the master himself: Stephen King (From On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft):
I think locale and texture are much more important to the reader's sense of actually being in the story than any physical description of the players. Nor do I think that physical description should be a shortcut to character. So spare me, if you please, the hero's sharply intelligent blue eyes and outthrust determined chin; likewise the heroine's arrogant cheekbones. This sort of thing is bad technique and lazy writing, the equivalent of all those tiresome adverbs.
I think locale and texture are much more important to the reader's sense of actually being in the story than any physical description of the players. Nor do I think that physical description should be a shortcut to character. So spare me, if you please, the hero's sharply intelligent blue eyes and outthrust determined chin; likewise the heroine's arrogant cheekbones. This sort of thing is bad technique and lazy writing, the equivalent of all those tiresome adverbs.
Monday, June 2, 2008
Bashing, swooping and all that stuff
Pretend like I wrote this*:
I revise just about every time I write, writing and revision are completely intertwined for me. Usually before I write on, I read over what I wrote the day before, sometimes starting all the way at the beginning. With each rereading, I make tiny changes, over and over again...I love language, to fiddle with words, to play with cadence and sentence structure. It's like layering paint, for me, or molding clay - very tactile, very satisfying. More challenging for me is the kind of global, architectural revision that comes toward the end of a draft, where sometimes you have to take away a whole section or radically rethink the way a book is built. For this kind of revision, I rely on readers - writer friends, my editor, etc. - who can help me see the project from a distance and take the long view.
This is SO me...
...and also reminds me of Sarah Miller's post about bashers and swoopers.
*It was actually written by author Elizabeth Graver and quoted from Off the Page.
I revise just about every time I write, writing and revision are completely intertwined for me. Usually before I write on, I read over what I wrote the day before, sometimes starting all the way at the beginning. With each rereading, I make tiny changes, over and over again...I love language, to fiddle with words, to play with cadence and sentence structure. It's like layering paint, for me, or molding clay - very tactile, very satisfying. More challenging for me is the kind of global, architectural revision that comes toward the end of a draft, where sometimes you have to take away a whole section or radically rethink the way a book is built. For this kind of revision, I rely on readers - writer friends, my editor, etc. - who can help me see the project from a distance and take the long view.
This is SO me...
...and also reminds me of Sarah Miller's post about bashers and swoopers.
*It was actually written by author Elizabeth Graver and quoted from Off the Page.
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