Priorities...or my lack thereof...

I have this really awesomefantasticspectacularwicked book started ... and I can't seem to concentrate longer than 1 hour a day on it.

In three words: NOT GOOD ENOUGH (that's me yelling at myself not you.)

So I'm considering dropping of the face of the planet (aka internet) until I have finished. Obviously I can't do that entirely, because obviously I have obligations with my new website (which holy $h!t got 100 visits yesterday *passes out*) but I think I may need to take a small break from my casual/recreational internet follies. (I know I know...I cried too!)

It's all about priorities, and I know this book is important to me and I know it needs to get finished. I also know it's not going to happen when I'm glued to twitter/facebook/blogger/google analytics (what? like you don't check your stats ever!) all day.

So alas, I bid adieu until at LEAST August 10th. (I am SO returning for WriteOnCon yo!)  If you need me, shoot me an email. And don't forget to tell everyone you know about www.askabipolar.com while I'm away!!!

How do I help my bipolar son transition into adult hood? (Click Here)

A New Obsession is Born!

AND...it's all my husband's fault. (Shhhh...don't tell him I said that!)

I just want to state for the record that I am still madly in love with writing. I've just decided that I need a little something on the side to get me through those "rough times" with my novel.

What!?!?!

It's not like I'm cheating on my writing. I mean, we're not engaged or anything. It's more like I'm kinda just dating two hobby's/professions/career prospects aka Obsessions (not to be confused with the Calvin Klein cologne).

Alright fine! I am incapable of Obsession monogamy.

*hangs head in shame*

But my new Obsession is so shiny and sparkly and fun! How can I just commit to one when both are so exciting? I mean that's like telling a kid, "You can only have ONE lollipop honey." as you wave two (or ten) in their face. It's cruel.

*dons her picket sign "Against Obsession Cruelty!"*

So you probably want to know what my new Obsession is eh? (What was that? You think you already know ... Oh hush!)

I am completely and utterly infatuated (I say infatuated cuz I still reserve the 'in love'ness for writing) with web design. I big fat poofy heart all this HTML schtuff! And I can't seem to get enough of it.

This is bad. REALLY bad. So bad in fact my husband yelled at me last night! (Isn't he mean! Ok so maybe he didn't really 'yell', but let's pretend he did for suspense reasons.)

He said to me, "Poppins!" (Cuz he totally always calls me Poppins ... or maybe that was never ...) "You need to turn off that Firebug and unplug for the night!"

It was like he wanted to spend time with me or something. The nerve of him.

"Bu...bu...but..." I whispered as I pulled at my hair and my body convulsed.

The sight of me must have been alarming because Mr. Poppins calmed down and placed his hand on my shoulder as he said, "Ok, let's just gently step away from the Dreamweaver..."

And THEN he had the gall to be all, "It's time to look at vacation destinations honey. You can do this. I know you can."

That was a totally low blow.

And it worked.

But he's gone now. Away at work. So um ... yeah ... I'm just gonna go ahead and spend a little quality time with my friend WordPress. But let's just keep that between you and me. Mmmkay?

So! Who wants a website. LOL No seriously...I'm kinda cheap...not to be confused with easy...just sayin... (Is this shameless promotion? Because I am TOTALLY against shameless promotion! ... or is that for it? I'm confused!)

Break out the Umbrella, I'm having a Brain Storm!

I've hit a wall ... OUCH! (That reminds me of a good joke. A guy walks int a bar ... Ouch! ... Oh come on...my dad loves that one!)

Ok, so this wall that I've hit is made of all sorts of "You've done what you could on this book, now you must sit back and wait for what others think." Not my favorite kind of wall, I think I'd rather come into contact with a big fat brick wall.

So now what do I do?

Time to find a new idea!!!

*cowers into a corner*

But none of my ideas have sounded good enough yet!

*gets dragged out of corner*

FINE! I suppose I'll brainstorm.

*thunder*

*lightning*

So I've been looking up tactics online, as well as creating a few of my own. Still haven't come up with the next best seller though.

So you tell me, what are your best brainstorming techniques? How do you get your juices going? (Does anyone have a brain juicer? ... oh dear ... mental picture ... I take that request back!)

How did you think up your latest idea? Share your secrets with me. I'm nice, I won't spread them around! I promise!

One of my Favorite Scenes

I'm editing ... again ... and I decided I wanted to share one of my favorite scenes. It's a pretty quick scene, but I still love it.

So I hope you enjoy!

“See now,” Harris began. “Had you left this guy behind, I might have let you hang out with me, but as it turns out I don’t hang out with jerks.”

“Kind of difficult considering you are one,” Jeremy argued.

Alexis yelled. “Will you both just shut up?”

Harris bowed. “Anything for you Alexis.”

“Oh cut the crap,” Alexis said back.

“Fine, then tell me what you want.”

“I just wanted to talk,” Alexis lied.

“Oh yeah?” He laughed. “And did you know I recently invented a way to freeze over hell?”

“Really,” Alexis played along. “I’ve always thought just a few ice cubes would do the trick, but I suppose they’d melt too fast. So where are you going?”

“To the park to frolic in the wild flowers,” he answered. “Would you like to join me?”

“I would, but I’m allergic to pollen.”

“Well I guess this ends our little talk then doesn’t it?” Harris smiled.

I may or may not be ... offering a free critique!

Losing my mind? Let's go with MAY be!

I realize I say "I may or may not be..." often. Like really often. And usually, it means I may be doing or have done the thing I'm talking about.

BUT

I thought it would be more fun to have you guess some on your own. So here we go ...

I may or may not be ...

1. drawing a blank as to what to write next ...
   
   
2. recovering from a LONG weekend full of cake and parties and cleaning ...
   
3. finished editing my book and super happy with the results ...
   
   
4. in love with my new house ...
   
   
5. excited about cleaning said new house today ...
   
   
6. in need of a shower ...
   
   
7. happy with my shoe wardrobe ...
   
   
8. in need of a few good gnomes ...
   
   
9. having an easy time jumping back into twitter and facebook ...
   
   
10. full of ideas for new books ...

So in the comments section number 1-10 and next to each number write "may" or "may not".

Doesn't that sound fun! (Feel free to write your reasoning after it. That could be fun too!)

I decided for my prize I would offer a free critique of your first three chapters. But beware ... I'm quite honest (in the nicest way possible) and I tell it like it is.

So good luck! May the best gnome loving fan win!

My Orange Pen of Despair

Once again I've fallen into the realms of a major edit. And once again I refuse to use a red pen.

This time I've taken refuge in a tangy little orange pen. (Ok well it's not really little ... and it doesn't actually taste like an orange ...) I will do just about anything to avoid that bloody ink upon my pages.

Unfortunately, my little citric friend is still doing it's job. It's crossing out sentences here and adding scenes there. It's like he's (yes my pen is a he ... anything that nags at a woman should be considered a he ... just sayin) laughing at me and saying, "Ha ha ha you foolish twit. How could you have missed that adverb the first twelve times around? And seriously, haven't you learned anything about show vs. tell!"

Yeah I don't really like him either. Maybe I should return to my pretty pink pen who talked to me with love. She wouldn't laugh at me, she'd gently break the news in a pleasant matter. She'd say, "Oh honey, you can't use that many adjectives to describe his eye brows. Saying fluffy uni-brow gives us a clear enough picture.

Isn't she sweet?

But what do I do? Do I dig her out of my gnome box?

Not a chance.

Why you ask?

Because I'm at that point in my edits where I need a little tough love. I need to hear it like it is.

I think everyone has that point in the revision stage where we finally break down and accept the dirty truth. The truth that there is more we can do to make our manuscripts shine.

So break out your Honest Orange pens my friends. Let them get rude. Let them hurt your feelings. Let them force you to make your manuscript better than you ever dreamed it could be!

(Why yes, I have lost my mind. Why do you ask?)

My Character Needs a Talent!!!

So I'm reading Plot and Structure by James Scott Bell (Genius I say! Pure Genius!) and I'm filling out this questionnaire about me. I thought to myself, I should do this for my MC too. Why not see how well I know her! (Considering I invented her!)

I get to the question "What are the things you (or in this case my MC) good at?

Total FAIL moment!

I mean Epic FAIL!!!

I've been working on this book for almost a year now (ok so half that year the book was still in my head and not on paper...but still!) and I cannot for the life of me come up with something my character is good at!

How is this possible?!?!

I went through all the skills and talents a person can have (Google is full of wonderful information) and could not for the life of me choose one that fit her personality.I mean how is being able to do that going to help my plot along??? Has anyone ever had this problem? Should not having a talent just be one of her quirks? Would it be strange to give her a talent that has nothing to do with the overall story?

What are your characters talents? I mean everyone needs to be good at something!

And on a totally unrelated note...
Netflix has the first 5 seasons of Bones in their Instant Que right now...I'm ADDICTED! (And I may or may not have a huge crush on Jack Hodgins....I mean just look at him!)

A Question of Intense Interest

I was not sure if I was going to write or not today, considering my mind is still in query mush mode, but then I came across some tweets from yesterday that got my mind going and I felt the need to post.

I was going to apologize for sharing this personal information with you, but in all retrospect, I don't feel sorry about it. I can't help who I am, and I rather like who I've become as a result of it. Please note however that I am not looking for sympathy, I am just looking for an answer.

That being said...

Through a series of agent posts I noticed a couple (unnamed) agents saying they wish they would see more books about children/teens with mental illnesses and psychological disorders.

This struck me as odd.

As a person with a very serious (and unfortunately misdiagnosed through most of my life) mental illness myself, I don't understand the intrigue. Growing up with bipolar disorder was difficult and depressing, especially as it went untreated until I was 17, then mistreated until I was 26. I've lived a life of making poor and irrational decisions while on highs and lows. Decisions that have left me with a world of messes to clean up as an adult.

To make matters worse, this disease is genetic, leaving me feeling incredibly guilty about my 7 year old son who was recently diagnosed with bipolar disorder as well. Watching him is heart breaking and a nightmare. It reminds me of things I felt when I was young and as a parent makes me feel terribly helpless.

So my question is, why would people want to read about any of this? What would be entertaining about reading the experiences of a child struggling with depression?

Do you understand the intrigue? Would it interest you to read a book of this nature?

New Ideas

As I am rounding the corner and preparing to query I find myself coming into unfamiliar territory...

I've got my book ready.

I'm waiting for one more critique.

I've got a pretty almost perfectly polished query.

There is absolutely NOTHING more I can do on my book...at the moment...

So now what do I do?

Well of course, I send out my queries. Then I wait.

But what do I do while I wait?

I felt absolutely lost yesterday without a manuscript to work on. It was almost torture! And thus, I know it's time to come up with a new idea. I can't just sit and wait for answers. I MUST write. I MUST work on something. I am incapable of just sitting around and doing nothing. (Ask any old co-worker. I hate being bored. I love working! I'm a strange strange person, but you already knew that!)

So.....new ideas....

Why is this harder than it sounds. I did have a few ideas that got lost in the big "Virus Extravaganza 2010", but I'm not really feeling those ideas. I came up with a really good idea this weekend, but it's slightly cliche' and I can't figure out a good twist. I want to be original. I don't want to write about vampires and ghosts and all that other hot stuff right now. I want to write something NEW! Yeah...that's kinda hard to come up with.

Does anyone else have moments of empty brain? Lack of brain juices? Momentary loss of creativity? OR is it just me?

Maybe I should ask my 4yr old what to write about...but I'm not so sure I can come up with a good plot involving trees and butter....

Life Changes

My life has gone through some abrupt and large changes lately. Unfortunately not the kind of changes I would prefer. (AKA Getting "The Call" and becoming a widely known author) but I am now forced to adjust.

Adjusting can be difficult. Even when it is adjusting to the changes that we DO prefer.

So then the question swarmed through my mind, "How will I adjust to the changes that come with publishing?"

Wow! Big question!

I'm used to being a writer. I'm used to writing my novels for me. I'm used to agonizing over query letters. I'm used to my heart breaking over rejection.

But...

How will I get used to having an agent? How will I get used to finding a publisher? How will I get used to finally fulfilling my dream!?!?

These are going to be some pretty big life changes. And don't get me wrong, I am SOOOOO ready for them. If they want to pile up on me tomorrow, it's all good!

But do you ever ask yourself these questions? Do you ever wonder HOW your life will changes when you finally reach success?

Are you ready?

Performance Anxiety

Everyone gets it in some way, shape or form. Getting up on stage to sing, reading aloud, giving a speech, I (close your eyes Scott) even get it in public restrooms. Some one comes in, and suddenly I can't pee! (Ok you can open them now...it's all over)

Right now there are a few areas where I am experiencing large bouts of performance anxiety.

1. Writing my query letter ... I know the words are there. I know the story is great. But every time I put my fingers on the keys my mind goes blank and the words disappear. I am pretty sure this has to do with my second issue.

2. Getting ready to query ... My book is almost complete and pretty and perfect. All I need to do is polish up some things and write that query letter. BUT once that query letter is written there is nothing stopping me from sending it out. I am terrified to send it out. What if it's not perfect? What if my story doesn't catch anyone's eyes? What if I get rejected.

Thus...procrastination. I'm getting really good at it too!!!

And alas, my final issue.

3. Blogging ... For some reason lately my blogging goes like this. I get all excited to blog. I do the happy dance. I sing a song. (This is a dramatization...Poppins does not actually do a happy dance or sing.) Then I sit down and open up my blog ready for my bout of awesomesauce to spill across the page. But it doesn't. I worry my post isn't going to be funny or it's going to be boring. And all those fun little things. Then I sit and I stare at the computer screen for large amounts of time. This is kinda getting in the way of productivity.

Performance Anxiety kinda sucks. (Especially when you REALLY have to pee! Sorry Scott, I couldn't help myself there.) But I am determined to get over it and forge ahead. Look I've already started. I'm blogging as we speak! (Ok so as you read this I will have already blogged so that's not entirely true, but you get the point!)

What gives YOU performance anxiety???

Recomendations and Agents

Husband Poppins My dear loyal and absolutely devoted, not to mention handsome husband (Is that better dear?) and I got in a chat about recommendations. He's big into Linked In. I like the site too, though it's not twitter. (Just sayin...)

On Linked In you put your resume up and connect with former/current employers and/or employees and/or co-workers. As you connect you are able to leave each other recommendations (As long as you have worked together in the past) and boost one another's credibility. It's an awesome feature and I don't doubt it helps in the hiring process.

Our conversation began when we started talking about agents I like and how I know some of their clients via blogging/twitter.

He said, "You should get recommendations!"

Now I think this a great idea, but I felt like 'eh'.

I explained that to me it seems like an unspoken rule between writers that we don't cross that boundary. Kinda like the unspoken rule that you never date your best friends ex. Or the one where it is mandatory to tell a good friend that they have food in their teeth.

Nobody flat out makes these rules, they are just kinda there.

OR maybe it's just me. I love my bloggy friends! I would never want them to think I am stalking following them just to earn me some recommendations. That is totally NOT the reason I stalk follow/read my favorite blogs and chat it up with my twitter folk! (Now in twitter language would that be Twolk? I'm totally trade marking that one!)

So what are your thoughts? Would you ask a friend for a recommendation before you queried their agent? If you have an agent, have you ever had anyone/everyone ask for a recommendation?

Please share your feelings. I am incredibly curious! (And I'd love to prove to the man that I am right about my unspoken rule that I may or may not have created all on my own)

Its A Christmas Miracle!

Oh little Tiny Timmy, how did you know such good things would happen!?!?

So far December has been a lovely month! This week is full of accomplishments!

I must share...it would be wrong to leave you out of the loop.

So without further ado!

• Last weekend I baked 2 dozen cookies! The real accomplishment is the fact that I baked anything at all. I don't bake. I DO however burn, add too much flour and deflate cakes! But I successfully created two batches of Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies last Saturday. AND....People liked them.

• I showered yesterday. Um...wait...that was a daily accomplishment...scratch that!

• Can you believe someone is giving away MY award today!!! How exciting is that! Maybe one day it will make it back to me. I'd be thoroughly entertained. But just the thought of my little gnome creation going into circulation has me smiling.

• My children cleaned their rooms yesterday ... WITHOUT complaining. HUGE Christmas Miracle!!!

• Harry Potter comes out on DVD today...well I guess that's not an accomplishment...or a Christmas Miracle. BUT it is still exciting!!!

• We saw Santa across the street from Blockbuster last night. He stood waving to all the cars. Not really sure why, but it entertained my son. I can't believe he made his way to our city. What an awesome man!

So there you have it. A list of Christmas Miracles.

Oh yeah! And I forgot to mention, I guess I kinda finished my book yesterday too.

What? You need me to repeat that? Sure!

I FINISHED MY BOOK YESTERDAY!

(Sorry I didn't mean to yell...)

So I finished my second novel and the decided to have a moment of stupid when I thought it would be a great idea to join Krista and Sherrinda (and I think T. Anne now too?) in an Editing Contest.

The entire book edited by January 1st, 2010! What was I thinking! Better go get to work.

You Mean I'm NOT the Only One with Insecurities?

Insecurities seem to be a trending topic through out the blogging world today, well at least with my fellow writers. I've come to the conclusion that you haven't felt insecurity until you've been a writermotherwifefriendblogger.

It's true!

Sure we've all been through high school and had our typical self-conscious moments.

Are my clothes cool enough? Why isn't my pimple cream working? Why are my boobs smaller than hers? Why does he have bigger muscles than me? Am I a dork? Am I a hot enough jock?

We've all been there, but we all know it goes away. Life happens and we get over it. We gain new insecurities, but they are usually small and ridiculous. (Ok so some aren't, but if I said that my blog post wouldn't work out....so work with me here!)

But when you are a writermotherwifefriendblogger there are so MANY sets of insecurities you can't even keep track over which ones are more prominent.

The insecurities of a writer on their own are hugely overwhelming. All the rejections and ridicule. It's hard to remember whether or not you are a good writer when 75% of the feedback is usually negative.

The insecurities of being a wife and a mother paired with all the hormones of being a woman. You might as well put us in a padded room with a big bottle of Shiraz (and/or Tequila...and for you non drinkers we won't leave out the chocolate and coffee!) at least once a week...no once a day is more accurate. And don't even ask us how we feel about needing to be in that padded room with our comfort objects because then you are just bringing up a whole other set of issues and showing the proof that we aren't adequate mothers and wives!

With me still?

Being a friend isn't any easier. It's hard to fit friendships in between all the mothering and husband loving and book writing. We have to sit back and ask if we've paid enough attention to our friends. Have we talked about our books more than they've cared to listen about them? Have we stopped talking about our books and our kids and our husbands long enough to listen to them talk about theirs? It's madness I tell you.

And then we add in blogging. What were we thinking!?!?

I don't know about you but I am constantly thinking about what I am going to blog about tomorrow. Will it be interesting enough for people to want to comment? Will they like my post? Will I offend them? Will I bore them? Do I have enough followers? Do my followers actually read my blog or do they just follow me?

Seriously!!!

So don't worry my fellow writermotherwifefriendblogger's and all those who only do one to three of those duties. We all feel it. You are not alone.

Now does anyone know where I left my bottle of Champagne and my straight jacket? Can I get that stuff via IV? I'll take pizza if you can't find any!

I googled 'Insecurities' and got this photo.
I'm not going to ask...I'm just going to enjoy it!

DID YOU CHECK OUT MY POST ABOUT AGENTS???
WELL YOU SHOULD! CLICK HERE!

Words to be Thankful For!

Whilst everyone else writes about their awesome families and wonderful friends, the roofs over their heads and the food on their tables ... I am going to write about what I'm thankful for.

My favorite words!

Because although I am thankful for all of the above, I am also thankful for the wonderful world of reading, writing and arithma ... um well just reading and writing.

So here is a list of words that I am ever so thankful for, and of course WHY!

Totally - this is Totally the best word ever. If there is a sentence that can NOT incorporate the word Totally, it has never been spoken by me! Observe........

Awesome - (and/or Awesomeness) - Everyone is Totally made up of little pieces of awesome, so why not tell the world about it.

Fantabulous - What? That's not a word? Oh well it Totally is now cuz it's freaking Awesome!

Actually - Actually this is my favorite adverb. If you could get a penny for every Actually I cut out of my manuscripts ... um ... well you'd Totally have over a dollar! That's for sure.

Phantasmagoric - Also not a real word, but just saying it aloud Totally gets me all excited!

Seriously! - Exclamation point is necessary with this word, although sometimes a question mark can Totally take it's place. Seriously! I'm not sure if it was Gray's Anatomy's fault, but I've Totally been addicted to this word or at least the last 5 years.

Son of a Monkey - This is more of a saying or group of words, but they flow from my mouth on a frequent basis, so I Totally couldn't leave them out!

Now I know some of you may be Totally confused by my age after becoming aware of my favorite words but I am indeed nearing 30. The problem is that I Totally grew up in the 90's ... and it stuck. Lucky for you my dear friends I am Totally not saying, NOT! or Cowabunga, or Tubular. So I Totally think it's all good.

Oh yeah ...

It's all good! - I Totally say that a ton too!

So I Totally hope you all have an awesome Thanksgiving and don't forget to be thankful for all your Totally favorite words!

Considering a Change

I've been exceeding my word goals on NaNo by large amounts and I am super excited. My book is coming along quite nicely, ok well ... it kinda sucks considering I'm just trying to push out words. But I am writing, and for the most part I am getting the story out and providing myself with something to work with in the editing process. All and all a very good start.

You may have noticed however that I was missing yesterday. All this writing has left my brain incapable of thinking of anything that does not directly include my story, thus I could not for the life of me come up with a blog topic yesterday.

BUT

Its ok.

Jody Hedlund wrote a great post today about building a platform and when you should start. I've been thinking about that a great deal lately. I've been so wrapped up in the blogging world and keeping my twitter going and trying to make my name known to anyone and everyone that I have thrown my writing into the back seat and it's just been sitting there quietly. (unlike my children while they are in the back seat!) I almost forgot what it felt like to write.

Now granted building a platform WILL help me in the long run, if I'm not writing and not progressing, what good is it going to do me.

I've noticed quite a few of my blogging friends only write 3 days a week. I am considering doing the same myself. I think I have just been afraid that if I stop writing everyone will forget me! At the same time I have noticed that I have been so busy plopping out blog posts about incredibly irrelevant crap that no one is really reading my posts anyway. That's not cool! I love my readers. I don't want to bore them!!! You guys are awesome!

So what do you think? Will you forget me if I move down to 3 days a week? Will you miss me?

I'd love to hear your thoughts.

What the.....Nano What???

I must admit, when I saw someone was doing NaNoWriMo last year on facebook I laughed. I thought, "What the heck kind of dorky thing is that? NaNoWriMo....who named it? Mork and Mindy?"

Granted I had only been writing for a couple months at that point and had a million other things going on that I didn't even bother to research it and see what it was.

But this year...I'm all about it. I have a book I have been procrastinating upon and I intend to finish this story by the end of the month. And it is SUCH A GOOD story!!

Now the trouble is going to be fitting it in between all the other daily chores of life. It is going to mean ignoring my family for at least one hour every day and it is going to take some major discipline to actually write while I am ignoring them instead of surfing the web.

It's also going to take me putting away my little self editor and just writing without care. Just getting the words down and the story put together. So much easier said than done!

Are you doing NaNoWriMo? Have you done it before? Any advice?

I'll be posting links to my website for updates on how my novel is coming along if anyone is interested!!!

Because I LOVE to read!

I've recently found myself confused. I THOUGHT I was a writer, but as of late I am better known as a reader! That's all I do. Read, read, read, read, read!

This is how my day goes..

I wake up. (Ok that was a given...)

Drive the family taxi to drop off most of my family members to an area where they can not bother me while I'm reading (AKA School and Work)

I come home (You saw that one coming too didn't you!)

I Blog (Because it IS necessary!)

I read

I feed the last lingering family member lunch, fix myself lunch....(ok ok...then I play Bejeweled while I eat lunch...but that's not important. It's like a daily action necessary to function...kinda like going to the bathroom!)

I put the lingering family member (AKA the youngest child) down for "Quiet Time"/nap time so that I can....get this....READ

I read until he wakes up and/or starts begging to get out of bed so he can go play, which ever comes last....

So then I force myself to pick up the house until I have to get back in the momobile and pick up my reading distractions (AKA the older children)

At this point I make them do their chores and homework while I do one of the three following things....help clean (rare), play Bejeweled again (because remember, it's like going pee, it's necessary to function!) or well...I read

So then I pile everyone back into the Poppins Portal Device (AKA the Family Taxi and/or the Momobile) and pick up the last reading distraction....the husband

BUT I always leave early enough so that I can bring a book and read in the car while I'm waiting for him :)

Then I come home again (Again....kinda obvious)

I feed the slave drivers...cuz I guess that's my job....sigh

I attempt to pay attention to the family...I really do, but usually I'm thinking about the book I'm reading (Shhhhh don't tell them)

Then I put all my distractions to bed and the husband and I curl up in bed with our books and proceed to ignore each other with a good book until we fall asleep.

NOW if only I could put that much time and dedication into cleaning or writing I'd be quite accomplished...BUT right now, I'd rather read :)

(So um yes, if you need my address for the "Worst Mom/Wife of the Year" award you are planning on sending me....it can be found on google...just type in "Mary Smith" and um....good luck with that!)

For a list of the books I've read in the last two months (which is quite impressive I might add) visit my Web Site

Also, don't forget to visit If You Give a Girl a Pen today!!!

On being Cliche'.....

Lately I have often heard the word Cliche' being thrown around. Unfortunately one particular toss of the word was used towards my MS. Not a happy word to me. I decided I wasn't really SURE what exactly the word meant. So I did what any unknowing, uninformed person would do...I Googled it!

Per Wikipedia -

A cliché (US: /klɪˈʃeɪ/ UK: /ˈkliːʃeɪ/, from French), is a saying, expression, idea, or element of an artistic work which has been overused to the point of losing its original meaning or effect, rendering it a stereotype, especially when at some earlier time it was considered meaningful or novel. The term is frequently used in modern culture for an action or idea which is expected or predictable, based on a prior event. It is likely to be used pejoratively. A cliché may sometimes be used in a work of fiction for comedic effect.

Ok...so um...not too happy about it being used towards my book, considering I THOUGHT it was quite the original idea...sigh

But let's make sure I am understanding this word correctly. Here are a few examples I have put together that are "cliche'" with a possible remedy for each.

Cliche' - Driving in the car with children ... them saying "Are we there yet?"

Remedy - I was quite impressed when my children decided to break the mold and instead say "This is taking too long!"

Cliche' - The question given by husbands and children around the globe, "What's for dinner tonight?"

Remedy - This could be easily remedied by just asking, "What can we make you for dinner tonight mom?" See how original that would become!!!

Cliche' - Folding Laundry

Remedy - Ok...so um...there is no remedy just yet for that...BUT there is no denying it's a Cliche' idea!

Cliche' - Having to FORCE my children to clean their rooms

Remedy - Having children that do not make a mess of their rooms and when they do they pick up the toys immediately after.

Cliche' - TV Shows about Doctors and Hospitals

Remedy - TV Show about Dentists! (Capitalize on THAT NBC!!!)

And the number one Cliche' statement used more often than it should...drum roll please...

Cliche' - This is a very subjective business and I am afraid your novel is just not right for us at this time.

Remedy - Please send me your full manuscript along with your prospect advances and we will get your book/movie deal going immediately!

What???? I've got a point, you can't deny it!

But do you see what I see? Sometimes there is no way around what is Cliche'. Sometimes what is Cliche' just happens to be what works. So is it really Horrible that something about my book may or may not be Cliche'?

Another Book Review

... Caution... MIGHT be controversial ... but with love ...

I woke up this morning after dreams of the Priory of Sion, cryptexes and trying to escape from the Louvre. That right kids, I am reading the DaVinci Code.

GASP!!! OH NO!

I think that somehow makes me a bad Catholic? Or is it the fact that I am really enjoying it and I super loved watching the movie last night that brings my faith into question?

POSSIBLY it may have something to do with asking my husband Friday night if he thought anyone would be offended if I brought the book into St. John Vianney's with me during the wedding rehearsal. (At which point I got a look that said, "That better be a rhetorical question!" Which it was...but it was entertaining to see his reaction nonetheless! I should have asked the priest if he'd mind....ok ok...too far I know!)

Well in actuality I don't think that enjoying this book has anything to do with my Faith or how good or bad of a Catholic I may or may not be. I mean let's be frank here (why yes, that is your new name for the moment...ok, well you can be Fred if you really want to!) - so let's be Fred for a moment here....nope...see it doesn't work...sorry - So being frank let me say, Dan Brown is a Darn Freaking Awesome writer! And THAT my friends is why I am enjoying the book so much.

I've seen the beginning of the movie a couple times before but never really found it interesting and always fell asleep, but the moment I started reading that book I was glued. And you can bet I didn't take my eyes off the tv the entire time we watched the movie last night!

Being a writer myself (in theory) I am amazed at how this man can spin his own set of historical facts -that aren't actually facts at all - and make them seem so believable. Amazing I tell you! I truly aspire to be as wonderful and talented as him.

So what is the point of this post do you say? Well as always there is absolutely no point to my post or else that would make this a purposeful blog. I merely just wanted to share my little views on Dan Brown as an author. Regardless of how controversial his books may or may not be, definitely worth reading, ESPECIALLY as an aspiring novelists!

Have you read any of his books? Did you enjoy them? Do you find them as controversial as others say they are?

Don't worry, I will return to my regularly scheduled snarkastic and pointless blogging about mommyhood and wifedom tomorrow :)

How I measure Success - A little question and answer time about my views on success during my writing journey.