It's a small world after all

I received some lovely letters from these girls - all the way from India! They are from India, Korea and the United States.

Isn't it great that books really can travel the world?

Uh oh

You know how I have this thing about collecting vintage state map tablecloths?

Well, I saw this awesome one on eBay....

....I decided I really wanted it....but....

...you know how the economy is in the dumper and all?

So I put in a VERY modest bid and figured I'd never win it and...oh well.

And then I told my husband about it and he said, "Go for it! You'll never see another one like that."

So we were getting ready to bid this really stupidly high bid....

....and I suddenly had this flash of a hazy memory....

So I went to check my collection and....

I already have that one!!!!

I'm starting to worry myself.

Writing Tip Every-Other-Tuesday

Did you notice the new subject heading for this post?

That's right - Writing Tip Every-Other-Tuesday.

Heh.

But, come on y'all, I've been doing the Writing Tip Tuesday post for a whole year and, well, I might be reaching the bottom of my seemingly-bottomless well of brilliant tips.

So I'm slowing down a little.

I still have a few tips of my own.

And will still be stealing, um, I mean, referencing tips by other writers.

But I may not be posting EVERY Tuesday.

Okay?

But - if you click on the Writing Tips tag, you'll see I've been doing a pretty dang good job!

Huh?

Okay, let's see....16 degrees now, going to a low of 9....then on Wednesday, 61 degrees.

What the heck?

Gifts for writers

Love this.

Available here.

It's snowing!

The first snowfall of the year

Gifts for writers

Another great gift idea - a donation to a great cause: School on Wheels.

This organization provides backpacks, supplies, tutoring, etc., for homeless children.

There may be a branch in your state. (My state has their own branch.)

Ooops

I fixed that link in the post below. Sorry about that. (Blame it on the Cable Guy - who, by the way, is coming back to my house for the second time to fix what he supposedly fixed the first time.

Gifts for writers

These are pretty cool notecards for readers and writers!

Available here.

Gifts for writers

Origami Sticky Notes!

Every writer needs a good distraction.

Get it here.

What she said

I love this post.

Things I've done

I love this! Thanks to Jennifer....

...that was fun!

I've done the things in bold.

If you want to play, copy the list, bold what you've done.

Do it!

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community.
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelos David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a lawsuit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day

No more S-T-R-E-S-S

I solved my problem from yesterday.

I called The Cable Guy.

S-T-R-E-S-S

We decided it was time to finally get rid of our dinosaur television.

It seemed like a good idea at the time.

Quandary number one: Do we listen to my husband and put the tv on the wall....

Or do we listen to me and leave it on the tv stand so all the hideous wires show and now I might have to admit I was wrong?

Quandary #2:

Somewhere along the line, I was appointed Person-Who-Deals-With-All-Things-Electronic.

So, me being the manual-reading type, I get out this ridiculous excuse for a manual, which is titled Quick Setup Guide (but they left out Step #1, which is "Get an engineering degree from M.I.T").

Then I stare at this for a while:

And then I stare at this for a while:

And then I have these three cables that go, um, where???

And in the meantime, I'm trying to go through the first-pass galley of The Small Adventure of Popeye and Elvis.

Writing Tip Tuesday

Subject today?

Point of view.

Jumping out of point of view is a common writing mistake because it's so easy to do.

I love, love, love writing in first person point of view.

But the trick is to get into a zenlike mode and BE that character.

That means every single teeny tiny little thing in the story is presented ONLY through the eyes of the narrator.

Which means......

....unless the narrator (i.e., main character) is looking in the mirror....

....she can't see herself.

So that means, you can't write sentences like this:

My face grew red.

or

My forehead glistened with sweat.

The character can feel her face grow red or her forehead sweating.

But she can't see it.

So you need to write something more along the lines of this:

My cheeks burned.

or

I wiped the sweat from my forehead and stuffed the tissue back in my pocket.

See what I mean?