Paid in Full

Yesterday was a wonderful day. I paid off a whopper of a fine to my local public library. I love to buy books, but I'm a readaholic. Our budget doesn't support my habit to the fullest, so I have to borrow. Well, I used to borrow. I hadn't been to the library in about a year because I owed them $. Ridiculous? yes. It started with the usual. Overdue fees, etc. Then the biggie…my three boys accidentally destroyed one of those big Star Wars encyclopedia books. Sigh.

Why are replacing books for the library more expensive than just buying it at Barnes and Nobles or Target?? That whole "reshelving" thing? I don't know. But finally that's all behind me, and yesterday my youngest and I walked into the library and took a good, deep breath! Ahhhhh. It felt so good. We loaded our arms with books of all sorts, picture books, graphic novels, chapter books, YA. It was bliss. We checked out without question...YAY! Then, I came home and filled my online hold list with every book imaginable. In a few days I'm going to be walking out of there with a serious bag of books. (Our library system in KC is quite impressive considering I live in a tiny country suburb.)

I was thrilled to find that my small library had a book on the shelf that I had really been wanting to read.

 

While googling this, I discovered that Selena Gomez is said to be playing in the movie of this. I like her, no haters please. Did anyone else know there was a movie being made?? Very cool.

Some of the titles that will be mine in a few days!! SQUEEE!!!

 What is everyone else reading??

Monday, once again!

As a child and teen, I hated Monday. HATED it. I'm sure many can relate. Now that I'm a mother, that for the most part works at home....I LOVE IT!

Monday means me time. After a stressful, busy weekend I get to take my time into my own hands.

And do whatever the heck I want.

So, here I sit, at my laptop considering all the possibilities.

• laundry.
• writing
• reading
• cleaning the kitchen from breakfast
• feeding the dog
• going back to bed.
• A little of all of the above until it's time to make dinner.

Yep, I'll stick with that last one.

Oh, for the very nice people that commented on my little boy having pneumonia, he is doing much better!!
Still sore and taking it easy, but he did go to school today (kindergarten) after missing all last week! Phew, tired much?!? (me, that is!)

I'll leave you with two fantastic (according to me) commercials that some of you may have already seen, but we saw this weekend in the theatre when we finally took the boys to see Star Wars 3D. The writer in me got a kick out of these two!! :)

Happy Monday!





UPDATE!! I can't find, or remember the second video and I've spent over two hours searching youtube. My mind has drawn a blank. It's a boy and girl on a bridge in Central Park I think...and he says he has to leave her because he's a vampire or something and then she says I'm a "something" and then they banter back and forth between them one upping on the mythical creatures. Does anyone know this one? My brain is aching trying to remember what company it's for. ERGHHHHHH!!!

What a mess!

How in the world does one keep a manuscript in order? I have file, after file, after file. They go a little something like this.

• title of ms
• title of ms 1
• title of ms 2
• title of ms painful cuts
• painful cuts might use
• all new title of ms
• really new title of ms
   

How are we really supposed to keep it in order? I'm always in a panic state thinking that I'm opening the wrong file or saving the wrong file or afraid to delete any of them, lest I do something tragic!

Yesterday I was reading someone's blog...I really wish I could remember who's it was. I think it was Tamara Ireland Stone. I think!! Anyway, they (Tamara??) was saying they used Scrivener. When I went to the website and read about it, I fell a little bit in love with the idea. I haven't pulled the trigger on the 30 day trial, but I intend to do so very shortly! The way it works seems like a polished version of my lame envelope system. Like a digital companion to my very convoluted brain!

Has anyone used Scrivener or something similar??

Choosing Beta's

How do you choose your beta readers?? I'm not quite there, but I've started thinking about it. I want someone who will be brutally honest, but constructive. How does everyone else choose??

 

Oh, and how many do you give it to? Do you let friends read it? Family?

Also, I found a great new blog today via Jessica Love, and it's featuring a contest with a great review! Go check it out here —Carolina Valdez Miller.The prize is a SIGNED copy of this...

Such a beautiful day today, although my baby has a severe case of pneumonia. :( That breaks my heart, but he sits here propped up in my bed with a humidifier as I sit at the computer and write. Making the best of a cruddy situation. Back to work!! :)

It's 2012!!

Sadly, this is my first post of 2012!

ACK!

It's shameful, but I'm already over it.

I have missed blogging! I have missed bloggers. I have missed writers!! But I have not missed writing because I've been writing my butt off! That is the upside of my lack of blogging.

I had been nursing my wip for way. too. long. It was going nowhere fast. I was totally pantsing it. But something clicked a few weeks ago. I gave into a feeling I was having about this wip and it opened the floodgates. The writing was coming easy and it felt so good!! (Don't we LOVE that!)

Then one day I was overcome with an intense urge to plot it out. So I did...on about 20 envelopes. An envelope a chapter. I literally grabbed them off my desk and scribbled them out before the feeling passed. It has changed things for me. Having this—albeit crude—outline has made everyday writing a no brainer.

Here is the key.....

    I know what is supposed to happen.

Seems obvious doesn't it?? But I realize for a long time I didn't know! It was all feelings and theories. But it was not a plot. I pray that the next book I write will not require the marinating time that this one did. Please tell me that it gets easier. That ideas come quicker, that concepts come together faster!! Anyone???