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Good luck with your revision! And thanks for sharing the link. The site seems really interesting! :)
A Call to Pens
Filed Under Updates | Leave a Comment
The Good News: I’ve gotten a lot more writing work done this week than I have in many weeks previous!
The Better News: I’ll have even more time to write because I’m going on vacation!!
So I’m taking requests for guest posts. If you’d like to write a guest post, go ahead and let me know. If no one does (sadly), y’all will just have a nice little break from my ramblings!
How to Improve Your Writing by Being Better Than Everyone Else
Filed Under Inspiring | Leave a Comment
Sorry for the late post, I had trouble accessing the server. So, onward!
1. Be Faster.
Challenge your friends to a word war, and then gloat when you beat them. You wrote the most words in so many minutes, so you are clearly the superior writer for writing more than your friends.
2. Be More Motivated.
Make a schedule and stick to it. Hold your friends accountable, and make them feel guilty for not keeping to the schedule.
3. Aim Higher.
This is more of an attitude change. The next time you read a crappy novel, know that yes, you can write better than something that actually managed to get published. If this trash can get into print, why can’t your marvelous work?
My Catventure
Filed Under Characters | Leave a Comment
As those of you who follow me on Twitter already know, my roommates and I had an interesting house guest on Saturday. He walked straight into our house and chilled with us for a few hours until we could find his owners – and I’m so glad we did!
And because I’m geeky, I’m giving you the story in story structure format:
The Hook: Strange white cat walks into our house and decides he wants to stay.
The Inciting Incident: We decide to let him, since we can’t very well throw a collar-less cat out into the street. He’s liable to get run over.
Leading up the Midpoint: This is where we react to a strange cat in our house. I’m left all alone with the thing, since both of my roommates are out. I’ve never had a cat before in my life, let alone taken care of one. So of course he gets sick and I start panicking. I give him milk, because cats love milk, right!* I give him attention, because everybody loves attention when they’re sick. I call up my parents to laugh about it and/or get instructions on taking care of cats. I researched how to tell if it was a boy or girl, and I decided it was a girl!**
Midpoint: One of my cat-savvy roommates came home with some cat food and a litter box. She scolded me for giving the cat milk. Then we sat about trying to figure out what to do with the cat, and what to name him (Xander). Because, clearly, you should name strange animals that you know belong to somebody else!*** One of us put up posters, the other called around at vets and shelters to figure out where to take him, and I cuddled with Xander while I did my homework.*****
Lead up to Climax: After cursing various shelters and vets for being closed so early on a Saturday, we found one that had a person on-call and arranged for our carride over there. Not fun. Xander hates cars, fyi. He started drooling all over the place like when he got sick earlier, and meowing his head off.
Climax: A few minutes from the house someone called! They were missing a white cat! So we turned around and brought back the unhappy camper to be reunited with his mommy. His real name is Wheezer, I was disappointed to learn. His family was visiting family in our neighborhood, and he must have leapt from the unholy car of doom as soon as it stopped.
Resolution: Despite the allergies of one of the roomies, we are now getting a cat of our own. He may or may not be named Xander…
*Wrong.
**Definitely a boy.
***I promise you won’t get attached to them.****
****I lied.
*****Read: tried to do my homework.
Your Mother According to Fiction
Filed Under Characters | Leave a Comment
In honor of Mother’s Day on Sunday, I thought I’d do a special post dedicated to them.
Now of course, if your mother is like those in fairy tales, she:
- Routinely locks you up in the cellar and/or attic (Cinderella);
- Hired a hunter to cut out your heart (Snow White);
- Let your dad abandon you in witch-infested woods (Hansel & Gretel);
- Is a queen/witch/evil stepmother/all of the above.
Doesn’t sound like your mom? Okay, how about a mom from Harry Potter? Maybe she:
- Gave her life to protect you from Voldemort (Lily Potter);
- Is an overprotective mollycoddler (Molly Weasley);
- Let you work for Voldemort (Narcissa Malfoy);
- Has no clue who you are (Mrs. Granger and Alice Longbottom).
Hmmm, mothers are getting a bit of a bad rep. There’s got to be a good mom somewhere! Jane Austen?
- Pride and Prejudice? Obsessed with marriage and her nerves;
- Emma? Dead;
- Persuasion? Dead;
- Mansfield Park? Completely forgot about you;
- Sense and Sensibility? Nice, but still a bit ditzy.
Jeez. Okay, Tamora Pierce?
- Alanna’s? Dead.
- Daine’s? Dead.
- Circle of Magic? Dead, dead, dead, abandoned you.
- Beka’s? Dead.
- Aly’s? Disappointment on both sides.
- Kel’s? Supportive and a kick-a** warrior to boot! There we go!
Okay Kel, get ready to share. We gotta spread the love by splitting your mother five gazillion ways.
Less, actually. My mom’s already awesome. 
Given the last few days, I thought it would be good to hand this post over to West Wing, and share some of their thoughts.
For those of you who live under rocks and have never heard of West Wing, you should know that you are missing an amazing show. Seven seasons of brilliant storyline and characters, all set in the west wing of the White House.
In response to 9/11, they drafted an episode outside the continuity of the show to address terrorism and the issues it raises. Here are the quotes that have stuck with me through the years:
President Bartlet: We don’t need martyrs right now. We need heroes. A hero would die for his country, but he’d much rather live for it.
Girl: What are you struck by most?
Sam: It’s 100% failure rate.
Girl: Really?
Sam: Not only do terrorists always fail at what they’re after, they pretty much always succeed in strengthening whatever it is they’re against.
Josh: You want to get these people? I mean, you really want to reach in and kill them where they live? Keep accepting more than one idea. It makes them absolutely crazy.
If you want to watch the episode to learn different facts and see many viewpoints on this issue, it’s called Isaac and Ishmael. It’s the first episode of the third season.
American Royalty?
Filed Under Creativity, Tales from the Author's Desk | Leave a Comment
One of the most powerful weapons in the writer’s creative arsenal is the “what if” question. While talking about the royal wedding with a friend, I stumbled upon an interesting what if:
Ignoring for the moment that it goes against everything we stand for, and that it was one of THE reasons we fought for independence, what if we had a monarch?
I actually first heard of this on West Wing. A crazy congresswoman wanted to establish a monarch to take care of the president’s traditional ceremonial duties, and let the president actually govern.
But the real question is who would make up our royal line? I believe George Washington would be the best choice. Founding Father, leader of the Revolutionary troops, practically unanimous choice for our first President.
What do you think of an American monarch? Do you have any fun what if scenarios you’d like to share?
Welcome
Official Progress
4/21 segments
A narrator hijacks a cliche fantasy story, much to the chagrin of its characters.Status: Second revision
A young noblewoman with strange powers must choose: her king or her soul.1,639/70,000 wordsStatus: First draft
When a girl's heart is stolen, she's plunged into a world of magic and shadows - but can she get her heart back before she loses it completely?1,087/70,000 wordsStatus: First draft
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