A Daily Byline

Late Night Writing

2012-01-22T00:38:00.000-08:00

One of the things I love most about weekends is that I can stay up as late as I want and write to my heart's content without my son or my husband coming in to my office to ask me for some milk or what time I'm coming to bed. I'm pretty good at tuning them out when I'm in a writing groove, but not completely.

I've started a new book. Yes, a new book. I haven't gone back to one of the previous ones that I started, but didn't finish, now that I'm taking a break from my two completed manuscripts until after I get a little feedback from agents and editors at the SDSU Writers' Conference next weekend.

Well, that's not completely true. I hand-wrote the ending in my journal for one of my old ideas and it's perfect. I've been thinking a lot about how I'm going to develop those characters and that story. I think it's going to be really great.

But this new story is just pouring right out of me. I started it last weekend and I'm up to 55 double-spaced pages already. I've got lots of ideas written in my journal for the new book too.

If I ever do get a book published and have the opportunity to write novels full-time, I'll probably aggravate my agent, editor and publisher, because my mind is constantly jumping around to different ideas. I remember being frustrated at last year's SDSU conference when agents and editors said you pretty much have to find one genre and stick to it. That's just a ridiculously stifling concept to me.

Anyway, I'm having fun. But it's getting close to 1 a.m., so I guess I should get in bed. The "Awake" tea I drank around 10 p.m. is wearing off now ... zzzzzzzz ...

Shockingly Poignant

2012-01-17T19:42:00.000-08:00

My 5-year-old catches me by surprise with something he says pretty much every day. Most of the time it's funny, like the time he said he wished he was a "knock-turtle" so that he could stay awake all night.

But then there are times like tonight when he says something that just takes my breath away. He's been learning about Martin Luther King Jr. in his kindergarten and they obviously left out some of the tougher parts of the lesson. Here's our conversation from the dinner table tonight:

My son: "How come Martin Luther King didn't come to school on his birthday?"

Me: "Uh, well, he died a long time ago, buddy."

Son: *gasp* "How did he die?"

Me: "Uh, well, some bad people shot him."

Son: *gasp* "Bad white people?"

Me: "Yeah, buddy, I'm afraid so."

Son: "That makes me sad. I miss Martin Luther King." *Bows head and takes a bite of Spaghetti-Os.*

Me: "Yeah, buddy. Me too."

I wanted to cry and wrap my arms around him and protect him from all the horrible things in this world. But at the same time, I want him to know the truth. That some people are really bad people, but not as many as there used to be. That some black and white people don't get along, but these days most of us do.

Being as nonchalant as I could, I tried to turn it into a teaching moment. When he said, "But black peoples and white peoples are together now," I said, "That's right, because we're all the same, but we have different colored skin." Then he asked, "But are there other kinds of colors of people?" And I said, "Well, yeah. Asian people, like people from China, they kind of have yellow or tan skin. And Mexican people, their skin is kind of brown isn't it?"

By then, I started to kind of lose him, but he got the point. He said, "Like there's black dogs and white dogs and black-and-white dogs and brown dogs and they all get along." And I said, "Yeah, that's right." But then it devolved into a discussion of cats trying to get along with dogs, and cats eating mice, but they shouldn't and so on.

He's 5 years old. He has only so much stamina for these kinds of things. It does make me a little worried about and excited about the conversations we're going to have at the dinner table in a couple of years.

I can't wait to see what kind of insights he comes up with then when he's had a little more exposure to the world -- both good and bad. So far, I think he's turned out pretty well, if I do say so myself.

Rebelling ... Against Myself

2012-01-14T21:20:00.000-08:00

I am so tired of editing book no. 1 (and just tired in general) and I really, really want to start working on something new (or something I haven't finished, anyway) but I'm trying to be disciplined and finish one project before I start another. But tonight I'm rebelling against myself. I started looking around at random blogs that I haven't visited in a while (including mine). I'm thumbing my nose at book no. 1 and saying, "I don't want to and you can't make me!"

Then again, I just had a cup of "Awake" tea and I'm suddenly feeling much less sleepy, so ... back to reading and editing, I guess. Is it a bad sign that I'm weary of this book or good that I have so many other ideas I'm anxious to work on?

Yes, ideas. New ideas. I thought of a really great one just today after I read Jennifer Brown's "The Hate List," a young adult novel. She wrote about bullying and admitted in the author's note at the end that she was bullied in school. I started thinking about things that I went through in high school (not bullying) and I thought of a really great story with vivid characters, relate-able issues and some cool plot points.

But, there's that annoying book no. 1 whispering in my ear "Finish me," so I can't work on anything new yet. Arg!

One More Goal

2012-01-11T19:55:00.000-08:00

My last post was about writing goals for 2012. I have one more to add: I want to write blog posts more frequently.

I always feel like I should wait until I have more than a few sentences to get off my chest ... and then sometimes I just forget how long it's been since I stopped by to chat.

So, here's me, just stopping by to say, "Hi."

Otherwise, I have nothing new to report. I continue to edit my first book based on the great feedback I got from a friend who read the manuscript. It's going well, though I'm in the middle of moving a few things around (she was right; that scene does come too early in the book) and I've added 12 pages. *Sigh* I guess I need to start thinking about what to cut too.

Writing Goals for 2012

2012-01-05T19:50:00.000-08:00

With two books finished (although editing continues as if the process will never end) I have an ambitious goal for this year: to finish two more books. And I found a quote this morning that was particularly inspiring, considering my grand goal:

"The vitality of thought is in adventure. Ideas won't keep. Something must be done about them." -- Alfred North Whitehead, British mathematician and philosopher

I have four other books (and several ideas written in various journals) that I started months or years ago and I never got anywhere close to finishing one of them. So, this year, now that I have two full novels written, I plan to finish two more.

They involve characters or story lines that I absolutely love, but I'm still figuring out how to end their tales. I think it's time now to sit down with those old friends and see where they take me.

Looking Forward to New Projects

2012-01-03T20:34:00.000-08:00

After I finish the latest round of editing for my first book -- and while my second book is being read by a friend -- I'll actually have time to work on a third project. Somehow, I just realized this fact today.

I've submitted the first 10 pages of my first two books for review by agents and editors at the SDSU Writers' Conference at the end of January. After I get their feedback, I'm sure I'll have more editing to do on both manuscripts. But if I finish my latest round of editing for my first book soon, I'll have a couple of weeks to work on book no. 3 before the conference.

Now, the hard will be deciding which unfinished project to work on next. I have a few partially written manuscripts that have sat untouched for almost a year as well as several ideas for other books, of course.

If only I could win the lottery ... well, that would mean a lot of things ... but if I won the lottery then I could spend all of my free time writing all of the different book ideas bouncing around in my brain and piling up in my journals and eating up space on my hard drive. I guess I better start buying lottery tickets.

Deadline Nipping at My Heels

2011-12-28T20:05:00.000-08:00

Jan. 3

That's the final date that I can sign up for the San Diego State Writers Conference at the early bird rate and submit the first 10 pages of my two books for review by agents and editors. I have only 5 more full days before that deadline to make sure that my 10 pages are in acceptable form to send off to professional critics. Yikes!

I think I'm set on the first 10 pages of my young adult novel, but the first 10 pages of my book that I would categorize at this point as women's fiction is still a work in progress. I got it back from a friend who read it for me -- my second friend to do so -- and now I'm editing and adding things as per her suggestions. I'm almost done, but I'm still hesitant to send my pages off for professional critiques.

My biggest fear, of course, is that the agents will tell me when we meet at the conference at the end of January that I'm a hack. That there's not enough description or there's too much. That the characters are poorly drawn or the reader can't sympathize with them. Etc., etc., etc.

But then, I'll never know one way or the other unless I work up the nerve to send in my work. It's now or never, I guess.

Great Writing

2011-12-24T15:42:00.000-08:00

I just finished reading "A Discovery of Witches" by Deborah Harkness. It was one of those books I couldn't put down, because I was so enthralled with the story and the flawless writing. Also, it's 579 pages and I had only one week to read it before it was due back at the library. I should know better than to check out books that long when they're only on loan from the library for a week, but I guess it's extra motivation to keep reading.

The writing was so good, though. The kind that makes me realize how much my own writing is lacking. It makes me feel inspired and untalented at the same time. My writing will never reach that level, but hopefully my storytelling makes up for what the writing lacks.

It's a difficult balance, because I want people to understand what's going on with the characters and not spend so much time reading a description of what's going on in the scene. I don't like to read books that get carried away with describing a room or what-have-you. I don't want to spend so much time describing something so that it feels like all the details are getting in the way of telling the reader what's happening, but I want them to be able to picture what's going on while the action is under way.

Harkness' book borders on too much description for my taste, but it's necessary for the type of historical fiction that she's crafted. Most of the time she stops providing details of the study or the magnificent creatures her main character is surrounded by before I forget what they were doing when the witch stopped to take in the scene or people around her.

Once again, I'm in awe of another writer. And now it's time to focus on my own work, because I've got a writing conference deadline breathing down my neck.

It's the Little Things

2011-12-15T19:50:00.000-08:00

I am in the middle of a week and a half of hell at work -- lots of projects due before I take off for a week and a half to hang out with my son during his break from school. I am exhausted. All I want to do when I get home is read or watch "Glee," but I have work to do. *Sigh*

Plus, it's that time of year -- Christmas. It should be a happy time, but for now it's stressful. We've got a few more presents to buy, lots of presents to wrap and endless fundraisers at my son's school. There are just so many things to remember between work and home that my brain is ready to explode.

Last night, I just wanted to zone out, but I also wanted (or needed) to read through some research for a story that was due today. However, I also had to help my son with a school project that was also due the next day. Just what I needed -- one more thing to do, right?!

In the end I'm glad I had that excuse to take a break from thinking about me and all of the nagging projects taking up space in my self-absorbed brain. I accomplished something -- my son's homework -- and spent time with my kid, who had to wait for me to get home from work late, yet again.

And, I had fun. We had to decorate a gingerbread man and he wanted to make it a ninja. I had to put my creative-thinking hat on and figure out how to cut out a ninja costume for our paper ninja-bread man. It was a nice break from the insanity of the season.

Still, I can hardly wait for the 12 days-in-a-row that I will have off from work in a few days. Just four more days in the office to go and then I can refocus on the writing I try do to in my "spare" time.

Read, Edit, Repeat; Read, Edit, Repeat ...

2011-12-07T19:55:00.000-08:00

I'm blasting through my second read on my second book, my young adult novel, because the second reader on my first book gave back my manuscript over the weekend with lots of good notes in it. I can't wait to dig in and address her suggestions (and fix the handful of typos she found), but I've got to finish my second round of edits on book no. 2 first.

Fortunately, I don't have any other books that aren't my own that I'm dying to read at the moment, so my distractions are relatively limited. Time is a-ticking. I've got to get ready to submit my first 10 pages of both books for agent/editor readers coming to the San Diego State Writers Conference in January.

I don't think I'm going to have time to let anyone read book no. 2 before I submit it for professional input at the conference, so I'm taking a risk there, but I think what I have is fairly solid at this point. The more I read it, the better I feel about it. What a relief!

Nice Diversion

2011-11-30T21:02:00.000-08:00

I finished reading "Divergent" by Veronica Roth yesterday and I loved, loved, loved it. It's sort of a cross between "Matched" by Ally Condie and "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins. And it's another three-book series, so there are still two more stories to come. I can't wait to read more about Tris and Four!

Now, off to continue reading my own teen novel. The first read-through went well and, for the most part, it seems pretty clean so far in my second read-through. There weren't as many gaps in the story as I thought there would be, so that's good news. OK, now I'm really going to get started ...

Four-Day "Weekend"

2011-11-26T21:22:00.000-08:00

Isn't a four-day weekend supposed to be a vacation? I'm almost -- almost -- ready to go back to work after my last three days off.

I spent the first half of Thanksgiving cleaning closets and the second half hanging out and eating at my mom's house. Yesterday, I did a little more reading and cleaning in the morning, spent the afternoon out at lunch and shopping with my son, then came home and read a little more. Today, I spent the morning lazing about and then went to the park, lunch, library and Seaport Village in hopes of getting a picture with Santa. I am beat!

At least tomorrow should be a less busy day, I think. We're meeting friends for a park play date then lunch. I might -- might -- get up early and go to the gym. Ugh, I need a break!

But by the time I get to the end of Monday, I know I'll be ready for another long weekend. Thankfully, my 12 days off at Christmas time is less than a month away!

Intriguing Story, Bad Writing

2011-11-21T21:02:00.000-08:00

I'm reading "Fallen" by Lauren Kate. I'm about a third of the way in and I really want to love it, but I don't.

I'm starting to lose interest in the story, because it's taking so long to find out what we're dealing with here. I believe they are supposed to be angels of some sort -- perhaps fallen angels -- but I don't even have a clue as to what is different about the main characters yet.

I'm on page 135. Yes, I get that Luce has problems or powers she doesn't understand. Yes, I get that she feels a connection to Daniel. Yes, I get that this reform school she went to is creepy and strange. But when is she going to get at least a hint as to the connection between Daniel and herself and their odd powers? If Kate doesn't tell me soon, I might just give up on the story.

This relates to problems I have with my own writing. I feel like I need to give a lot of back story up front, when I probably could weave some of it into the story and get the characters into their conflicts sooner. At least it doesn't take me hundreds of pages to get my readers there. Geesh!

It's all about striking the right balance -- creating an intriguing story or concept that keeps the reader engaged while giving them enough background that they understand the characters and empathize with them enough to keep reading.

Sad Books?

2011-11-19T01:16:00.000-08:00

I need something really light and fun to read, because everything I've read lately has been so dark and sad.

I'm reading Jonathan Safran Foer's "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" about a boy who lost his father in the Sept. 11 terrorist attack in New York. Before that, I read "Looking for Alaska" by John Green, which was funny, but ultimately really sad and tragic. Before that, I read "The Death Cure" by James Dashner, which sort of has a happy ending. Kind of. But only after a lot of suffering upon suffering upon suffering.

What I need is something silly and light. Maybe it's time to pick up the most recent Lorna Landvik book. Hmmm ... decisions, decisions ...

Back to Work

2011-11-13T21:34:00.001-08:00

Since I finished my first edit of book no. 2, my teen novel, about a week ago, I've been taking a break from writing. I've been reading a lot.

I read "The Death Cure," the third book in the "Maze Runner" series by James Dashner. I wish they would make "The Maze Runner" into a movie. I thought I read somewhere that Dashner sold the movie rights, but I could be mistaken. I call it a boy-based version on "The Hunger Games" when I try to describe it to other people.

I also read "Looking for Alaska" by John Green. It's sort of a similar story to his more recent novel, "Paper Towns." There were several parts in "Alaska" that were funnier than the funny parts of "Paper Towns," but "Alaska" was much more sad in the end.

Next, I think I'll read "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" by Jonathan Safran Foer. I saw the trailer for the movie version with Sandra Bullock and Tom Hanks and I was intrigued. It's about a boy who lost his father in the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks when one of the airplanes hit the Twin Towers in New York City. I think it's going to be uplifting. Or, at least, I hope.

But now that my little writing break is over, I need to go back and do a second reading of my own novel. I think it came together well, but I know it needs a good second reading before I ask someone else to take a look at it. I'm excited. It's very different from my first book.

Then, when I finish a second reading of my second book, I'm going to go back to one of the other novels I've started writing and pick up where I left off several months ago. I can't wait!

Teen Fiction

2011-11-01T20:57:00.001-07:00

Today, I had an "Aha!" moment. Really, it was more like a "Well, duh!" moment, but bear with me.

I was thinking about some of the characters that I really love in the teen fiction that I've read and I figured out why some of those stories appeal to me. It's because, to some extent, I was those girls in high school. Or maybe they are me from back then.

I suppose that's the point -- the books are relatable to a lot of girls and women because we all feel like we don't belong or we're different or we think of ourselves as being outside the norm. But really, I was outside the norm.

I wasn't unpopular, but I wasn't popular either. Like Bella, for instance, in Stephenie Meyer's "Twilight" series. She doesn't want to be popular, but she doesn't want to be disliked either. She just wants to be herself and find a place where she fits comfortably, whether it's with the yearbook kids, the smart kids ... or the vampires. Whatever.

(Although, full disclosure: The thing that really appeals to me about "Twilight" is the romance, because that sense of having to be with someone, no matter what, reflects how my husband and I felt, and still do, about each other when we were that young.)

Another great teen novel, or series, that I loved was "If I Stay" and "Where She Went" by Gayle Forman. I never had a near-death experience, but I was that girl: different from most of the other students that I went to school with (i.e. more mature); best friends with girls who also were outside the popular groups, but not disliked; actually really close to my parents, siblings and grandparents without feeling embarrassed about it; independent, determined and responsible, maybe even to a fault, because I didn't do some of the reckless things that other teenagers do and learn great lessons from (instead I learned from their mistakes); and in love with someone (and an older someone) I thought I might spend the rest of my life with before I even graduated from high school.

Similar characteristics are represented in other young adult novels that I love, Clary from Cassandra Clare's "Mortal Instruments" series or Andi from Jennifer Donnelly's "Revolution." The character similarities cross genres from paranormal romance to historical fiction to contemporary fiction.

Perhaps a lot of girls feel like I did in high school, but I felt like I was one of very few girls going through what I was going through at the time. My parents divorced when I was barely 6 years old and I moved a lot, so I had to grow up fast. I'm not complaining, but those were some of the circumstances that shaped me. It was a combination of factors and personality characteristics that not everybody has.

But, I suppose that's the point, isn't it? A lot of girls must feel like outsiders or "outliers" at some point or another, regardless of how popular they are, or else we wouldn't understand and fall in love with the characters in all of these books.

Busy, Busy, Busy

2011-10-28T22:17:00.000-07:00

I've managed to do a pretty good job of reading through my second novel -- at least a chapter a night -- but this weekend is going to be tough. It's packed full of Halloween and birthday parties, a school carnival, a visit with friends, etc., etc., etc. That means I won't get to do as much reading and writing as I would like for a weekend, but that's OK. I need a break every now and then, and I think I see a pedicure in my near future.

I saw the deadlines this week for the San Diego State Writer's Conference at the end of January. I was relieved to see that for the advanced reading sessions -- where you send in your book and an agent or editor reads it before the conference -- you only need to send in your first 10 pages and you have until early January to mail it out. Phew! What a relief! I can't wait to get some good professional feedback on my writing.

Now, on to my manuscript before the dryer's done and I have a load of laundry to fold!

All a Matter of Perspective

2011-10-25T21:13:00.000-07:00

Recently, I've been keeping things in better perspective than I used to.

For instance, I had a health issue recently that seemed pretty devastating at the time, but in the bed next to me was a woman who was there for a double mastectomy. My issue didn't seem quite so bad. At least I get to keep my boobs and I don't have to go through chemotherapy or radiation treatments. Life could be a lot worse.

At work, I don't get as frustrated as I used to by small things. I mean, at least I still have a job, for one thing. And even if a task doesn't get done today, it will tomorrow or the next day. Somehow, projects always get finished.

Last week, I didn't want to spend a bunch of time cleaning when the weekend rolled around, so I cleaned the bathroom bit by bit after work each day. I wiped down the counter and toilet one day, I scrubbed the tub and shower the next, then I swept and mopped the floor another day. I changed my perspective by biting off pieces of the task when I had a few free minutes. Eventually, the job got done and I didn't have to delay hanging out with my son on Saturday morning to do it.

Unfortunately, sometimes it takes a tragic event to make you appreciate what you have in your life, but I'm embracing my new perspective on things. I hope that I can keep it up. Maybe the next personal tragedy won't be so difficult to handle.

Slow Introductions

2011-10-24T21:04:00.000-07:00

One thing that I've been paying a lot of attention to lately as I read other people's work is how long it takes to really get me into the story. I just finished reading "The Uglies" by Scott Westerfeld and I also recently read "The Last Summer (of You and Me)" by Ann Brashares.

Both books had very slow beginnings, where it took so long to get into the real conflict or real action that I considered giving up a third of the way into the stories. By the time I finished "The Last Summer," I really liked it. Eventually, Brashares hooked me in so that I cared about the characters and wanted to hang in there until they resolved their relationship issues in a satisfying way by the end of the book. I might read another one of her romance novels.

With "The Uglies," Westerfeld took far too long to get into the action, saving the final battle between the Uglies who rebelled against the Pretties and the Specials for just a chapter or two somewhere in the last 100 pages of the 400-page book. There was a long, slow build-up to the romance and the final conflict, and the romantic moments were short and contrived. The battle came and went too quickly. Then the Specials gave up looking for the rebel Uglies after just one night. It was disappointing. I mean, this guy got a book deal for a four-book series, but I'm one book into it and I'm not sure I want to buy the second one.

So, as I read my own teen novel, that's one of the things I'm thinking about. Does it take too long for me to get to the romance? Decidedly, no. Does it take too long to get to the major conflict? Maybe. Fortunately, it's not a terribly long novel -- about 282 pages, since I've cut eight pages during my editing, so far. We'll see how I feel about it when I finish my first and second edits. So far, so good, I think.

Big Stack of Books

2011-10-19T21:26:00.000-07:00

I have a big stack of books to read between the five books I ordered with a Barnes & Noble gift certificate I got for my birthday and others that I've borrowed from friends and family recently. The problem is, I've been so busy with work and other things that I haven't been able to do much reading. However, I have been editing my second novel.

I'm trying to resist temptation to make a big dent in that big stack of books, because I need to finish editing my own novel and give it a second read before I see if one of my friends will read it. I want it to be in reasonably good shape so that I can submit it for review by one of the agents or editors attending the San Diego State Writers Conference in January.

I'm looking forward to the conference, because last year's conference was so good, and because I could use a big dose of inspiration. I left the conference last year with all kinds of good feedback, but I still haven't made much progress on a few of the stories I shared in workshops there.

I guess that should be my motivation to get through a second and a first read on my teen novel. When that job is done, I can move on to something new. Or read one of those books in the stack next to my dining room table ...

Modern Technology

2011-10-13T19:26:00.000-07:00

I have a friend who's vacationing in Italy this week and he's keeping his friends and family constantly informed (and jealous) about his whereabouts on Facebook. He talks to his two young daughters via Skype nightly. He even found a wireless Internet connection at the top of Mt. Vesuvius and sent a photo to Facebook instantaneously.

It got me to thinking how my life and my relationships with the people I've met would've been different if I'd been born in the 90s instead of the 70s. What if every time I moved from Alabama to San Diego to Italy to Minnesota then back to San Diego I never lost touch with any of my friends, because I could talk to them face-to-face for free every night on Skype and send them instant messages at any time of day or night on Facebook and Twitter?

When I was in junior high and high school, if I wanted to talk to any of my friends back in Alabama or California, I had to send them a letter, which took at least a week to get to them, then wait for them to write me back. That could take weeks or even months by the time they got around to responding to my letter. We didn't call each other, because long distance calls were too expensive (especially overseas calls) and we didn't have cell phones with free nights and weekends or unlimited text messaging.

Now, I'm back in touch with friends and family I haven't seen or spoken to in years, even decades, because we're "friends" on Facebook. I know all about their vacations, their kids' first days at school and their work frustrations. We offer each other encouragement, congratulations, condolences and advice, as needed. Maybe one day we'll even make plans -- via Facebook -- to meet in person. Who knows? But we probably wouldn't have even considered it if we hadn't reconnected online.

Facebook would've saved me a lot of anxiety as a teenager. When I was feeling alone after my first day at a new school in a new town (or a new country), I could've reached out to my best friend from the last place I lived for encouragement and a reminder that I wasn't alone.

Oh, well. At least I have Facebook now. I can see what everybody's up to whenever I want ... even if it's just to find out what they had for lunch today.

Where Has the Time Gone?

2011-10-09T20:56:00.001-07:00

Man, that week blew by fast. It was busy at work and I ended up working at home a few nights last week, so I didn't read much (of other people's books, anyway).

I have been reading my completed book no. 2 -- my teen novel. So far, so good. Not much re-writing. A few odd grammar, punctuation and typing corrections. A few areas where I needed to add a bit, so I'm at 290 pages instead of the 289 I started with, but that's not bad, considering that I'm up to page 52.

I'm nervous, because my first book -- the chick-lit/romance/women's fiction novel -- is in the hands of a friend. She's the type of person who won't hold back with her feedback, so I hope she likes it, but I'm looking forward to her critiques too.

I'm reading "Sister" by Rosamund Lupton. I was on the waiting list for it at the library, but I saw it there on Saturday, so I picked it up early. So far, I like it. It's a murder-mystery written as if the older sister is writing a letter to her younger sister explaining how she found out who the younger sister's killer was. It sounds gimmicky -- and it is -- but it works.

My first book is written as every other chapter in the woman's and the man's voice, which I hope doesn't come across as gimmicky. I didn't mean it that way. I just wanted to tell the story through both characters' eyes in their own voices and the story seemed to flow pretty well in that format. Even when I cut whole chapters, it pieced back together with their voices alternating. We'll see what my reader thinks. I'm anxious to know if she likes it.

Two Good Books

2011-10-02T22:27:00.000-07:00

I just finished reading "The Last Summer (of You & Me)" by Ann Brashares, which I picked up at Target a week ago when I was looking for something light. I'd read her "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" series for teens a while back, so I thought I'd give her first novel for adults a try.

It had a slow start and a feeling, probably around page 250 of the 353-page book, that now was the time when her characters needed to move on from their gloomy situations and get to the part where they were supposed to learn and grow from their mistakes. Still, I couldn't put it down. She made me love the characters, despite their faults, so I was invested in their stories.

The last book I read before that was "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern. It's a brand new novel and a debut for the writer. I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED it. Think Harry Potter for grown-ups, but in one book, not seven, and with an interesting romantic element that didn't make it feel like a book for women and not men. It has something for everyone -- romance, mystery, magic -- especially magic. Go out now and buy it or put your name on the waiting list for it at your local library.

I heard that a movie studio bought the film rights and I cannot wait to see someone translate Morgenstern's words into a visual experience, since the circus is so wonderfully described in the book. You can literally smell the popcorn and caramel apples and sense the smoke from the bonfire and picture the black-and-white tents and animated clock that keeps watch over everything.

Next, I'm going to read one of three Anita Shreve novels that I borrowed from a friend, "A Wedding in December." I love Anita Shreve, but I can't digest three of her books in a row. They're too dark and depressing to read all at once, so I'll spread them out a bit.

Fortunately, my brother gave me a $50 Barnes & Noble gift card for my birthday, which I used online tonight. So in a week or so, I'll have five new books sitting on my doorstep. I ordered "The Death Cure," the final book in James Dashner's "Maze Runner" series; "Looking for Alaska" by John Green, whose "Paper Towns" I loved; "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" by Jonathan Safran Foer, because I saw the trailer for the movie coming out on Christmas Day and it looked good; "The Uglies" by Scott Westerfeld, the first in a teen series that includes "The Pretties," "The Specials" and "The Extras"; and "A Northern Light" by Jennifer Donnelly, whose "Revolution" I really enjoyed.

For anyone keeping track, all but "Extremely Loud" are teen fiction. We'll just call it research, since I'm now doing my first read-through on my second book, a teen novel.

Jillian is Dead

2011-09-29T19:43:00.000-07:00

I did it. I cut a character out of my first book to make it shorter. I killed Jillian and I feel much better now. I trimmed 19 pages from my novel too, which feels great. Now, it's ready for someone to read it. I think I'm going to surprise her (or maybe scare her?) with my manuscript on Saturday. Looks like I'll be spending some time (and money) getting a copy printed at Kinko's this weekend.

Now, what should I do with the rest of my evening once I get my son to sleep? Should I read the Ann Brashares novel I started reading at lunch today? Or should I start my first read for book no. 2? Or should I go to the gym? I'm leaning toward reading my second novel. It's nice to have options.

Struggling With My Reality

2011-09-26T21:04:00.000-07:00

I'm struggling again, as I do from time to time, with how much of my own life to include in stories that I'm writing or thinking of writing.

The really horrible, awful thing that happened to me last week and has happened to several of my friends and family members could be a really powerful story or piece of a story in a future novel. But then, I wonder, how much of my life I should keep for myself and how much am I willing to share?

What if I'm interviewed about my book and the interviewer asks, "Did this ever happen to you?" Do I lie, as I know many, many writers do? I mean, come on -- how else can they write so powerfully about certain life experiences without going through it themselves? Or do I tell the truth and risk having to tell my own painful story over and over again? Like anything, I suppose there is a happy median, but I'm prone to overindulge or over-explain.

I wrote a few scenarios based on my hideously bad week in my journal today while I thought about them. Not that I'll ever be able to forget what happened to me. But at least I have something on paper somewhere. It was kind of therapeutic.

It'll Never Happen to Me ... Until it Does

2011-09-19T20:27:00.000-07:00

There are things that you think will never happen to you. And then they do. And then your world is turned upside down. And then you cry. And then you sulk. And then ...

I don't know.

Right now, I'm trying to keep in mind how lucky I am. I have a loving, supportive husband. I have a sweet, happy, silly, loving little boy. And I have a big family to rally around me and hold me up when I'm down. And friends who I know will do the same.

There are a lot of things to feel thankful for even in the face of tragedy. And that's what I'm trying to hold on to for the time being.

Happiness

2011-09-17T20:59:00.000-07:00

I just finished reading "The Happiness Project" by Gretchen Rubin. I highly recommend it.

I don't usually read a lot of non-fiction, but I was intrigued by the book's upbeat cover and the subtitle: "Or, Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun." On the back cover, the book is labeled "Memoir/Self-Help." The latter category is one that I generally avoid.

But, of course, the more I read it, the more I felt like I needed -- no, wanted -- to do my own happiness project. Like the writer, I don't consider myself unhappy, but I think I could benefit from more happiness from things like trying new things, indulging in things I enjoy, being less judgmental, letting little things go, complaining less, doing good things for others, being more affectionate and playful, and cleaning out my closets.

I also felt like I already have a happiness project under way, though not formally. For instance, a few years ago, I decided that trying to write a novel would make me happier, and I was right.

Now, I have two completed novels (one that I'm almost done editing and another that needs it's first read-through) and I have a couple of others in various unfinished states. I even started this blog as another forum for writing and an outlet to talk about my writing. And I went to the San Diego State University Writers Conference in January and plan to attend again this January.

Of course, I'm still working on keeping my motivation and continuing to write consistently, but I haven't given up either. That's half the battle right there.

Also, the older I get, the more I find myself adhering to my own "splendid truths." For example, I still have to remind myself sometimes, but I know how important it is to revel in the little things -- and I mean the little things that matter. Like reading to my son every night, even when I'm dog-tired and I'd love to pass the job on to my husband. It's a special 20 or 30 minutes that I have with my son every day and I love it.

I'm also learning to let go of little things -- small annoyances, like when the recycling is overflowing and my husband needs to dump it in the larger recycling bin outside. Sometimes I still nag him about it, but sometimes I remember that he's worked hard all day and he's tired too, so it can wait until tomorrow.

Still, I think I'm going to start my own formal happiness project. There are some things that I know I should work on, but I haven't tackled them yet. Like being judgmental. Sometimes I remember that I should just let it go -- it's not my life and everyone does things their own way, whether it works for them or not -- but most of the time I can't help making comments about the odd decisions that other people make in their lives. I think it's because it makes me feel better about my own decisions, because I know that I'm not perfect either. But I also know that things that seem completely logical to me, probably make no sense to other people.

While I'm a little daunted by the task, I'm looking forward to officially getting started on my happiness project.

Making Progress

2011-09-15T21:46:00.000-07:00

I've committed myself to reading at least one chapter a night in my first novel so that I can finish the latest draft and print it out for a friend to read. And now I have less than 100 pages left to edit.

But.

I have decided to go back and cut the character that I have been thinking about taking out of my book for the past month or so. I love Jillian. Maybe I can work her into a future book, but I'm afraid there's no good reason for her to be in "Strings Attached." I even found one scene where I can replace her with another character and no one will know the difference.

It makes me sad to take Jillian out of the book completely, but I look forward to seeing how many pages I will cut by deleting her scenes. It's probably not as many pages as I think, but at this point every little bit helps.

It's Been Weeks

2011-09-10T17:58:00.001-07:00

Obviously, I gave up long ago on my original plan to write something on this blog every day. Lately, I haven't even written once a week, but I plan to change that soon. Now that my sinus infection is gone, my scratched cornea is healed, my in-laws are back in Iowa, and my son has started kindergarten, I'm back to a normal routine.

And I've got a major deadline breathing down my neck. The San Diego State Writer's Conference is coming up at the end of January and I want to submit both of my manuscripts for feedback from an agent or editor. The conference is only four and a half months away, so that means I have only two or three months to get my books presentable and ready for a "professional" read-through. Yikes!

So instead of trying to find something new and interesting to read in my free time, I'm going to spend more time editing my novels after I get my son to bed each night and whip those manuscripts into shape. I need some motivation, since I've been slacking off lately, and I'm running out of excuses. Hopefully the writing conference deadline will serve as the motivation I need.

Crazy Summer Just Got Crazier

2011-08-23T21:35:00.000-07:00

This summer has been marked by my son's 5th birthday, our first family trip to Disneyland, two week-long visits from two different sets of in-laws, and a terrible cold that turned into a bad sinus infection, in addition to a myriad of other birthday parties and baby showers. Now, I have a scratched cornea. Four corneal abrasions, as a matter of fact.

After getting a prescription for eye drops that made the pain worse, I got a prescription for an eye ointment that seems to be doing the trick. Except for the fact that it's a little messy. And except for the fact that it's kind of hard to see through a thick film of goop in my eye.

At least it's better than yesterday when I couldn't even bare to look at the computer screen in my office with all of the other lights turned off, because the glow from my computer terminal was too bright. I could't even read a book! Talk about frustrating!

So, I hope to get back on track reading and editing my own books soon. Or at least get back to reading my paperback version of "The Host" by Stephenie Meyer. Geesh! How much more can I take this summer anyway!

Trying to Get Back on Track

2011-08-18T21:04:00.000-07:00

Oh, man. It's been another two weeks again since I've stopped by here. It's been a busy couple of weeks and I'm trying to get back on track.

So, here I am, checking in on the blog ... and yawning, because I'm all ready for bed. But I need to keep reading/editing my first novel so I can pass it on to my next reader and do my first edit on my second book.

But here's my latest writing dilemma: In my first book, I have a character that I love, love, love, but I think I might have to cut her out. All she does is add a little bit of color. She doesn't move the plot forward or really contribute in any way, so I have a growing feeling that I need to cut her out. I don't want to, but I think it has to be done. I'll miss Jillian.

Burn-Out

2011-08-03T21:37:00.000-07:00

During the past month that I've ignored my blog, I've been sick from a cold that started to get better until it got much worse. It turned into a sinus infection that needed two rounds of antibiotics to kill it. There were many days and nights where I felt better lying down than sitting upright in front of my computer distracted by all the snot in my head and the non-stop coughing.

But really, if I'm truly honest, I've been a little burnt out on writing. Maybe it's because I write really tough legal stories all day at work, so I want to unwind when I get home and lose myself in another writer's story. I have read a lot of good books lately. Maybe it's because I've been writing and editing the same two novels for more than a year (and maybe more than two years for the first one; I can't remember).

I want to start working on something new and fun. Maybe the story I started last year that's only about three pages long, but got a great response at the San Diego State Writers Conference. Maybe explore one of the story ideas I've scribbled into the little journal I keep in my purse.

I don't know.

The point is, I need to get on the ball again. I should finish writing something so I can justify moving on to something new.

So, here's my new motivation: I'm going to finish my last edit on the first book (my adult novel) and do at least one edit on my second book (my young adult project) so I can submit them to agents or editors to read prior to the SDSU Writers Conference in January and give me feedback at the conference. Yes, I have to pay for those consultations, but at least I know they'll read it, since they're being paid. They can't just glance at a few pages and send me a form letter rejecting my manuscript.

OK, time to get motivated!

Humming Right Along

2011-07-08T21:59:00.000-07:00

I'm on my last read of the first book I finished writing before I ask another friend to read it. I'm still trying to cut the length, but it's hard. It's like slowly cutting the fingertips off of my child before moving on to the knuckles. In other words, it's a long, slow, painful process.

The good news is that I'm not finding a lot of mistakes or things that need to be changed. The bad news is that it's still hard to make substantial cuts. The other good news is that I still like the story. I still love my characters and the key scenes. Of course, that's what makes it so hard to find things to cut. Oh, well.

I haven't been able to do a lot of reading during the past week, because work's been busy, so I haven't read at lunch, and it's been hot, which makes me tired and unwilling to do a lot of things, including sitting and reading. But now it's the weekend, so maybe I can make progress on "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell for my book club, which meets in two weeks, or "Anthropology of an American Girl" by Hilary Thayer Hamann, which I'm reading for fun.

I bought "Anthropology," because the title was intriguing and the story borders on my two favorite genres -- women's literature and young adult fiction. Mostly, I bought it because of the blurbs written by reviewers and other writers. One reviewer said it was literary crack. And I'm an addict, so crack's going in my shopping bag.

So far, I'm not in love with the main character, Eveline, but I'm getting there. I'm still intrigued by her story. I want to see where she goes next. And that's what's important, right?

A Little Vacation

2011-07-02T21:22:00.000-07:00

You'd think that a vacation would give me time to stop by my blog and write for a few minutes, wouldn't you? Well, you would be wrong.

First, there was the preparation for the vacation -- cleaning and shopping to get ready for a visit from my in-laws. Then there was the actual vacation, which included a trip to the zoo, barbecue, a movie, two days at Disneyland, and a day at the beach. After that, there was the recovery from the vacation, including two days in the office before the three-day weekend. Now, the July 4th weekend is here and I have a cold. Ugh!

So, since I can't sit upright for long without sinus pressure driving me mad, I haven't been able to sit at the computer for long enough to write or edit anything. Argh!

However, I did finish reading "Jane and the Damned" by Janet Mullany. When I read the title and the blurb on the back, I couldn't resist it at Barnes & Noble. It sounded like too much fun to pass up. And it was. Thoroughly entertaining and enthralling. It's about Jane Austen and her brief time as a vampire. How could I not bring it home? Now, I'm going to loan it to a friend who I think will love it. It's not great literature or anything, just pure fun. A nice break from the depressing books I've been reading lately.

Now, what to read next? I'm reading Malcolm Gladwell's "Outliers" for my book club, but that's best as a lunchtime-at-work book. I think next I'll read "Anthropology of An American Girl" by Hilary Thayer Hamann. Trying to add some good adult novels in between the young adult books I've read lately.

On that note, I highly recommend "The DUFF (Designated Ugly Fat Friend)" by Kody Keplinger. Couldn't. Put. It. Down. It was written by an 18-year-old whose book definitely puts my YA novel to shame. And she has a second novel coming out later this year. Oh, to be young(er) and have time on my hands again ...

Bad Blogger

2011-06-22T20:41:00.000-07:00

Man, I am slipping. When I started this blog, I promised (myself at least) that I would write something here every day. Then it was every few days, then once or twice a week, now it's getting close to two weeks.

Well, I've been busy. I can always think of excuses, can't I? Work, family, house ... life just gets in the way of writing sometimes. I haven't been able to work on my books much the last few weeks as I've juggled birthday parties and other events with family and friends. Then there's been the housework to get ready for the parties and family visits.

So, as a reward for all my hard work at the office and at home, I'm going to sit down and work on my first book after I get my son to bed. I'm giving it one more good edit before I find another victim, I mean volunteer, to read it for me.

... And then tomorrow night it's back to work. I've got to start giving the house a good scrub before my visiting in-laws arrive from Iowa. If I can get a lot done tomorrow night, that frees up my day off on Friday to do a little shopping, er I mean writing, before I pick up my son from preschool. Fingers crossed!

Tonight's Reward is ...

2011-06-14T18:41:00.000-07:00

My son turned 5 today, so we had a birthday extravaganza over the weekend -- a party for friends on Saturday and a party for family on Sunday. That means most of last week and the entire weekend was dominated by birthday preparations, parties ... and recovery. There was pretty much no time left over for writing or reading.

I was so exhausted still last night that I only read and edited one short chapter in my first book. I'd love to read through at least one more chapter tonight, but I need to transcribe an interview for work. So, to motivate myself to work faster, I'm only going to let myself work on a chapter in my book if I finish the transcription project.

I've got to power through book one so I can do my first read on book two, which I'm both looking forward to and dreading, considering all the mistakes that probably need correcting.

Done!

2011-06-07T23:11:00.000-07:00

Book two is done ... now the editing begins.

But first, back to book one for another edit. It'll give me time to clear my head before I do my first read-through of book two and find all the problems with it.

My husband is beginning to think I'll never actually finish a novel, but I will ... someday.

Still Weary ...

2011-06-02T21:23:00.000-07:00

I re-started taking my medication to prevent headaches, which I take at night before bed. After six months or so without taking it, it's been a big adjustment to get used to the drug again. I've had no headaches, but I've been exhausted.

I've gone to bed every night this week long before my usual 11 p.m. bedtime without getting any writing or editing done. And that stack of books piling up, waiting for me to read them? I've made no dent in them either.

However, I started reading two books recently (mainly during my lunch break at work) that couldn't be more different. The first is young adult science fiction called "Feed" by M.T. Anderson. The second is an adult novel called "The Writing Circle" by Corinne Demas.

"Feed" is about a teenage boy who meets a girl who wants to fight the constant "feed" that runs through everyone's heads -- it's like constant advertising, TV and instant messaging enabled by a chip implanted in the body.

"The Writing Circle" is about an eclectic group of writers and their fears, insecurities and shenanigans with each other. So far, there's a divorce and an affair, jealousy and envy, successful and unpublished writers. Everything you might see in any writing group, I suppose.

No Rest For the Weary ... Until We Fall Asleep Sitting Up

2011-05-26T21:53:00.000-07:00

I'm not a coffee drinker, but I've developed an addiction to chai tea lattes from Starbucks. Aside from the fact that they're like a sweet and spicy cup of hot chocolate for grown-ups, the combination of caffeine and sugar wakes me up when I need it and/or gets rid of the headaches I wake up with sometimes. I suspect the headaches come from a lack of sleep, among other things.

Normally, nighttime is my time to write. Sometimes I sneak in some writing when I get home from work, either just before or just after I make and eat dinner. Most of the time, I write after my son goes to bed. I stay up until 11 p.m. or so and still wake up at 4:20 a.m. to go to the gym. That's the only time I can go, since I work all day, come home and take care of my husband and kid, and write at night.

But, lately, I've been really sleepy. I'll spend a half hour dozing at the computer, staring at the same paragraph, before I decide to go to bed early. And then, in the morning, I convince myself that my third chai latte this week won't hurt anything. (And vow that next time I'll get it with nonfat milk and skip the cranberry orange scone.)

I don't know what to do. I can't quit my day job, or stop caring for my kid, or ignore the chores that need to get done, or forego grocery shopping. (God, I'd hate to see what my husband would bring home.) I could cut out the gym or my writing, but I see both of those as essentials. As much as I hate exercising, my body needs it. It's my brain that needs the writing. *Sigh* Maybe I just need a vacation.

The Upside to a Sick Kid

2011-05-23T23:32:00.000-07:00

I drank a venti chai latte from Starbucks at 9:45 tonight so that I can stay up until 1 a.m. or so on a work night and write, because my son is sick and I'll be staying home with him tomorrow.

I hate to see him suffering -- he's had a fever, cough, sore throat and congestion -- but there is an upside to the break from work: more time to write at home. The downside, besides the obvious that my son is sick, is that I'll have a lot of catching up to do when I get back to the office on Wednesday.

Fortunately, my 4-year-old's fever seems to be gone. Now, if we could just get rid of the hacking cough and regain his ability to breathe. One more day at home and he ought to be germ-free enough to go back to preschool.

And then I'll be back in the office, cleaning out my e-mail inbox, getting back to news articles that I'm in the middle of researching, and planning for my next round of deadlines. It's a vicious circle.

Disappointing Book

2011-05-19T20:09:00.000-07:00

Today, I started reading Jennifer Egan's "A Visit From the Goon Squad," and so far it's pretty disappointing. The description of the story on the book jacket made me want to read it, but two chapters into the novel, I'm ready to give up.

The first chapter is about the main female character and the second chapter is about the main male character. Maybe I just need to keep reading, but in their introductory chapters I have seen absolutely no redeeming qualities for either of these people. The writer has given me no reason to care what happens to them, other than to see how much more of a mess they make of their lives.

However, the most frustrating issue that I have with this book is the way the writer meanders in and out of the scene. She keeps hopping around in time with both characters flashing back to various memories, including several different sessions they had with their therapists. I can't figure out if I'm in the present or the past and I can't remember where the scene she started writing left off when she brings me back to it.

It seems like my brain shouldn't have to work THAT hard to follow along. But, maybe it's just me. The writer did find an agent to represent her and a publisher to print her book, so she must've done something right. Does that mean I should keep reading and see if it gets any better?

On a happier note, I finished reading Helen Simonson's "Major Pettigrew's Last Stand" last night and it was really good. Supremely well-written with characters that I cared deeply about, with a satisfying ending. After reading something that good, it's hard to start in on a book that's less well-written. I might just get back on my YA kick and read Laurie Halse Anderson's "Wintergirls" instead.

Two Weeks? Where Did the Time Go?

2011-05-16T20:11:00.000-07:00

When I started this blog, I intended to write something here everyday. Now, I try to check in a few times a week. But, as of today, it's been two weeks since I stopped by.

The good news is that I've been reading and writing like crazy. I finished reading my completed novel, but I need to go back and make some cuts in the first half, I think. For my other big work in progress, I've been writing like mad, so I'm about two-thirds or maybe three-fifths of the way through the story. I know how it will end and how I'm going to get there. When I do, that's when I'll go back and fix all of the big glaring problems that I didn't notice the first time through.

I've been reading lots of other things too. I finished Carrie Ryan's "The Forest of Hands and Teeth," which was extremely well written, but very dark and depressing. It's almost hard to believe it's a YA novel. I can't imagine a 14-year-old girl reading it.

I've also been slowly reading Anne Lamott's "Traveling Mercies," which is basically a series of essays about her non-traditional path in the Christian faith. It's not the kind of book I would typically read -- I was baptized Methodist, confirmed Lutheran and now probably would describe myself as an agnostic -- but I do appreciate her often touching and frequently funny prose, as I did in her book on writing, "Bird by Bird." Now I want to read one of her novels to see what she does with fiction as opposed to memoir.

And then, this weekend, I got lucky when I went to the library and found the novel that my book club is reading, Helen Simonson's "Major Pettigrew's Last Stand." It's one of those books that I can only check out for a week and can't renew, so I'm rushing to read it by next Saturday. I also picked out "A Visit From the Goon Squad," by Jennifer Egan, which is due on Saturday as well. I don't think I'm going to read be able to read both books before they're due, unless I don't work on writing my own, but I'm going to try.

Done ... Sort Of

2011-05-09T20:11:00.000-07:00

I finished reading my completed novel for what was going to be the last time for a while, but I determined that I need to go back and make substantial cuts in the first half of the book. It still feels like there's too much going on up front and it's taking too long to get to some of the big scenes toward the end. It did feel good to get to the end again, though.

On book no. 2 (It used to be book no. 3 or 4 until I stopped working on books 2 or 3 for a while. Actually, book no. 1 was the third book I started, but the first one I finished. I think.) my momentum is slowing. I know where I want to go, but I'm at a midpoint where I'm struggling with connecting the first half to the second half. I'm building up to my big turning point, so I'm thinking about that scene and having a hard time focusing on what leads up to the big event. I know I'll get there eventually. I just have to keep at it.

I also started reading my library book, "The Forest of Hands and Teeth" by Carrie Ryan. It's good -- dark, sad and depressing, but good. I'm anxious to get through the dark and sad part to what I hope is a somewhat happy ending. It's one of those books where you feel like, "Man, isn't this girl ever gonna catch a break?" Speaking of ...

Somehow I made it through college as an English major (with a writing emphasis, however) without reading Charlotte Bronte's "Jane Eyre," but I saw the movie recently. As good as the movie was, it was so depressing that it kind of put me off reading the book. I've been reading so many dark stories lately that I've been looking for something good and light.

Fortunately, my book club has chosen to read "Major Pettigrew's Last Stand" by Helen Simonson, which looks like a nice, light selection. Relatively, anyway.

Temptation

2011-05-02T20:04:00.000-07:00

I know I should be using every free minute I have to write and edit, but today I picked up the book I put on hold at the library -- "The Forest of Hands and Teeth" by Carrie Ryan -- and I'm dying to read it.

The problem is, it's a series. So, when I'm done with the first book, if I love it I'm going to have to read the next two books, "The Dead-Tossed Waves" and "The Dark and Hollow Places." Aren't those great titles? I wish that titles and headline-writing were strengths of mine, but I digress.

I got in a few hours each on Saturday and Sunday to edit and write this weekend. Progress of any kind is always good. Especially, in the case of my finished book, since I cut several pages. I feel like I need to cut another 30 pages or so. I'm probably going to have to go back to the beginning to really make some more sizable cuts.

My second book is humming along nicely too. Still feels like it's pouring out of my fingertips. I keep writing little bits for later in the story in the journal I keep in my purse.

It seems like I go for months without putting anything in my writing journal and then all of a sudden I'm writing something in it every day. I need to go back and read some of the book ideas I've written down. I haven't done that in a while, but when I do I look at some of them and wonder what I was thinking. At least it's entertaining, I guess.

A New Story

2011-04-26T23:22:00.001-07:00

As if I don't have enough writing projects in various stages of flux, I thought of a new book idea. It's really good too and will be fun to write. I think it will be the kind of book I can sit down and write pretty quickly. A conversational story that happens over the course of a few days.

I'm enjoying reading my finished book and having fun writing my second most finished book, but I'm really looking forward to starting this new story. Now, if only I could find the time to finish my two previous projects and start a new one ...

A New Conundrum

2011-04-24T00:31:00.000-07:00

So, here's my latest conundrum. What do you do when you're writing along at a good pace -- the story's flowing from your brain down your arms and out of your fingertips to the keyboard at just the right pace so that you can keep up -- but you know you've got things that you've got to go back and correct or enhance in some way?

I feel like I've got to get the story out of my head and on to the page (or saved in my computer), so that I don't lose track of the path that I'm on. But at the same time, I worry that I'm making so many mistakes or creating so many holes or inconsistencies as I go that it's going to be a fiasco to edit it after I get to the end of the story.

It's just another one of those writing conundrums that makes it hard for me to focus on things like work, especially when I'm on deadline for an article that's due and it's not the best time for my mind to wander.

Here's another dilemma. Until today, it had been a while since I worked on my first book -- the finished one. Today, for the first time in a couple of weeks, I opened the document and read a chapter, but I'm still only about four-sevenths of the way through editing it (precise enough for you?). I got to a point where I was just kind of sick of it. I needed a break from Marc and Emily for a while.

I think what I need to do, when I finally get to the end, is have someone else read it. So far, only one other person besides me has read it. I need more outside input. But who will be my next victim? Who would be willing to read it? Whose opinion do I respect enough that I won't be offended by their criticism, because I know they mean well? Another conundrum.

Stuck Then Unstuck

2011-04-17T19:47:00.000-07:00

I was writing along the other day, typing away happily, until the story stopped streaming from my brain down my arms and through my fingertips. I introduced a new, highly anticipated character (for me and for my main character) and then I had to stop.

I knew what her personality would be like, but I could not see what she looked like. Would she have dark hair and blue eyes like her brother? Would she be pretty or plain? Would she be skinny or athletically thin? Even though I knew how she would act and what she would say, I couldn't picture her doing anything until I could picture her.

So, I stopped writing. I walked away from the computer in a huff and did something else. Probably sat down to read a book. Not exactly productive.

Today, tired and groggy from a poor night of sleep, I sat down and started working on the story again. My main character studied her boyfriend's sister and told me what she looked like. Her reaction to this girl, who she was afraid to meet, helped me picture her. Her responses shaped the sister's mannerisms and appearance. What a relief!

I also pictured a girl I saw working in a craft store, probably five or six years ago. She had dark hair and tattoos, but she had a friendly face and soft features. I stole the beautiful orchid tattoo she had on the back of her hand and put it on my character's bicep.

It's amazing what you pick up and what you remember years later. I only saw that sales clerk once, but I remember staring at her tattoo. Not because it was so large and bold and probably painful, since it was on the back of her hand and used A LOT of ink, but because I thought it was beautiful and the kind of thing I might get if I was ever brave enough to get a tattoo (although on my shoulder or back, not somewhere that's likely to be extra painful like the back of my hand or top of my foot).

I guess everything is fuel for writing, no matter where or when you see or hear it.

Bits and Pieces

2011-04-14T20:16:00.001-07:00

I've been writing bits and pieces, here and there, whenever I can squeeze in a little time between working, parenting, cooking, reading ... and wherever that black hole is that seems to suck up so much of my time.

Bit by bit my latest project is coming together. It feels pretty good right now. The characters are taking me where they want to go. We'll see what I think when I go back and read the whole thing from start to finish. I'd guess that I'm one-half to three-fifths through the story at this point.

I started reading "Thirteen Reasons Why" by Jay Asher today, but kept getting interrupted by e-mail and phone calls while I was on my lunch break at work. I'm resisting the urge to read it right now, because I want to do some writing. And, darn-it-all, I have something I need to look at for work. There goes that dreaded black hole again, sucking up all of my free time.

Oh, Wow. It's Been How Long ... ?

2011-04-10T21:32:00.000-07:00

Two weeks. That's how long it's been since I stopped by here. Oops.

As usual, I've been reading a lot: Gayle Forman's "Where She Went," the sequel to "If I Stay;" "Revolution" by Jennifer Donnelly; "The Scorch Trials," the sequel to "The Maze Runner" by James Dashner; and maybe one or two more.

But, I've also been writing -- reading a chapter here and there in my finished book and working on a second book. It's coming together nicely, so far. I know there are some things I need to go back and fix or add in, but the story is working pretty well. It feels great to be writing something new, rather than editing a story I finished last year.

My challenge is that I keep feeling like I'm getting pretty close to the end of the story, but it's not long enough yet for a novel. A novella, maybe, but I don't think those sell very well. Fortunately, I keep thinking of new challenges for my main character to enliven the story and stretch it out.

That makes it the opposite problem of the book I've finished, which is still too long. I wonder if the difference is that one is an adult novel and the other is "teen fiction." I hope not, because my third and fourth books for adult and for teen readers.

A Reading Binge

2011-03-27T13:57:00.000-07:00

I haven't been a very disciplined writer in the past week or so (not that I ever am). I've worked a lot and felt burnt out by the time I got home from the office, so I've been on a reading binge.

A friend loaned me "Matched" by Ally Condie and I had been waiting patiently to read it, so once I had it in my hands I read it in a matter of days. Now, I'm reading "The Scorch Trials" by James Dashner, the sequel to his "Maze Runner," but I don't feel as rushed to finish that book. It's pretty violent, which isn't really my thing, but the emotional duress that the boys in the story are under is pretty interesting to follow.

In a week and a half, some books that I am anxious to read will be out in stores -- the fourth book in Cassandra Clare's "Mortal Instruments" series and the sequel to "If I Stay" by Gayle Forman, which is called "Where She Went." "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett will be out in paperback soon too, and I've been dying to read that again.

I'm still reading/editing a chapter at a time in my own completed book then rewarding myself after each chapter by working on another book that's about one-third finished. It's an effective compromise, but a slow writing process. It's fulfilling to work on something new, but a little frustrating that the old project is going so slowly. That's the nature of a compromise, I guess.

Slow Progress

2011-03-15T18:00:00.000-07:00

I broke down and bought Maggie Stiefvater's "Linger" -- the sequel to "Shiver" -- on Friday night and read it over the weekend, so I didn't get much writing and editing done. This week, I'm trying to be more disciplined.

For instance, "The Scorch Trials" by James Dashner is calling my name, but instead I'm going to finish reading "It's Kind of a Funny Story" by Ned Vizzini. I'm reading it only during my lunch breaks at work and maybe for a few minutes before I go to bed at night, so that I can get some writing and editing done in the evenings. I'm trying to be disciplined. I swear.

My strategy of editing a chapter in my finished book before I allow myself to do a little writing on another book is still working out well. It's a slower process than just plowing through the editing, but it keeps me motivated. I want to finish editing my completed novel, but I'm really itching to finish another one before my revitalized writing self-esteem from San Diego Writers Conference at the end of January wears off.

If only I didn't need to sleep ... just think of how much writing AND reading I could get done!

I'm a Reading and Writing Fool

2011-03-07T18:21:00.000-08:00

My new strategy (see previous post) is working well. I read a chapter or two in my completed novel then reward myself by working on another book that I'd put on hold for a while. It's refreshing to wrap my head around a new cast of characters while also making progress on my last read-through of the finished book.

I've also been reading like crazy. Right now, I'm working on "Clockwork Angel" by Clarissa Clare, the first book in her "Infernal Devices" series and the prequel to her "Mortal Instruments" series, which I loved (and have read twice). I also finished "Paper Towns" by John Green, which was hilarious, but kind of sad, yet gratifying. As you can see, I'm on a young adult binge. It's research. And just fun.

I also recently read "Shiver" by Maggie Stiefvater and now I'm dying to read the next book in the series, "Linger." I'd call them werewolf stories, but they're shape-shifting wolves, not monsters. It's also a love story, so as a fan of Stephenie Meyer's "Twilight," the series is right up my alley.

Tonight, I'm in a quandary, because I want to keep reading "Clockwork Angel," but I didn't do much writing and editing this weekend, and I also could stand to do a little bit of writing for work. I'm leaning toward reading, especially since it's a little chilly outside and my favorite thing to do when it's cold is curl up in the corner of the couch and get lost in a book. Decisions, decisions ...

A New Strategy

2011-02-26T08:13:00.000-08:00

I have a new strategy. As a reward for reading and editing at least one chapter each night in my completed book, I get to spend a little time on one of my other projects. Balance; that's what I need.

It feels good to spend a little time with some new characters. Feels a little more like fun than work. I love my book, obviously, but editing is not as much fun as creating the people and places and situations that establish a story.

I've been reading like crazy too, which also helps to get the creative juices flowing. I finished "Sarah's Key," by Tatiana de Rosnay this week for my book club. I wouldn't say I loved it, but I liked it a lot. It wasn't quite as sad and depressing as I expected a book about the Holocaust to be. The ending wasn't ideal, but it was reasonable.

I've also fully immersed myself in the "young adult" world of books -- or "teen fiction" as it's labeled at my local Barnes & Noble. One of the best panels I attended at the San Diego Writers Conference last month was on the young adult market. One of my books is for that audience, so I wanted to learn more about the genre. As I suspected, the agent leading the discussion said adults are increasingly reading those books as well, because of series like "Twilight" and "Harry Potter" and because they want to know what their kids are reading.

Perhaps the best part of the session was the list of subgenres and book recommendations provided by the speaker. So, in the past week or so I also read the amazing "If I Stay" by Gayle Forman. It's an issue-y novel, which is my preferred subgenre of young adult. I also devoured the addicting "The Maze Runner" by James Dashner. My husband read it too and immediately ordered the next book in the series, "The Scorch Trials." I am in awe of people whose minds are creative enough to come up with these multi-faceted worlds. Amazing.

So, now I'm reading "Shiver," by Maggie Stiefvater. It's a werewolf story. I like it, so far. Not quite as compelling or well-written as the Maze Runner, but it's an interesting read. But, of course, I've already got my eyes on the next book. Maybe "Thirteen Reasons Why" by Jay Asher or "Hate List" by Jennifer Brown -- more issue-y young adult fiction.

In-Laws and Sickness

2011-02-23T18:45:00.000-08:00

My last post was about my week-long hiatus from writing. Well, it turned in to almost three weeks. That first week was a self-imposed break. Then, my mother-in-law came to town and I didn't want to be rude and spend all my free hours at the computer. And I got a cold. A really nasty cold. I came home from work early on Friday and spent most of the next four days on the couch or in bed with sinus pressure, congestion and coughing then body aches and exhaustion.

So, now that my guest is gone (though she's welcome anytime) and my cold is mostly gone (that guest is NOT welcome to come back) I'm back to writing again. Time to dive into my book where I left off and give it one more thorough read-through ... with the goal of cutting even more.

The prize at the end of this long slog of reading and editing, reading and editing, is that when I'm done I can pick up where I left off with one of my many other books in progress. I'm itching to get started, but I still can't decide which story to return to first. I might have to read what I've got so far with each of them and see which one inspires me the most.

I can't wait! It feels like Christmas is just around the corner and it's taking every ounce of strength that I have to keep myself from peeling back the tape on each gift to get a peek at what's inside.

Week-Long Hiatus

2011-02-13T17:48:00.000-08:00

I've been clearing my head this week before I dive in to read my book one last time. (Yeah, right. There will never be just "one last time." Even when it's in print it won't be "finished.")

I'm reading "A Change in Altitude" by Anita Shreve. It's slow-moving, as usual with her books, but it's a compelling story, so I'm sticking with it. I read her novel "Testimony" a year or so ago and I liked it, despite the slow pace.

Next, I think I want to read something fun. Maybe one of the "young adult" books recommended during a panel at the San Diego Writers Conference. Those are the kinds of books I think of as cake or desert. Maybe I'll read "Matched" by Ally Condie.

I should dive back in to my book, so I can finish that last read-through that's nagging at me before I start working on something else, which I'm itching to do. Just need to decide which story to start writing again first ... too many intriguing choices.

Step Away From the Book!

2011-02-07T19:49:00.000-08:00

I finished reading and editing the first three chapters of my book and sent them off to an agent on Sunday morning. Now it's taking all the strength I can muster to keep myself from jumping back in and continuing to read and edit the rest of my chapters.

I just finished two thorough read-throughs and edits. Combing through the book one more time right now will make me crazy. I've decided that I need to take a break and read for a while -- maybe a week -- then come back to my book with a fresh perspective.

What I really, really want to do is work on one of the other four or five books that I have in various states of progress, but I've vowed to stay away from them until I feel really, REALLY done with my first book.

I've been thinking about all of my other projects, trying to decide where to take each of them next. It's hard to abstain. But, my brain needs a little hiatus, then I can come back re-energized.

Publishing Pet Peeve

2011-02-03T20:54:00.000-08:00

My biggest gripe with the publishing industry, at the moment, has to do with how publishers pigeonhole writers. If they publish your romance novel, they want your next book to be a romance. They don't care if you've written a really compelling paranormal book or a good issue-y (yes, that's a genre) young adult novel. Once they know they can sell you in one genre, that's all they want you to write.

How frustrating is that? Extremely!

It would seem to me that a good book is a good book. Who cares what the genre is? If it's written well and it keeps the reader's attention, why wouldn't you want to print and sell it?

If readers liked your first book, they're probably going to like your next book, even if it's in a different genre, as long as you're not jumping from a chaste Christian romance (I hear Amish romances are HOT right now) to elaborate science fiction. I'm talking about going from a contemporary romance or chick lit to what would probably be classified as women's fiction. Not a big leap.

I should worry about finding an agent and then a publisher for my first book before I worry about what they'll let me write for my second book. But if I want a novel-writing career with longevity, it seems like I should think about these things sooner rather than later. Or maybe I should just pick a genre and stick with it. Ugh. Boo on that!

Lots of Work to Do

2011-01-31T18:44:00.000-08:00

The weekend was a whirlwind of writing seminars, critique sessions and agent panels. I had the chance to read some of my work and have it read aloud then critiqued. Most importantly, I got some great feedback at the San Diego Writers Conference.

The areas that I suspected were weak were confirmed, which tells my instincts are leading me to the right places. Also, people reacted to my writing in unexpected ways. After a particularly powerful scene was read the other people in the room were speechless. People liked it and responded to it emotionally, telling me that the scene wasn't overly dramatic, as I feared.

In another case, they liked my lead character, but they wanted more action in the opening pages, confirming my own suspicions. And in another instance, a character that I was afraid might be inauthentic struck a chord with the other writers and the instructor in the room. They wanted to know more about her.

So, now I feel more confident and empowered to keep going on all of the projects I put out there for comments. But, where do I begin? Well, I have to finish revisions at the beginning of my book and send the first three chapters to an agent who requested them. She may have been trying to be polite, but I'm going to look at the silver lining and assume she was interested in my story. You just never know.

The conference was even better than I anticipated and now I want to go to more conferences. But then, when would I write?

Time For It All

2011-01-29T21:15:00.001-08:00

Today was the first day of the San Diego Writers Conference. First, I have to say I'm totally inspired and empowered to keep doing what I'm doing. At the same time, I'm totally overwhelmed by it all -- everything it takes to get published and then to actually sell your book once it is in print (and online).

I am just totally amazed by how well-read the people are at these conferences. I feel like such a slacker! How does anyone have the time to read 8 million books and write profusely? And attend conferences? And go to writing groups?

I'm trying to chalk up my relatively limited amount of reading and writing to the fact that I work full time and have a husband and a kid. There are only so many hours in a day!

But, I'm trying. I'm reading my own genre and other genres whenever I can and writing whenever I can -- just enough that I don't feel too guilty about the time it takes away from my family and just enough that I actually get something accomplished.

Talk about work-life balance! It's work-life-writing balance!

One Last Edit

2011-01-25T22:45:00.000-08:00

I'm giving my book one last quick read-through before I convert it to a read-only document and burn it to some CDs to give out at the San Diego Writer Conference in case I meet an agent who's interested in reading it. It may be wishful thinking, but it's better to be prepared than to say, "Let me mail it to you ..."

So, I'm in the process of cutting more from the story. I think it makes it a better book, but that doesn't make it less painful. I'm holding on to scenes that I love but have to cut in the interest of brevity. The book is still probably far too long, but what can I say? I'm prolific like that.

Writers Conference Here I Come

2011-01-22T16:56:00.001-08:00

I bit the bullet and plunked down $400 to go to the San Diego Writers Conference next weekend. I figure it's great networking and should teach me a lot of what I don't know about publishing and story writing.

I just hope I don't end up feeling like a big phony, since I'm still pretty new at this. I have one completed book and about four others in very early stages. Hopefully, I'll be able to blend in with the writers who've been doing this for a few decades, not just a few years.

I'm really nervous. And I'm rushing to finish one last read-through and editing job for my book. I want to load it onto some memory sticks or CDs to hand out at the conference, in case anyone sounds like they want to read it. You just never know.

I'm excited. It seems like a grown-up, semi-professional, writerly thing to do. Guess I better figure out how to schmooze!

Done! Again!

2011-01-17T16:25:00.000-08:00

I'm done reading and editing my book. I can't read it anymore. It's probably still far too long, but I've cut everything that's not essential to the story at this point. It's time to start looking for an agent.

Every time I read it, I like it a little more. I keep finding little nuggets that I think will appeal to different people. And I've been thinking about where I could take my two characters in a second and third book. It could easily become a three-part romance, if a publisher is interested in where I might take the story.

I'm anxious to find an agent to get the whole publishing process started, but I'm also anxious to start working on one of the other three or four novels I have in different stages of writing. I love, love, love the characters I've been living with for the last several months, but I'm ready to live in some other worlds for a while.

I'm resisting the urge to start reading one of the books stacked on my bedside table while I start sending queries to potential agents, but I've been known to give in to literary temptation pretty easily. I do need something to read during my lunch breaks though ...

New Year, New Books

2011-01-07T22:05:00.000-08:00

I've been obsessed with reading this week, but not my own book. I read the "Hunger Games" series -- yes, all three books -- by Suzanne Collins and then I read "Knit Two," the sequel to "Friday Night Knitting Club" by Kate Jacobs.

Before I start reading another book -- "The Elegance of the Hedgehog" by Muriel Barbery is next on my list -- I plan to read as much as possible of my own novel this weekend. I'm making solid progress, but I still need to cut it down a bit more. I'm beginning to think I need to have another friend or two read it to give me some feedback.

Fortunately, tonight is a rare phenomenon. It's past 10 p.m. and I still have a fair amount of energy left, so I'm doing laundry and reading, reading, reading. Fun, fun, fun.

I'm trying to keep in mind that the payoff when I finish editing my book is that I can start working on others that have been waiting to snag my attention again. It's been a while since I visited some of my other stories, but I think about them often.

Occasionally I write down some of the ideas that come to me in the shower or at work so that I remember to work them into those other books when I pull them up on my computer screen at home again. Someday soon, I hope.

New Year's Eve Reading

2010-12-31T23:40:00.001-08:00

Wow, it's been two weeks since I've visited my own blog. Eesh! I guess my first New Year's resolution is to blog more often. It's not like I've been that busy. Mostly reading and hanging out. Relaxing in general and enjoying family time over the holidays.

Tonight, for example, the only reason I'm awake as midnight approaches is because I've been reading "Catching Fire," the second book in Suzanne Collins' "Hunger Games" series. I finished it and now I'm dying to read the third and final book in the series, "Mockingjay."

I have four other books that I bought with gift certificates that I got for Christmas that are sitting on my nightstand waiting for me to start reading them. And, of course, I have my own book waiting for me to finish the last round of copyediting. Gotta get that thing finished so I can start looking for an agent.

I haven't cut much from it yet. I might just have to send out query letters and see what kind of response I get to my word count. Or go through and read it ONE MORE TIME after I finish this last round and cut some more. Isn't that what editors are for, though? Do they really expect you to have it in perfect condition before it's gone through a read by editors at a publishing house? Probably.

So, New Year's Resolution no. 2: Focus and finish reading my own book. It'll never get published if I never stop editing it!

It's Never a Good Sign When ...

2010-12-17T19:23:00.000-08:00

... I get home late from work on a Friday night. My brain is mush from writing a breaking news story and rushing to finish another assignment. Of course, I didn't actually finish that second story, but at least I won't have much work to do when I go back to the office on Monday.

And here I am, after all that writing, updating my blog. And what do I plan to do when I'm done here? Work on my book.

I suppose I should have some stored up writing energy, because until today I had a relatively light work week. And after work most days this week, I read Sara Gruen's "Ape House" instead rather than edit my book. "Ape House" is due back at the library tomorrow, so I had a reading deadline to meet.

I'm on the hunt for something new to read -- the library had "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins and "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot (which I need to read for my book club) the other day -- but I need to focus for a while on my book. I'm never going to get it in the shape it needs to be in to send it to agents if I don't finish editing the darn thing.

This weekend, I vow to work on my book and not start reading a new book.* Maybe I'll send my husband to the library to return "Ape House" for me ...

* Disclaimer: I do have a book or two that I've started reading and haven't finished yet.

Good Book; More Stalling

2010-12-11T20:55:00.000-08:00

I finished reading "Friday Night Knitting Club" by Kate Jacobs last night. It was a good, quick read and something relatively light, which I've been looking for to counterbalance the tough biotech material I've been reading for work. It's also been a good excuse (OK, I admit, a feeble excuse) to avoid reading and continuing to cut down my own book.

I've been ridiculously tired lately, so by the time I've got my son in bed and have an hour or so before I absolutely must get myself in bed, I find myself falling asleep at my desk. By then, I'm reading the same paragraph over and over, because I keep nodding off mid-sentence and losing my place.

So, now it's the weekend and it's 9 p.m. on Saturday and I'm just sitting down to read and edit. And, my son will be ready for me to read him to sleep in about five minutes. He took a late nap and it's not a school night, so he's going to bed later than usual.

The good news is that my book is less than 300 pages now. And I'm about to cut another 10 pages or so as soon as I get done reading to Jack. There's a whole trip to Chicago that I decided to edit from the book. I'll save it in a separate file, of course, but it's time to listen to my proofreader's advice and cut the dead weight.

So, good night, sweet dreams and wish me luck -- luck that will help me stay focused on my book before I pick up something else from the library that I just have to read before I continue editing my own novel.

That Time of Year Again

2010-12-03T22:36:00.000-08:00

The thing I hate about this time of year is the way that time seems to disappear into a black hole.

I love the period between Thanksgiving and New Year's because I get some time off from work and I get to spend more time with my family. But it all whizzes by in a blur and before you know it it's Jan. 2, because I spend all that time between the time spent with my family shopping, cleaning, wrapping presents, and working hard so that I can enjoy my time off of work.

That means I don't have much time to write anything other than what's required for my job and even when I do have some time to myself I'm too tired to expend the brain cells writing something for me.

This is all a long way, of course, of saying that I haven't worked on my book much lately. On the upside, one-third of the way through my latest reading I've cut 20 pages. I'd like to cut about 100 more pages to make it palatable for agents and editors. *Sigh*

... Back to work ...

Avoidance

2010-11-25T21:28:00.000-08:00

Yes, I have been avoiding the blog. And writing in general, aside from work. Why? I'm not really sure. Fatigue from work, which has been stressful and jam-packed with lots of complicated writing. Avoiding the inevitable, because I have lots of cutting to do in my book. Definitely.

At this point, I've read my book so many times that I'm kind of bored with it. There are parts that are really fun to read over and over again. With other parts, I just want to get it over with already. What really scares me is that it's a sign -- and not a good one. Does it mean the book itself is boring? Or does it just mean that I'm bored?

I am kind of chomping at the bit to immerse myself in one of the other stories I've started. They've all been on hold for a while as I edit my finished book, but I'm ready to get back on track with my other works in progress. I've been daydreaming about the characters that I'm still just getting to know. I've had ideas for the book I put on hold indefinitely because the story was giving me a hard time. And I've had some really interesting ideas for the book that's not a book yet -- just five pages or so, so far.

I'm just ready to move on, I suppose. I've got all these other stories calling out to me and I'm looking for something new and good to read besides. I keep gravitating to books I've already read and enjoyed, because of one a few weeks ago that was really disappointing.

But ... my first book needs my attention. I should just finish editing it and then give myself a big reward, like working on something else or reading someone else's good book. ... OK, enough stalling. Back to work!

New Worlds

2010-11-13T15:24:00.000-08:00

I spent the past week or so re-reading the "Mortal Instruments" series by Cassandra Clare -- "City of Bones," "City of Ashes" and "City of Glass." Fantasy is not normally my thing, but I liked "Harry Potter" and loved "Twilight," and the "Mortal Instruments" falls somewhere in between. It has a little bit of everything -- romance, drama, comedy, fantasy, horror.

Lately I've been a very visual reader, so it's fun to read these kinds of books, which I like to think of as literary candy -- a fun, guilty-pleasure kind of thing. While Clare's characters are very colorful and powerful, they're also relatable. I've been the wise-ass, eye-rolling, teen-aged girl (and still am to a degree) with a dry, sarcastic sense of humor. But without a lot of endless descriptions, the writer makes it easy to picture the Shadowhunters, Downworlders and demons, as well as the Bone City, Alicante and even New York City. I found myself playing the movie version in my head while I read. I seem to be doing that a lot these days.

Not that I want to write fantasy or science fiction, but I wish my brain could create characters as colorful and vivid as those in Clare's books or J.K. Rowling's or Stephenie Meyer's. I don't see whole new worlds of characters and places in my imagination when I sit down to write. I see the people I've known and the experiences I've had and try to capture bits and pieces of those things in the stories that I create. But I think that's where every writer should start, with what you know, then adapt that to a different set of circumstances. Even Clare, Rowling and Meyer weave in themes that the rest of us can relate to -- love, acceptance, loyalty, understanding, belonging, conflict and resolution.

Then again, I think the people in my stories are pretty normal and relatable, but their thoughts, feelings and actions might seem quite foreign to some readers. It's all a matter of perspective, I guess. Hopefully, it will ring true with some people and shed light on a different perspective for other people.

* Sigh * More Editing

2010-11-06T22:06:00.000-07:00

As I've studied up on literary agents for the past week or so, something has become painfully obvious: I have a lot more editing to do.

Going by pages, I thought I had it down to a nice, reasonable length: 315 pages, single-spaced, without starting new chapters on a fresh page.

Well, everybody wants manuscripts double-spaced, so my book would be 630 pages -- if an agent even asks to read my entire book based on my query letter -- and it appears that 100,000 words or less is an acceptable length.

My book is 180,000 words ... or so.

That means I need to cut more than 80,000 words -- almost half of my book. The good news and the bad news is that the last couple of times I've read it, I got to a point about two-thirds of the way into it where I thought, "Aha! I need to get here sooner!" That means there's a lot that could be cut. That also means there's a lot of work yet to do.

So much for being done and ready to publish. On to the next rough draft!

A Big Letdown

2010-10-30T14:53:00.000-07:00

Most of the time that I was reading "Her Fearful Symmetry" by Audrey Niffenegger I enjoyed the novel. I began to care about the characters, with a few exceptions, and I was hopeful that by the end of the book they would redeem themselves in some way. Maybe they'd learn an important lesson, become free like they'd always wanted, fall in love and be loved back, learn to live by themselves -- the possibilities were endless.

It didn't have to be a happy ending, but this ending wasn't good for anybody. You're rooting for these people and then, at the end of the book, you're left feeling ... unresolved. You walk away with the sense that Niffenegger ran out of ideas so she just shrugged her shoulders and said, "Well, OK, this will have to do, I guess."

I don't think I've ever finished reading a book and been so cranky. Usually, I'm happy because I came to the end of a long, satisfying journey. This time I felt like my guide left me a mile before the end of a 10-mile tunnel then decided to turn back and let me find my own way out. I walked around the house in a cranky fog, folding laundry and getting ready for bed aimlessly, before I went to sleep.

But, maybe that's the dilemma for a lot of writers. Maybe the end pleased Niffenegger (thought I don't know how) and that's all she was concerned about. Maybe she didn't think about the readers. She knew that by the time she got to page 360 in the 400-page book that she'd gotten us so interested that we were going to read all the way to the end, so what did she care if we didn't like what she did with the rest of the book? Some writers write to make themselves happy and others want to please their readers. Hopefully, you can do both.

Done!

2010-10-23T20:43:00.001-07:00

315 pages. Single spaced. That's how long my book is now that it's done. Or, at least, I'm done reading it.

Of course, I say that it's done, but that doesn't mean I won't start reading it again soon or decide to do a little more cutting. There is a point about two-thirds through where I feel like, "Aha! I need to bring people here earlier!" But then I go back and try to find things to cut and I feel like everything leading up to that point is essential to the rest of the story. That doesn't meant I won't change my mind ...

So, now I'm reading all about agents and query letters. I wish I could go back to the fun part -- the writing. But if I want to sell this thing, I've got to do some not-so-fun stuff too. It's intimidating, but it's worth a shot, right?

A Good Excuse This Time

2010-10-13T19:58:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been almost a week again since I posted anything here again, but this time I have a really, really good excuse. No, the dog (which I don't have) didn't eat my homework. I was in the hospital.

I went to the emergency room on Sunday morning with severe abdominal cramps and another issue that I won't go into detail with here. The ER doctor suspected that I had colitis and a catscan seemed to confirm her suspicions. Several hours later, I was admitted to the hospital so they could observe me and make me drink four liters of something called "Go Lytely" in preparation for a colonoscopy the next morning.

The gastrointestinal doctor determined on Monday that I had ischemia in my colon. I wasn't in pain anymore by then, but he wanted to get an ultrasound of the veins between my chest and belly to make sure a blood clot didn't cause the ischemia. After another overnight stay in the hospital followed by an early morning ultrasound then lots of waiting for a cardiologist to read the report and look at the ultrasound video, I found out there was no blood clot. The gastrointestinal doctor believes that a new medication I started last week caused the ischemia.

I came home last night and slept very well in my own bed with no one coming in to check my blood pressure, to draw blood or to wake me up just to see if I was sleeping. Including the birth of my son four years ago, this was my second stay in the hospital. I can say with complete confidence that I don't ever want to stay in the hospital again. Unless maybe I'm having another baby, but I don't anticipate that anytime soon.

And after a lot of waiting around for people to perform a procedure or tell me the results of said procedure, I believe that the biggest problem with health care is not the lack of insurance coverage for a big number of people. It's the lack of money to hire enough medical personnel. If there were more nurses and doctors treating patients -- and reliable technology to facilitate their work -- then it wouldn't take so long to assess, diagnose and treat patients. My stay in the hospital should've required only one night in the hospital, not two. It would've cost all of us a lot less time and money.

But the best piece of news out of all of this is that I probably will be fine and have no major problems related to this as long as I avoid that particular medication. I do have to eat a low sodium diet for a while, but even though I love salt, I can handle it. I'd rather not go through that pain again or spend another night in the hospital.

Weekly, Not Daily

2010-10-07T18:22:00.000-07:00

When I started this blog, I intended to write something here daily. At this point, it's a weekly goal. It's not that I don't put as much value in the blog as I did when I started. It's just that my attention has been diverted elsewhere, mainly to my actual writing, not the writing about writing that I do here.

I'm halfway through the last read of my book. Still liking it, but itching to move on to something else. I've got other books with a few pages to 100-plus pages written that are waiting for me to finish them. But, I'd like to finish reading my first completed book and start sending queries to agents. Not that I expect to have a groundswell of interest in my book, but wouldn't it be awful if an agent asked to read the whole manuscript and I wasn't done reading and editing it yet?

So, here I am reading and reading and reading ... and ready to get going on other projects. That's why I've neglected my blog. I'll try to get back here more often. Stay tuned.

Still Good

2010-09-29T21:26:00.001-07:00

Well, after a short break, I'm back reading my own book again. Sixty-two pages in to my fifth or sixth read -- I've lost track -- and I still like it. I'm not sick of the characters (I love them, in fact) and the story still makes sense.

This last read is all about the flow of things. I'm not making a lot of corrections and no heavy edits. I'm trying to read it as if I were the average reader, picking the book up at the bookstore and giving the story a go.

I'm still tempted to redo the beginning, but after looking at it so many times at this point without coming up with a better intro, it must be OK, right? I'll keep thinking about it, but it still works for me, so we'll see.

Tonight I'm doing a little work that I couldn't finish at the office today, but I hope to wrap it up soon so I can read my book for a bit before going to bed. It's still all about fitting in a few minutes here and there when I can. Once I'm done, then I'll start sending queries to agents. Yikes! This little project's getting serious!

Taking a Break

2010-09-22T20:09:00.000-07:00

My fingers are itching to open up my book so that I can give it one last read-through, but so far I'm resisting the urge. I'm trying to give myself about a week -- OK, at least five days -- off from the novel. I've learned that it's best if I give my mind a break and come back to the story with fresh eyes.

So, the last couple of nights I've been watching "Glee" (Who knew it was so good?) and reading "Best Friends Forever" by Jennifer Weiner (It's growing on me.) and dusting. My house has suffered from my writing. My bathroom, kitchen and floors are getting scrubbed less often and there's a very thick layer of dust covering most surfaces. Now, I don't dust very often just because I despise it so much, but it's been a while now, even for me.

It's going to be my birthday on Saturday, so I want to get the dusting done before then (not likely, admittedly) so I don't have to worry about it on my birthday weekend (yes, I get a whole weekend). Then again, I'm about due for some rest and relaxation, aren't I? Maybe I'll just read a good book. Maybe it'll be my own ...

55 Pages!

2010-09-19T20:24:00.000-07:00

I've finished entering all of the corrections from my manuscript into my Microsoft Word document and I've cut a total of 55 pages. 55 pages! It feels like 55 lbs. (I wish.)

So, now I'm going to take a break from the book after essentially reading it through twice. I'll finish reading a book I started a while ago and put on hold to edit my book and read two others that stole my attention away.

Yesterday, I finished reading "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society" by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. I loved, loved, loved it, maybe even more than I loved "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen. If you haven't read Guernsey, go out and buy it now. I thought the format written as letters between several people would annoy me, but it was a really interesting way to tell a story about World War II without making it a manly war story or a sappy love story. It made me laugh and cry and want to become a member of the Society, just so I could be around the characters in that book.

Before that, I read "One Day" by David Nicholls. I also loved that book, not as much as Guernsey, but it was a good book. They both, Guernsey especially, were easy reads. That's important when you're like me and frequently interrupted by a 4-year-old and a husband with questions related to the 4-year-old.

I'll read through my book one more time before I write a cover letter and send it to some agents. But, before I do that, I'm going to finish reading "Best Friends Forever" by Jennifer Weiner. She's long been one of my favorite chick-lit writers, but her first few books were more interesting than her last few books. I've been distracted from finishing Best Friends a couple of times now, but I need to clear my head a bit before I read my book one more time, so I'll give Weiner's book one more shot.

It's funny how I've been so much happier reading since I've stopped watching TV. Nothing there holds my interest as much as a good book anymore.

Every Little Moment

2010-09-12T21:36:00.000-07:00

I've been using every little moment I can to edit my book and now I'm up to page 264 with only 61 more pages to update with changes written in the margins of my manuscript. I've made some good revisions and cut 50 pages.

The key has been taking every 20 minutes, half hour or hour that I can squeeze in to sit at the computer and get some work done. I even managed a couple of two-hour blocks last night, this morning and this afternoon. It's been a pleasant exercise recently too, because I'm editing some of my favorite chapters.

Another key is knowing when to back away from the computer. It's easy to get so wrapped up in my writing and editing that I might miss a fun game with my son or take advantage of my husband's willingness to keep Jack entertained and fed. I try to keep my ears opened so I can get some milk for our son or find the toy that he's missing. It's one of the reasons my office is next to the living room and kitchen. And my door is always open, for better or for worse.

For the most part, this weekend has been a balanced one. I've worked on my writing, spent time with family and friends, played with my son and talked with my husband. I even managed to do four loads of laundry and clean my bathroom. It's been a great weekend all around.

Two-Thirds and More Than 10 Percent

2010-09-09T22:26:00.000-07:00

I'm on page 220 out of what's now a 330-page book and I've cut 45 pages so far. That's more than 10 percent of my original manuscript that's now gone.

I'll admit, some of those 45 pages aren't lost forever, just cut and pasted in a separate document, just in case I see a need for them later on.

Still, it's been fun to fall in love with certain parts of the book again, kill the parts that aren't necessary and edit the rest like crazy. I'm looking forward to being able to read the story without stopping constantly to make corrections.

Editing Progress

2010-09-06T22:15:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the flu last weekend, a cold this weekend and a wonderful husband who's done a great job of keeping our son entertained so I can rest, I've gotten a lot of editing done during the past week. I'm more than halfway through the manuscript and I've cut 34 pages.

There aren't many multi-page sections left to cut, but deleting a few paragraphs at a time an shortening others has meant that pages have disappeared pretty quickly. I'm resisting the urge to make edits beyond those marked in pencil on my printed manuscript, but I'm looking forward to going back and reading from the beginning to work on consistency and determine what else can or should be cut.

Last weekend, I finished reading "One Day" by David Nicholls, which I loved. This weekend I started reading Stieg Larsson's "The Girl Who Played With Fire." I liked the first book in his trilogy, "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo," but I don't have much patience right now for a book that takes a hundred pages or so to really convince me that I want to keep reading. I also have "Best Friends Forever" on my night stand, but it's not as good as Jennifer Weiner's other books. I like her first few books better than the last two I've read from her.

Now, off to bed (after I fold a load of laundry). I hope I sleep better tonight and feel better in the morning, so I can drag myself in to the office. Lots to do at my day job this week.

Nine Pages!

2010-09-01T22:40:00.000-07:00

I'm excited about the growing number of pages that I've cut from my manuscript. I'm up to page 124 in the printed story and that puts me on page 115 in my edited document. More signs of progress!

Every now and then I make notes in the journal I carry in my purse about where I need to tighten things up when I read the edited version of the book. Of course, I'm editing of top of the handwritten notes in my manuscript as I type the fixes on the screen, so I'm cutting and tightening as I go anyway.

I can't wait to get to the end of this technical process so I can read the story again and smooth things out without making heavy edits (if that's even possible). I'm sure I'll never be 100 percent happy with it, but I'm hoping for at least 98 percent.

Editing

2010-08-27T22:04:00.001-07:00

Since I finished proofreading my manuscript, I'm in the process of editing my Word document with the changes I made to the hard copy. This is the part of the process that's kind of boring, at least, so far. Of course, as I type in my edits and delete the things I cut, I can't help but fidget with what's left.

I'm proud to say that 63 pages into the manuscript I've cut four pages of length. That's without the whole pages that I crossed out a few more chapters into the book. I can't wait to see where I end up, but I plan to go back and read through it at least one more time with an eye on cutting even more.

But, tonight, with a pretty bad headache and exhaustion from a busy week at work -- and a long day of work and errands today -- I'm tempted to lie down on the couch and read for a while. I bought a novel today called "One Day" by David Nicholls that a friend recommended recently. Hmm ... decisions, decisions ... the couch does seem to be calling my name ...

Done Reading ... This Draft Anyway

2010-08-22T20:37:00.000-07:00

Phew! I finally made it to the end of my book. Now I'm back in the Word document on my computer making many millions of changes and CUTTING whole sections.

I'm 16 pages in to the printed copy and I've already cut more than a page. Coming up in the next couple of chapters I've got whole pages that are going to go. It's kind of like cutting off my arm, but at least my book will weigh less in the end. It feels like progress.

Of course, no writing project is ever completely done, just done enough for other people to read it, you hope. But as I cut and make corrections and add new sentences that I wrote in the margins of my manuscript, it feels like I'm making the book stronger.

After I'm done entering these edits into my Word file, I'm going to read through the book again to make sure it's coherent after cutting and adding. Then I'll print it again and try to identify my next victim, I mean, reader.

So far, unless they've been reading my blog, my friends and family don't know that I'm writing a book, with the exception of my friend who read it and her husband. I'm not sure why it's such a secret, but I haven't been brave enough yet to talk about what I'm working on. They'll find out sooner or later, I suppose.

For now, it's just a hobby. But, who know? Maybe an agent will want to read it and maybe they'll think a publisher might want to buy it. Stranger things have happened, I suppose.

I'm Still Here

2010-08-17T19:51:00.000-07:00

I haven't given up on my blog in favor of my book, but I have been so engrossed in reading and editing it that I haven't been writing here.

I'm about three quarters of the way through the manuscript. The only major problem at this point is that I got about two-thirds of the way in and thought, "Yes, this is some of the best stuff! I need to get to this point sooner!"

So, now I'm plowing through to the end so I can start at the beginning again and cut even more than I already have. I am so glad that I had a couple of months off from the story before I started this read-through so that I can look at it with fresh eyes. My plans now are in line with the concerns I had before I handed the manuscript off to a friend to read.

It's been fun to go back and get reacquainted with my characters. I'm laughing and crying in all the same places and thrilled that I still like it. What a relief!

Cutting

2010-08-07T22:10:00.000-07:00

I thought it would be painful to cut big chunks out of my book, but having taken fours months or so off from it I can see what's good and what clearly needs to go.

I'm quite proud of myself actually. I've taken a paragraph out here and there and whole pages in one section. Still, the most effective cuts so far have probably come from shortening sentences. I don't know how I thought I could get away with some of the rambling sentences I used to describe the action and the scene in one long-winded breath.

It's all progress, progress, progress, though it is slow. I would like to read at a faster pace, but it's taking a while to get through the story with all of the editing that I'm doing along the way. But halfway through the book, I still like it. That's the best news of all.

I Haven't Forgotten

2010-08-01T00:21:00.000-07:00

While I've been fully embroiled in reading my manuscript this week, that doesn't mean I've forgotten about my blog.

Well, OK, maybe I have a little bit, but it's been a tough week. One of those weeks where I come home from work and the last thing I want to do is write. I just want to bury myself in my book.

After four or five months off from, it's been fun to go back and get reacquainted with my characters. I'd forgotten how much fun they were to write. I'm finding that scenes that were funny or sad or sexy to me when I wrote them are still that way to me now ... for the most part.

The more I read, the more I find to cut or rewrite or tone down or play up. Today, I put a big X through almost an entire page. A whole page! For me, that's a lot. I've also run my pencil through two or three paragraphs, easily striking unnecessary dialogue or narrative. As a matter of fact, I think I'm going to have to do a second read-through before I make the changes in my computer document to cut whole passages that I left in earlier this week.

So, that's why I've been absent here, because I've been reading and editing. There's only so many hours in a day and I want to say at some point in the not-to-distant future that I'm done with this book. Sure, I wrote it all the way to a conclusion, but it's not done yet. It still needs lots of editing. But, I'm having fun!

Lots and Lots of Reading

2010-07-26T21:49:00.000-07:00

I got back the manuscript for the first book I actually finished writing from a friend who was reading it for me. She's a trooper. She read it three times and gave me great feedback.

Now, it's my turn to read through it. I'm picking up lots of little mistakes and finding things that I want to cut. It's amazing the different perspective I have after a four month break from the story. I thought about it from time to time during that period, but I didn't look at it or try to fix anything.

I gave it to a friend who's not a writer, but reads a lot of books and who I thought would have good insights into plot and characters, and pick up on inconsistencies in the storytelling. She did a great job of finding things that didn't make sense and making suggestions on events and people that I might cut (it is harder to kill your own characters, after all).

I'm glad to have had a break from the book so that I can go back with a fresh pair of eyes. It is longer than I think I want it to be, so my friend's suggestions for cuts were just what I needed. Thirteen pages in, I've already cut four or five paragraphs in two different sections. I was going to try to read through it the first time without editing, but I can't help myself. I'm so excited!

A Matter of Perspective

2010-07-23T21:24:00.000-07:00

I left work frustrated today, but I was giggling by the time I got home, not only because it's the weekend, but also because I saw a truck with "Shaggin' Waggin" painted on the back. The universe was trying to tell me, "OK, get a grip, it's not all that bad." And it wasn't that bad, just a minor annoyance, nothing new per se.

When I got home, I turned right around and left to do my weekly shopping at Target. I wanted to get it out of the way so I can hang out with my kid and my husband tomorrow. Jack was fine, sitting at the computer playing games on Nick Jr., but when I got back my baby had a fever of 102.2 degrees and he was asking for his mommy.

I'd planned to get laundry started after I ate dinner. Instead, I sat with him on the couch, checking out how hot he was, talking him into taking some Motrin, and trying to figure out what else I could do to make him feel better. Between his bright red face, blazing hot skin and the pitiful look on his face, my heart just melted.

But then he fell asleep on the couch an hour before bedtime, so we changed him into his pajamas, I sat in his bed and read books to him, then turned out the lights and laid down with him until he fell asleep holding my hand. I'm sad that he's not feeling well, but happy that my 4-year-old still just wants his mommy when he's sick.

The really sick thing about it is that at the same time I'm worrying about his fever, I'm thinking, "Woo Hoo! He's going to bed early tonight, which means more quiet writing time for me!" And we'll probably be home all weekend so that he can recover from whatever is ailing him, so I'll have that much more writing time. It feels so right, but yet, so, so wrong. That's mommy guilt for you.

Another New Story

2010-07-20T20:17:00.000-07:00

The latest tally of books I'm working on: 4.

I know, I know, I need to focus or I'm never going to get any of them done.

The first project is abandoned until I feel inspired to continue the story. I got stuck and too frustrated to make progress, so it's on hold indefinitely.

The second project was humming right along until I started two more.

The third project is a chapter and a half handwritten in the journal I keep in my purse. I was going to type it up and keep the story going until ...

I started my fourth work-in-progress. I had about 27 pages written and then I decided to start over again. Now, I'm at the top of page 16 and the story flows better. I was giving too much background up front and it was getting boring. I decided that I needed to hurry up and get to the more interesting plot points and conflicts that I'm itching to write.

It's great to have all of these ideas going that I'm really excited about, but at the same time there is a certain amount of frustration that comes with that, because none of the projects are anywhere close to done. If only there were 36 hours in a day instead of 24 and I didn't have to work for a living, then maybe I'd be able to finish all of these stories. If only.

"I Want To" vs. "I Have To"

2010-07-18T21:36:00.000-07:00

I want to spend more time with my husband and son. I want to write something for myself. I want more time to relax.

But, I have to work. I have to clean the house. I have to buy groceries.

Tonight, I have to do some writing for work, but I want to write for myself. Unfortunately, it's 9:39 p.m. and I'm too tired to do both. So, unless I get a second (or third) wind, I'll only be writing for work tonight. I want my weekends (and evenings) to be all about me and my family, but sometimes it doesn't work out that way.

There's never enough time or money to do everything I want to do -- or even everything I need to do -- but, of course, I try to squeeze in as much as I can. That's why I don't sleep much.

So, I'm glad I stopped by here tonight, but now I must say, "Goodbye," so that I can get some work done ... and maybe, if I'm lucky, a little bit of fun too.

How Did I Get Here?

2010-07-16T22:42:00.000-07:00

Every now and then, I look around at my life and wonder, in the immortal words of the Talking Heads in the song "Once in a Lifetime" -- "How did I get here?"

Today I was dropping my son off at preschool -- rushing in and out in time to get back on the road and make it to work on time, just like the other mommies -- when I couldn't stop wondering how I fit in with these harried women. I have so many different images of myself in my head that sometimes the vision and the reality don't match up.

I often feel like I did in college when there was never enough time or money to do everything that I wanted or needed to do. I had to choose between watching TV or doing homework or between putting gas in the car or buying a shirt. I did both, but I charged the shirt. But now, I sit at my desk writing checks for my first and second mortgages and I wonder how on Earth I convinced not just one, but two companies, to lend me hundreds of thousands of dollars to buy anything. How did I get here?

On other days, I'm at the park with my son watching another mother with her child, feeling completely disconnected from the scene playing out in front of me, and then Jack yells, "Mommy, mommy, look!" That's when I think, "Wait, I'm just like her. Really?"

Of course, I have days when all the images I have of myself fit together perfectly. I get to be a mommy in the morning, a professional journalist all day, a wife and mommy in the evening, and sometimes I even get out without husband and child in tow so that I can be a friend and the kind of independent woman that I still feel like I am. I guess, even at 34 years old, I'm still reconciling all the parts of my multifaceted life.

A Long Way From Equal

2010-07-12T20:06:00.000-07:00

There's nothing like checking out a book from the new release section at the library to make you speed-read your way through a good book.

On Tuesday, I picked up Kathryn Stockett's "The Help" from my local library. I only had seven days to read it and I couldn't renew it online. Fortunately, it was only 444 pages and not 600-plus like the last novel ("The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" by Stieg Larsson) that I read.

Also, fortunately for me, "The Help" was a fantastic book. It's set in Jackson, Mississippi in the 1960s, which really isn't that far from most towns in Alabama in the early 1980s. I was born in Mobile in 1976 and moved to Fairhope two years later. Both towns are as far south as you can get in Alabama without drowning in Mobile Bay along the Gulf Coast. My mom moved my brother and I from Fairhope to San Diego a few months before I turned 10 years old.

I haven't been back to Fairhope since my grandmother died in 2001, but I have a lot of very vivid memories about the time when I lived in Alabama and the times that I've visited my former hometown and my dad's house in Remlap, a rural town in northern Alabama near Birmingham.

Stockett's book brought a lot of those memories rushing back, from the stifling humidity to the miles and miles of cotton fields lining the highways to the big white plantation homes that stand as monuments to the way things used to be -- the good, the bad and the very, very ugly.

After acknowledging her family, friends and editors at the end of her book, Stockett goes on to explain her pride and shame about her life in Mississippi. My family didn't have a black maid, at least not in my lifetime, and we never talked about race. But you could feel the tension in the air, the tension that hovers over everyone and keeps people "separate but equal" even when they attend the same schools and work in the same buildings.

I don't believe there was a single black family in my Fairhope neighborhood called Rosa Acres. If there was, the children did not play with me and my friends. I vaguely remember a few black students in my elementary school classes, but I don't recall one of them spending the night at my house or coming to any of my birthday parties or joining my Girl Scout troop. Somehow I knew that we just didn't do that without anyone ever specifically telling me so.

To be fair, I probably met just as many bigots living in the Midwest and Southern California as I did in Alabama. Racist people are everywhere.

I'd like to think that we've come a long way since the time Stockett wrote about in her book, but I don't think we have. The same economic, geographic and class separations exist as in the past, but the lines are blurring slowly over time.

It takes a book like "The Help" to show us just how far we've come and how much farther we have to go. After all, black people have only been able to sit where they want on a city bus for about 55 years, but we had slavery in the United States for three centuries.

Another Exciting Friday Night

2010-07-09T21:49:00.001-07:00

Before we had our son, my husband and I would've gone out for dinner and probably would've seen a movie on a Friday night, but now that's when I usually make my weekly run to Target for groceries, toilet paper and the like. Tonight, my husband tagged along with our son and I. And for a special treat, we ate dinner at a Chinese fast food restaurant. Normally, I'd pick something up for dinner on the way home.

Now it's 10 p.m. and I'm sitting in front of the computer in my sweats, eating a popsicle, checking e-mail and writing on my blog, after reading to my son and putting him in bed. My husband's watching nature shows on TV. We're both waiting for the dryer to stop spinning so we can fold the first load of laundry of the night and put the next load in the dryer. Parenthood sure makes for a glamorous life!

I readily admit that I miss being able to go out for dinner or see a movie whenever I want. Now, we have to gauge how likely it is that our 4-year-old will sit through dinner at a restaurant or else we have to line up a babysitter days in advance. Not that I'm complaining, just pointing out our current state of affairs. I'm actually looking forward to a trip to the Children's Museum in downtown San Diego tomorrow. It's one of my favorite places to hang out with my son.

While he's in bed and I have some peace and quiet, I thought I'd stop by here and say, "Hi." I could stay in front of the computer a little while longer and work on one of my writing projects, but I'm tired, so I think I might read while I wait to fold laundry.

I suppose that's one of the best things about having a kid. I now have so little access to the TV for something I might like to watch that I spend a lot more time reading. I have read some great books during the last couple of years.

Reading and More Reading ... and a Little Writing too

2010-07-06T21:19:00.000-07:00

This weekend I finished reading Stieg Larsson's "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo." This book started out slow for me, but I stuck with it and plowed through the middle and some slow spots after that before racing through to the end.

At the library today, I picked up "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett. I was tempted to get Larsson's "The Girl Who Played with Fire," but I wanted to read something different. I'm also trying to resist temptation to reread Sara Gruen's "Water for Elephants," which I just read a few weeks ago but LOVED, LOVED, LOVED.

About a dozen pages in to "The Help" -- I'm on page 2 of the second chapter -- I like it already. I like the voice of the initial narrator, a black maid in 1960s Mississippi. From what I understand from the book jacket, Aibilene, another maid and a young college-educated white woman named Miss Skeeter are the main voices of the book. "The Help" was recommended to me by a friend and I've been wanting to read it for a while.

I'm on a bit of a reading binge that started even before I went on vacation. Even though my own stories are tickling my brain -- always when I'm at work or shopping or anywhere but sitting in front of my home computer -- my impulse to read has overpowered my need to write.

Then again, most of my reading during vacation happened on the flights to and from Iowa. Otherwise, when I had free time I was checking e-mail or writing a new story in my journal. Hand writing a book is a much slower process than typing at the computer, so I would've written more while I was on vacation, but I was being anti-social and hogging my hosts' computers enough without getting absorbed in writing a new story.

And then tonight, for the second night in a row, I made the mistake of drinking wine with dinner after a long day, so now I'm too sleepy to write. Sounds like a good enough excuse to read "The Help" instead of writing my own book, right?

Ahhh ... Vacation ... Just What I Needed

2010-06-30T21:59:00.000-07:00

I took a longer-than-usual hiatus during the past two weeks, because I went on vacation. I haven't been out of San Diego (day trips to Los Angeles for work don't count) in two years.

My husband, son and I traveled to Iowa to visit my in-laws and my stepfather's side of the family. We were gone for 10 days and were busy during the week leading up to our vacation shopping, packing and washing clothes in preparation for our trip. All of the stress and anxiety of gearing up to get out of town was worth it for a much-needed break from work and our regular routine.

But while I took a break from my blog, I didn't take a break from reading or writing. I finished reading Stephenie Meyer's "The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner," a novella based on one of the newborn vampires who makes a very brief appearance in "Eclipse," Meyer's third book in the four-part "Twilight" series. It gave me a little insight into what was going on behind the scenes while Bella, Edward and Jacob focused on their love triangle and the vampire who was stalking Bella during "Eclipse." I'm sure a lot of writers would love the chance to go back and revisit characters who don't get a lot of play in their novels.

I also made it halfway through "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" by Stieg Larsson. After reading good things for a while about Larsson's recent novels, I was curious, so I picked up his first book. It was a long, slow start, but it got to a point where I had to know where the story was headed. About a third of the way in, the pace finally picked up. I'm more than halfway through now and anxious to get back to reading it tonight.

And while I didn't work during my vacation on the book for which I've written 106 double-spaced pages, I did start writing another story inspired by some of the scenery in Iowa. I've got a chapter and a half written in the journal I carry in my purse. I'm anxious to write more of that story (though I'm not looking forward to typing up my handwritten pages), but I'm also looking forward to getting back to the project I started a month or two ago. With a three-day weekend starting in just two days, I'm hoping to get a lot of writing in this weekend.

So, in addition to catching up with family in Iowa, holding my three new baby nephews, and finding lots of time to relax and hang out with my husband and son, I had a pretty fruitful vacation. I read some good books (and some OK magazines) and I wrote furiously in my journal whenever I had a chance. Life is good.

Ack! A Week!

2010-06-15T19:51:00.000-07:00

How did this happen? It's been a week since I wrote anything on my blog. Well, I've got excuses ... I always do.

I finished reading "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen last week. I loved, loved, loved ... looovvved this book. Really vivid characters and imagery without being overly descriptive. It is the kind of novel that makes you laugh out loud at the ridiculous circumstances that the wonderful main character finds himself in and keeps you riveted to find out how his story ends.

I looked at this book at Barnes & Noble a couple of times without buying it before I knew it was going to be made into a movie. I finally broke down and bought it once Robert Pattinson from the "Twilight" movies was cast in the lead role. I can't wait to see the movie. I can picture the circus scenes in rich jewel tones alongside gritty, dirty treatments depicting the rough life of down-and-out circus workers during the Depression years.

But the biggest issue taking up my time during the past week was my son's 4th birthday party, which we hosted at our house with my stepsister's family, since her son was born a year after Jack on the same day. The party was Sunday and it seemed like everyone had fun despite the heat and our crowded back yard, where space was even tighter than usual because of the gigantic jumpy that took up most of the space.

I can't believe my baby is four years old. It wasn't that long ago that I was complaining in this space that I couldn't get him potty trained. Now he's going to the bathroom, mostly on his own, and enrolled in preschool. Before you know it, he'll be in kindergarten then college. Everyone always tells you your children grow up fast, but you don't believe it until you experience it for yourself. It's a whirlwind, but we're enjoying every minute of it.

Trial and Error

2010-06-08T19:53:00.000-07:00

I'm constantly telling my friends and relatives who are new parents: Parenting is all about trial and error. Whether you're testing bottles or feeding schedules or potty training strategies, you try something and if it doesn't work you try something else.

I had one of those defining parenting moments last night. My 4-year-old son said, "'Holy smokes' isn't a bad word, but 'Oh, shit' is." True words indeed. But what was my response? I laughed. Heartily. And so did my husband, by the way.

In retrospect, this probably would've been an opportune time to explain that it's never OK for him to say, "Oh, shit," no matter the context. But, it really was funny, the way he said it. And, he clearly understood that "shit" was a bad word.

My hope is that Miss Tracy, or whoever it was at school that explained this fact to him, taught him this lesson, not because he used the s-word, but because someone else did. I won't lie and say that I don't swear around my son, because sometimes the s-word does slip out, but I try to keep the cussing to a minimum in his presence.

The parenting lesson in this is that sometimes you get it right, sometimes you get it wrong and sometimes it's just so effing funny that you don't care (but you vow to keep a straight face next time).

Mondays

2010-06-07T20:02:00.000-07:00

I don't know about rainy days, because here in Southern California we can use the rain, but Mondays always get me down.

Mondays mean back to waking at 4:30 a.m. to go to the gym, back to work, back to wrestling with complicated business stories then back home to the nightly grind of cooking dinner, feeding myself and my husband and kid, reading to my son before bed, packing my lunch and readying my clothes for the next day ... and somehow squeezing in a little writing before I collapse from exhaustion.

Today was no different, but here I sit attempting to type out a blog post before Jack gets out of his bath and he's ready for story time. As much as I love cuddling with him at night, it's one of those nights where I'll be itching to get back to my computer and keep working on my latest story.

All of this is the long way of saying the writing is still going well. It feels good. I need to go back and rework the last couple of paragraphs I ended with last night, but it's not a matter of major edits, just cleaning up a few last thoughts. At least some writing somewhere is going well!

Picking Up Where I Left Off

2010-06-05T22:16:00.000-07:00

Five days after I took a break from writing to concentrate on reading for a little while, I got back to writing today and was able to pick up right where I left off.

This new story is coming to me so easily at this point I wonder if a) I should just give up on that other story that was so hard and frustrating for me to write, b) I should go back to that other story after a long break and try again or c) the story I'm writing must not be very good if it's not a big struggle.

I've read that for many writers each of their stories is a major struggle and every book is a torturous, but ultimately rewarding, experience. Then I read about writers who are extremely prolific, like Stephen King, who really don't struggle that much. The stories just come to them as they go, though they do read and rewrite several times once the major elements of the book are written.

The first book I completed wasn't the first book I started. It was the third. I gave up on the first one about 150 pages or so into it when the main character's voice wasn't ringing true. The second one is the one I went back to after finishing the third book and have once again put on hold to work on what is actually my fifth attempt at a book.

The fourth one I started is on hold, because I've had other stories I've chosen to focus on. I have the first chapter or two written and a detailed outline for the rest. It's semi-autobiographical, so it's much easier to picture the story and characters. It's a story I started based on a writing exercise in Writer's Digest and I want to see if I can finish it someday, but the fifth book is the story that's most interesting to me at the moment.

So, it's almost 10:30 on a Saturday night after I've been running around with my almost 4-year-old-son all day, so I better get back to working on book no. 5 before I start to fall asleep. Good night!

Time's Flying By

2010-06-02T20:05:00.000-07:00

How did it get to be Wednesday already? And how has it been three days again since I wrote on my blog?

OK, I have excuses and some are pretty good. On Monday, I spent a couple of hours writing my latest story and then the rest of the day relaxing with my family for Memorial Day and my niece's 9th birthday.

Yesterday, I had a crazy Tuesday and decided to relax and console myself by reading "Eclipse" again. I've read it three or four times, I think. I've lost count. It's my favorite out of Stephenie Meyer's "Twilight" series. Also, the movie is coming out at the end of this month, so I want to read it again before I see the film. Yes, I know how pathetic that sounds. What's even more pathetic is that I'm listening to a sneak peek at the "Eclipse" soundtrack while I write this, but I digress.

So, tonight's dilemma is read me some more "Eclipse" or write. I'm at a good point in writing my story, but I'm also at a good part in reading Meyer's book. Hmm ... I'll feel guilty if I don't write, but my soul will feel good if I read. Decisions, decisions ...