Grammar Book No. 1

Painless Grammar--I checked this baby out from the local library.

Sounds like a good one right??

Here is where I have to admit I thought I was so much above this book.  I mean, come on...it's for middle school and high school students.

I've graduated college.  I've had English classes.

I decided that the public library didn't have a lot to offer in the way of grammar books and I was going to have to get my husband to check out a few from the university in our town.

Then I started reading and doing a couple of the practice exercises (which are not called practice exercises to try and fool you) and I realized I so don't remember/never cared to learn the intricacies of "showing possession when the noun is plural".  Sounds easy right?

Maria's cat is ugly.

Yeah, yeah... I know all about that.

Then we get into:

The boy's coat v. the boys' coats

okay makes sense

And then more...

Paul's and Miranda's cokes

versus

Paul and Miranda's coke

Yes as I type this it all seems to click like...duh.  But have I been doing all this correctly when I'm writing a mile a minute?  Uh... 

Mr. and Mrs. Jones have a new dog.
The Joneses have a new dog.
Mr. Jones's dog is new.
The Joneses' dog is new.

Pretty much what I've learned is no more character names ending in 's'. (jk)

Maybe this book is totally above you.  Much of it I am skimming over...and then I'm like wait what?  Mental note...take out crazy antecedents.

Moral of the story:  not checking out college level grammar book until I've mastered middle school all over again.  (Kind of sounds like the nightmare I had last night, who wants to go back to middle school, right?)

Wish me luck.

p.s. hapy thanxgivin' 

This is kind of how I feel in the grammar department...but I'm not giving up! 

Why I hate(d) G&P

Dear Mrs./Mr. (Insert all English teacher names I've ever had... and some of the Spanish ones too),

I hate grammar.  I do.  I still hate it.  I hated all the worksheets, all the work book practices 1a-14j, all the tests multiple choice or not.  It all sucked, it was boring.  I don't have the kind of brain that processes that information easily.

But I really, really hated it because I didn't understand why it mattered.  

THIS is why it matters.

So I'm making a pledge...to not hate grammar, because I need to learn the ins-and-outs like...a couple of years ago.

I'm going to find myself a grammar book and I'm going to read it...and I may even do the practice exercises from my sisters high school textbook.  I may not love it, but I will trudge through until I understand it.

And it will make my writing BETTER.

So I'm sorry for hating your lessons on grammar (and maybe you for teaching them).  I'm sorry for rushing through the work I labeled "busy".

I still may not regret quitting piano lessons... but I do regret slacking in the grammar department.  

Sincerely,

Red  

Back in the Saddle...

I've failed at Nanowrimo. But I'm excited.

My word count for the month is way under even 5,000 words.

I've been writing again.

Period.

And that's what's amazing.

And I realize that not only was my writing slump attributed to being in my first trimester, it was also because I was scared to write my really good idea. The other ideas that I thought were good just weren't pushing me to finish... the stakes weren't high enough for me.  And if they weren't high enough for me to write it, why the heck would anyone want to read it?

So I'm working on the new WIP with actual enthusiasm and can't wait to see all the places it takes me.

Side note... I do want to write those other books someday, they are still good ideas... but I can't write them until I figure out how to up the ante.

Back in the saddle again :)

Slump

I'm in a slump.

That pretty much sums it up.  I'm in a writing slump, house cleaning slump, playing all day with a toddler slump, being whiny slump... the list could go on.

I'm taking a vacation from my blog again... because for some strange reason not writing in it is stressing me out.

I'm annoyed because I keep setting goals and then I don't do them.  I need to be more realistic...I just don't have the time/energy/will power to do my normal routine right now.

So here's one last book recommendation before my vacation:

  
Pretty much you need to read this book if you ever even think about being pregnant.  Don't get me wrong, we're excited baby no. 2 is on the way, it's just the whole pregnancy thing... it sucks.

WIP Wednesday

Word count:  4218

I'm kind of bummed.  I only worked on this project once in the last week, but lately my free time has been entirely gone--so I need to grateful I even got this much done.

Goal for next week:  AT LEAST up to 5500

Life Lessons from Sesame Street

So this morning while watching Sesame Street...


(Heck yes I watch Sesame Street. I know it's probably my best time of the day to do dishes, or fold laundry because the two-year-old is occupied... but why do dishes when you can sit on your couch with your toddler and watch Sesame Street) 


Anyway, I was saying... I came across this video and it totally made my day.  I think it's something everyone needs to hear (especially writers who are sick of getting kicked to the curb).

But... we are special, we need to dream big and realize we just need to keep our heads up high...


I'm the only me.  And I love me. 


My sister and I used to play the "I love me because..." game.  Which sounds totally vain and weird, but it actually is a really good self esteem booster to realize what you love about yourself... and realize being you is amazing--even if you're the only one (you know of) who loves you.


So what do you love about yourself?


Seriously.  


I love me because I can (usually) cheer people up when they are feeling cruddy.


What do you love about you?  I really want to know.       

Powerless by Matthew Cody

Title: Powerless
Author:  Matthew Cody
Genre: Middle Grade, Superhero
Rating: Thumbs up (Best MG book I've read this year)

What I liked:  This book is so cute.  It has really great twists for a superhero story.  The main character has no powers and this is what actually helps save him and his friends (who do have superpowers).  I think this would really resonate with Middle Grade readers, because everything revolves around the time before you grow up.  No grown-ups have the powers, only the kids.  I just love this idea.  This is a great boy book if you know any guys this age, especially if they have a hard time finding books (girls will love it too though :) ).  My favorite line of the book trailer is:  "You don't need superpowers to be a hero."

Synopsis:  http://www.matthewcody.com/books.html

Really cute book trailer.

Brain Malfunction

So I have brain problemos sometimes.  

Maybe it's just following directions issues... but either way I posted this a while ago.  I guess it was supposed to be today... so anyway without further ado, my link to writing compelling characters...

WIP: Sick

I think I'm really over my cold.  (crossing fingers)  This wouldn't be such a huge deal if I weren't involved in a relay race on Saturday...where I have to swim 1.2 miles.

In  other news, I'm also so sick of my old WIP and have decided it's officially time to move on (until Natalie gives me her feedback...which will probably send me into a whole new slew of revisions...).

I'm so excited about this new idea...because it's fun.  I've been chewing on it for a long time and it feels so great to start it.  I'm such a dork.  I get these bursts of inspiration where I'm cracking myself up while writing.
I love writing a first draft.  I don't hate doing revisions...because I usually figure out how bad the first draft is and I love rewriting scenes to make them better.

But there is something about having a blank canvas again.

It's a little scary and super exhilarating...

I have an outline, but I don't get detailed.  I just write and see where things go.  I love this part of writing... all kinds of crazy things pop up that leaving me saying:  Really?  And then I grin and think:  Yes, really.

And even though I know I will eventually hack it to bits and make it better... it's awesome just to word vomit and not care if my ideas seem lame in another month--because you have to have these 'awesome' first ideas to build on them later and make them magic...

So official word count of shiny new WIP = 3529 only 56471 to go... yes!

I'm shooting for 60,000 because last time I totally over shot and had to hack away a lot of words, we'll see how this goes.

Final (kind of) word count for E.I.G. =   68,998

My day just got made :)

So I just won this contest.

Hip Hip Hooray!  Hip Hip Hooray!  Hip Hip Hooray!

I was having a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.

Really.  REALLY.

But that just totally made it better... that and the fact that my sister was able to help me take care of my two-year-old, my friend decided to make me dark chocolate, craisen, nut clusters... and my husband got to be home early today... You'd think it was an awesome, spectacular day.  Which in many ways it was... except for I've spent the last three days lying on my bed/couch feeling rotten--like I'm-dying-in-the-pits-of-hell rotten, but I think the sun is starting to come out.  (yeah I didn't even check my email, that's how bad it was)

Anyway, I guess that's all for now, because my eyes are starting to cross.

9/11

I just read this blog post by Meg Cabot about what it was like to be in New York City on 9/11.  I was a junior in High School  when the attack happened.  I was sitting in Mrs. Ackerman's English Class watching  the news and just plain shocked at what was going on.

Grab a box of kleenex before you read it.

I really just want to say how grateful I am to live in a country where Terrorist attacks aren't part of every day life, that I have a safe place to raise my family, and for people who risk their lives to help others.

Four Step Friday: Writing Compelling Characters...

1.  Examples:  

Pull out your favorite book.  Hunger Games, Stargirl, The Giver, Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, Heist Society, Unwind, Paranormalcy...Whatever.  Yes, Twilight is fine. 

What about this book makes it good?  I'm sure, somewhere in your list of praise...it will include "compelling characters".  

So what about the writing makes us want to know Stargirl, to be Katniss, or fall in love with Edward?   

They seem real.
  

2.   Details: 

What makes a character real is their depth.  You want them to have layers, motivations, emotions, likes/dislikes.  They need to be tangible to you before they can be tangible to anyone else.

Interview your characters:  Have a survey for each one of them.  This is more important than knowing what they all look like (even though your questionnaire can include that).  This is where you discover who they are, what kind of report card they get, how they like their eggs, etc.  Know them inside out and then incorporate their personality quirks in your writing.  

3.  Flaws:

Perfect is boring.  

All Characters need a flaw.  Something they are bad at... even Edward has flaws.  He's just plain stupid over Bella sometimes...

Katniss is an awful actress.

Percy Jackson has learning disabilities.

Connor, from Unwind, has a temper that gets him into fights. 

What I love about these flaws is that they are short comings, but the characters are made more endearing by them...

We love Edward because he's so ridiculously in love with plain ol' Bella.  

Katniss can't fake it, but being herself is all anyone really needs.

Percy may have felt like a misfit because of his learning disabilities but then he finds out his brain is really programmed from Greek...

Connor only fought when he was standing up for something or someone.   

4.  Arc:  

People change.  Characters should too...  but realistically and sometimes subtlety.

You don't want your character to be an entirely different person at the end of the book!  You want your character and their voice to be consistent.  But you want aspects of that character to change, their perspective, or facing a fear or coming to terms with things... This should be gradual in your writing, and is a definite show not tell situation.  Put your characters in positions where they learn something and then stick them in another where they use the wisdom they've gained...    

Back to Connor from Unwind.  I love his transformation because the author, Neal Shusterman, took his flaw:  fighting--made you realize he fought for the right reasons and because he was an alpha--had another character point out that fighting wasn't always the best option and then put him in situations to test what he had learned.  By not fighting Connor was even more powerful and a better leader to the other 'unwinds'.    

Example of a Character Sketch/Interview: 

1.  What's their favorite... food, drink, color, music, hobby?

2.  What kind of personality do they have?  

3.  What's under their bed?

4.  Who do they go to for advice?

5.  What is their biggest strength?

6.  What's their weakness?

7.  Who are their friends/What are they like?

8.  What does their bedroom/locker/the inside of their fridge look like?

9.  How many siblings do they have?

10.  Where is there favorite spot?

Good luck creating your characters, I'm looking forward to meeting them.  

What questions do you like to ask your characters? 

Book Monday: Paranormalcy

Paranormalcy and I texturing the garage.  

I think Evie was having more fun than I was, at least she got to wear  her super cute prom dress...  

Title:  Paranormalcy

Author:  Kiersten White (she has such a great blog go check it out) 

Genre: YA Paranormal :)

Rating: Two Thumbs up

What I thought:

Oh bleep, where to begin.  Loved Evie.  Loved her.  The voice in this novel is so fun.  It was a light, funny read.  Really entertaining.  I really enjoyed the love interest in the story and seeing their relationship develop.  I liked the baggage of Evie's ex-boyfriend.  This is really different than other paranormal books out there.  It's kind of like Men in Black but with a Paranormal twist... There is a government agency that supervises all paranormal activity and Evie is a sixteen-year-old who works for the agency because of a special ability.  I really liked that I couldn't guess where this novel was going.  It was a great read.    

Synopsis: http://kierstenwrites.blogspot.com/p/paranormalcy.html

(The pic above is for a contest Kiersten has on her blog, it ends on Sept. 12 so go hurry and buy a copy of Paranormalcy and enter the contest) 

WIP: Brainstorm Edition

My last Beta read my MS.  Dun Dun Duuunnnn!

I've got some tweaking to do.  Tweaking's good.

Need to fill out the ending.
Beef up a couple of characters.
Sprinkle in with some minor details.
Play with the idea of a Prologue.

And then Viola... I'll be done and buy a ticket to query land.

Wait what?  A PROLOGUE...but you never even read those... 


Yes I know a Prologue.  I've started sketching out a couple.  IT'LL BE SUPER SHORT I PROMISE.  We'll see how it goes... If I can possibly insert some of the information/story of my villain in a different way--I will do it.  But right now this seems like the most smooth/best way to get 'er done.

What do you think?

Do you like writing or reading prologues?

Are they confusing? Do they add anything?

I'm curious what other people think.  In the meantime I'm going to keep reading this awesome blog I just found:     Between Fact and Fiction--Natalie Whipple

She has amazing insight and has helped me not throw in the towel... go check out her archives with stuff about:  writing a synopsis, critique groups, querying.  It's great.

 I'm seriously addicted to chalk... 

Tuesday Flash Fiction/OOD

This is a writing prompt otherwise known as an OOD or Obect of Day.  I pulled it from the "inspiration box" my sister made me...  I started doing this in effort to keep writing new things, as I obsessively edit my WIP.  Leave your own piece in the comments : )  I've decided to give myself a word limit:  100.  So here goes:  

Postcard 

“If you can hold it...I would,” I said to Suz.

“It’s that bad?”

“I haven’t seen a toilet like that since the rest stop in Amarillo.”

“How far until the next town?”

“60 miles.”

“I’ll take my chances…”  Suz tapped open the door with one finger. 

I strolled the isles of the station and piled my stash on the counter:  water, gum, snickers.  The clerk beeped each item into the bag.  I grabbed a postcard off the rack on the counter.  I wasn’t ready to call Mom.  But at least we could let her know we were alive.          

Awesome Series...

Title: Mockingjay
Author: Suzanne Collins
Rating: pg-13, Thumbs-up
Genre: Dystopian YA

What I thought:  This book was so intense.  It had to be to top off the build-up from the previous books... but I found my jaw dropping frequently.  Collins was so true to her characters and the situation it was amazing.  I couldn't have done that.  She put them through so much pain and really reflected how they would feel.  I felt that the first hundred pages were long because I was so used to Katniss being in the middle of combat, but at the same time it was necessary to the story.  I really liked the turns in the plot...I can't say I was happy at the end of the book because of the emotional roller-coaster I had ridden, but I wasn't disappointed.    

Synopsis:
Book Trailer

Title:  Only the Good Spy Young
Author: Ally Carter
Genre: YA
Rating: G, Thumbs up

What I thought:  This was the best of the Gallagher Girl Series.  I loved it.  The plot was awesome:  Super cute and suspenseful at the same time.  I love the characters, it's fun to watch them grow and change with each book--they are really tangible.  I'm so excited for the next book.  

Synopsis:
http://www.allycarter.com/books/only-good-spy-young/synopsis

Contest: Musings of a Restless Mind

Anyone with a query they want critiqued?

There is a contest on the blog Musings of a Restless Mind... to win a query critique.  

Go enter it!  The better your query the better chance someone will pull it out of the slush.  

  

Dinosaurs, Adoption and Cool Blogs

We're back...

We lived.  It was a stinking long time in the car... First the nine hour drive to San Antonio to see Shamoof (no that's not a typo, my toddler renamed Shamu while we were down there) and back for a total of 18 hours... and then the other trip that was 20 hours in the car... we took two days to get there and two days back (40 hours!), with only three days in between.  So really this August my daughter and I have spent 58 hours in the car!

This pic is before the 2nd ride home...we still look okay. I have to find an after pic--but I think my husband already saved them in some goofy folder I don't know about, because they are no longer on the card.

She started to bawl when I put her in her carseat yesterday.  Can I blame her?  No.  I can't.  I told her, we were just going to the Grocery store.  I don't think she believed me.

As I've started catching up with blogomundo... I wanted to post some blogs that really should be visited.

First my brother and sister-in-law have just been approved for another adoption (Yea!):

They are so cute, here  is their profile--just trying to spread the word, feel free to do so as well.  They are awesome parents to my niece Halle who was adopted in 2008.  This is their adoption blog.

Another awesome blog belong's to my sister-in-law's (pictured above) sister Jenny... are you confused yet?
This is her blog.

And this one 29 not dead but dying, is amazing... Raven Blackmane rocks... and in case you were wondering I don't think 29 is very old.

My little sister also started a blog.  I took this picture... caught her mid boogie wipe :)

I'm trying to catch up, I'll get there soon.  Other things have taken precedence in the moments since our arrival... like laundry, loads and loads of laundry, grocery shopping, putting away all the crap we brought on our trips... it's been crazy.

So anyway--we're back.  And if you haven't seen the movie pictured at the top.  It's a must see.  No really.  It is.

So long cruel blog-o-sphere

Road trip with the sibs... except the youngest...who wasn't born yet.   Yes that is me on the right. 

I'm taking my WIP on a roadtrip.

Yes, I know, I know...we're not leaving until Sunday... but... we've got oh so much to do before them... and one of those things is finish my WIP so I can read it out loud in the car to my husband who said if he'd only read it if I made it an audio book...  (there is a strange sort of irony to that sentence) 

I'm whittling away my fingers just to type this post so I can go back to editing. 

I'm taking a blogging vacation from now until Aug. 18... 

What?

Yes that's right.  Aug. 18

WHAT?

I know, will I be able to live without the internets for that long?  Probably not but I'm going to try...really really hard.  (My internet fast doesn't not include google maps) 

H.A.G.S.--I don't think I've written that since my 7th grade year book...I feel so nostalgic

Yes this probably sums up all road trips in a nutshell... 

WIP Thursday

I'm experiencing burn out...

I want to work on my WIP--I've had more major editing ideas/I'm still streamlining my MS... but it's just not working today.

I think it has to do with sleep deprivation and a busy/unpredictable schedule.

Time to pick out a book and recharge.