A New Writing Website, I'm A Winner, and Other Stuff:

Photo Courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I've been struggling for the past two weeks with what I wanted to write here. I'm resistant to the thought of going back to a "This is what I did today" format, so I'm trying to find interesting things to share on my blog. My friend, Patti, told me to write about my passion. Right now, that's writing--but not just my own, and I'll talk about that in a minute. Right now, I just want to say that things have changed a lot for me. I don't have as much free time as I did a year ago, but in many ways, that's a very good thing. It's forcing me to grow as a writer, to learn how to better manage my time, to learn discipline, to make time for what matters (even when it seems frivolous) rather than just doing whatever strikes my fancy in the moment. While that may be well and good for some people, it's very undisciplined, and one cannot be successful letting the winds take them every which way.

In an effort to earn some extra money while having fun with something I enjoy, I've become a part of a new Web site for writers. It's called Your Story Starters, and we're trying to gear it toward writers suffering from what many refer to as "writer's block," as well as teachers looking for material for their students. We offer prompts--story starters--that will get people thinking and, of course, writing. We've seen many sites on the Internet, many books, offering prompts. Most of them are very basic, or they're just plain weird or funny or--definitely not what we're offering. We try to give some tips and questions to get the writer or student thinking, to get them excited about the piece. We're not getting these prompts from other sources. We're putting a lot of time and effort into them because we want to offer the best product out there. We want to go above and beyond what everyone else is doing. We want to put out a product we can take pride in, something that people will recommend to others.

As a result of this, I'm learning a bit about social networking. I've had a Twitter account for a long time, as well as a Facebook account and a Google+ account, but I haven't used them as much as I could have. Mainly, they just seemed very overwhelming for someone who didn't really have anything to say most of the time. Now that I have something to talk about, I find I'm actually looking for things to Tweet or update about. And I'm finding I really love our hashtags (#yss and #yourstorystarters), even if we've only just begun using them. We're not making any money with this yet, but it's only a matter of time, right? The most important thing right now is that we're having fun, but we're also treating this as a real business, because that's what it is. It's work, and hard work at that, even if it is fun work. I'm glad to be a part of this, and I plan to do my part in making it the success I believe it can be.

In other news, Nanowrimo is coming up. I have no idea what I'll write. I haven't worked out any storylines. But I think I'd like to write some kind of fantasy. I have a D&D-style story I was working on, but I want to change it to fit my own fantasy world. The character names will all remain the same, but I'll have to tweak certain details. Should be interesting. I think for this year's Nanowrimo, I'll concentrate on the character's backstories. I should have plenty of information to come up with a novella length document.

I also have another story in the works. I'm working on the outline. It's slowgoing, and it's not for publication. It's for the roleplay. It's an interesting concept, and there's a lot to consider in this story. I want it to be complex, but interesting. Most of all, I need the characters to be real. Shouldn't be a problem. The hardest part is plotting, which is always the case, and I've got lots to go on in that regard. I'm still really loving my character, Dakota, too!

And now for the personal stuff. Eric and Chelsey have moved back up to Joplin. I won't go into detail, but Eric's already got a job, and he's also working on their new house with Chelsey's dad. It's a ton of work. Chelsey's been really busy, too. And Josiah's started pre-school. From what I've heard, he really loves it.

Jeff's still working at the greenhouse, and I still can't help wondering when they'll "go out of business" again or something, but I'm trying to stay positive and learn contentment where I am. Most of the time, it's relatively easy, but there are times when it's not. Just need to keep from letting those times bog me down. Easier said than done. 'Nuf said?

My mom's here. She's been here for more than two months. It's been a good visit. I feel kind of guilty spending so much time back in the studio working on this or that, but we get time to socialize in the evenings, too. And I imagine she loves the peace and quiet as much as I do.

We're hoping to go up to Joplin before my mom goes back. When the kids moved back up there, we went with them. Jeff drove the truck, and I kept him company. This was when Isaac came through, but it wasn't really that bad. It was kind of nice, actually. And as always, it was great to see Jeff's dad and step-mom. We want to go up there again within the next six weeks. We need to sit down and discuss when would be a good time. We'll also need to head to the airport at some point, when my mom has to fly back home.

Oh! One other thing on the subject of writing--sort of. I actually won a book! I follow The Plot Whisperer, Martha Alderson, on Twitter and Facebook. I also subscribe to her email, since I tend to miss a lot of tweets and status updates. In one of the most recent e-mails, I saw that she was doing a mini tour on the Internet, and I could possibly win her new book, The Plot Whisperer Workbook: Step-By-Step Exercises To Help You Create Compelling Stories. All I had to do was comment on an entry to be eligible. I didn't expect to win anything, but I wanted to comment and let my support for The Plot Whisperer be known. I figured I'd buy the workbook after a little while, so winning wasn't really all that important to me. But I won! I actually won! :D So far, I really love it. It asks a lot of really great questions about the plot, the characters, etc. I plan to use this for my Nanowrimo book of backstories, too. It should help make my characters and their world ever more complex and realistic, as well as the main story, when I get around to creating it.

~L

Note: Photo Courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Writing Article -- Creating: Your Creative Paradigm

Getting your first draft written is a major strategic goal in writing your novel. But how do you get there? You need what I call a "creative paradigm" -- a method for doing your creative work. Creation tends to be messy and chaotic and hard. Your first draft is all about creation. Once you've got your first draft written, you'll be able to focus on editing, which is a whole other game. But you'll never have anything to edit until you've first created it, so in this article, let's worry only about the creative part.

When I was writing my book, WRITING FICTION FOR DUMMIES, my editor believed that there is one best creative paradigm to get that first draft done. She thought it was "obvious" that you should write an outline first, then write your novel sticking tightly to the outline. If that were the only possible creative paradigm, a lot of great books would never have been written. Plenty of authors simply can't write a novel from an outline. Their brains aren't wired that way.

In my book, I identified four common creative paradigms for getting to that first draft. Here they are:

* "Seat of the pants." When you write by the seat of your pants, you don't know how the story is going to end. You typically don't even know what's going to happen on the next page. You just sit down and start typing.

Stephen King writes by the seat of his pants, and he's done all right with it. So has Jerry Jenkins, author of the LEFT BEHIND series of apocalyptic novels. This is a very common road to the first draft. If you're a seat-of-the-pants writer (often called an SOTP), then don't try to change yourself. There's nothing wrong with you. There's nothing wrong with your method. However, when your first draft is done, there'll be a lot wrong with your manuscript. It'll be a big brick of paper with a wandering story that had no planning, and so it's going to need major revisions. That's the biggest problem with writing by the seat of your pants.

Most SOTP writers love the revision process, so they aren't intimidated by the fact that they're going to have to do a lot of it. Once the first draft is done, for them the real fun begins.

Sometimes the SOTP creative paradigm is called "organic" writing. In my view, this label really doesn't make any sense. Seat-of-the-pants writing is no more natural than any other creative paradigm and it doesn't produce inherently better final products.

* "Edit as you go." This creative paradigm is similar to writing by the seat of your pants except that you don't go very far before you stop and edit what you just wrote. Maybe every page. Maybe every scene. But you edit it. And edit it again. And again. Until it's perfect. Only then do you move on.

This is a fairly slow way to write a first draft, because you may revise a single page 20 times before you move on. It may seem like your progess is frozen-slug slow. But when the draft is done, the book is done. It's as perfect as you're going to make it. That's one of the nice things about the edit-as-you-go creative paradigm. You don't have a long extended phase of revisions to do after you finish the first draft. You just turn it in and move on to the next project.

Dean Koontz is a well-known edit-as-you-go writer, and his results speak for themselves. This method is fairly rare, but if it's your style, then it's your style and you probably can't imagine doing it any other way.

* "Outlining." Many writers simply can't face the idea of writing a first draft unless they know where they're going. All the way, in detail. So they first write an "outline." This is NOT the multi-level outline that you learned in fifth grade, using bullet points labeled with Roman numerals, letters and numbers. Instead, a novel "outline" is a synopsis, a narrative summary of the story, told in present tense and focusing on the plot, but possibly including some discussions of character development. Your outline may be a short synopsis of two pages, the typical length that you'd submit to an editor when trying to sell your book. It may be a twenty page synopsis with every scene sketched in. It may be a 150 page tome that functions as a very short first draft.

Robert Ludlum was famous for writing enormously long synopses for his spy novels. Many other writers over the years have found that they can't write a novel without an outline. If you're an outliner, then outline and be proud of it. Don't let anyone tell you that you're somehow more rigid and less natural than an SOTP. Write your novel the way you want to write it. If outlining works for you, then use it.

* "The Snowflake method." If I'm famous for anything, it's for inventing this creative paradigm, which I named after the famous "snowflake fractal" from pure mathematics. The main idea of the Snowflake is that you start small with one single story concept and then flesh it out in a succession of steps, each time adding more detail. You alternately work on the plot and the characters until you've got a strategic plan to guide you in writing your first draft.

In early 2003, I posted an article on my web site spelling out the Snowflake method. I had used the method to write my first published novel, and it just felt natural to me. (I used a very early version of the Snowflake to write my Ph.D. thesis in physics when I was at Berkeley back in 1986.) I've been pleased that the Snowflake has taken off massively all around the world. The Snowflake article on my web site has been viewed over 2 million times. Clearly, it struck a nerve. But I'm the first to tell you that it's not the only way to write a novel. If it works for you, then use it. Otherwise, find another road to nirvana.

How do you decide what creative paradigm you should use to write your novel?

I suspect that in reading the descriptions of the four paradigms above, one of them seemed natural to you and the others seemed unnatural. In that case, try the one that sounds natural. It's a good bet that your brain is wired to use that method. You may find that none of them seem natural. In that case, try each one for a month or so. See what works. When your book is published, nobody is going to know or care which creative paradigm you used to write your first draft. They'll care about whether your story works. Your story has the best chance of working if you write it using a creative paradigm that suits you. If you want to know more about each of the four paradigms, then feel free to consult chapter 4 of my book, WRITING FICTION FOR DUMMIES, which has much more detail than I've had room for here.

_______________________________

A Special Deal From Larry

My friend, Larry Brooks, just e-mailed me a few days ago to let me know that his latest e-book is now available, WARM HUGS FOR WRITERS. It includes over 30 chapters, each containing a short essay on a nugget of wisdom about writing that Larry learned the hard way.

Larry's got a special deal going right now for his book. Just do these two things:

• Buy WARM HUGS FOR WRITERS on Larry's web site or from Amazon.
• Send Larry an email containing the electronic receipt, with the words "Randy Sent Me" in the subject line.

If you do those two things, Larry will send you a bonus e-book -- your choice of one of several of his other e-books on the craft of fiction or one of his e-book novels.

To find out all about WARM HUGS FOR WRITERS and see the list of bonus e-books Larry's offering and get his email address, check out this page: http://storyfix.com/warm-hugs-for-writers

Larry always has good things to say about the craft of writing. He's one of my most respected teachers of fiction writing. And by the way, he's also a heck of a good novelist.

No, Larry didn't pay me to say any of that. I just like his stuff. A lot. You might too.

______________________________


This article is reprinted by permission of the author.

Award-winning novelist Randy Ingermanson, "Snowflake Guy," publishes the Advanced Fiction Writing E-zine, with more than 29,000 readers, every month. If you want to learn the craft and marketing of fiction, AND make your writing more valuable to editors, AND have FUN doing it, visit http://www.AdvancedFictionWriting.com

Download your free Special Report on Tiger Marketing and get a free 5-Day Course in How To Publish a Novel.

Nanowrimo, Day One (So Far)

I've written chapter one already--2,637 words!

In this chapter, I've introduced Lucky and some of the other characters. Because he's sick with the flu, you get to see how much people care for him. You also see, first hand, what a jerk his "father" is. I tried not to put too much dialog in, because my writing tends to be dialog heavy. I wanted to balance it out with other things. I hope I've done a good job of it, but I realize this is the rough draft, and I don't have to be too picky about it. I just need to get the story down.

Actually, trying to ease off the dialog is helping me think of other aspects of the story, so it's a good thing. I just hope I don't go too far in the other direction and end up with a story full of commentary and description! :P

I think I'll be alright, though. I'm too used to writing dialog not to add it. Besides, what would a story about Lucky be without his voice? And I'm only at the beginning. Nothing to worry about. :)

Now I'm getting ready to do some writing sprints and work on chapter two--about Dakota. I look forward to it!

And tonight is the write-in down at Moka Joe's. Can't wait! :D

Lois

Eleven Days - Has It Really Been that Long?

The past eleven days have been good. The weather has been nice. No storms to cause us to run for the storm shelters, but it's been very hot and muggy.

My birthday came and went, and so did Josiah's. I took pictures at Josiah's party. Here are some...



Josiah got an aquadoodle! :D


He was rockin' in this truck (Jeep?)!


Jeff and I bought him an inchworm, a gift I wanted to
get him last year, but couldn't, because he was too
young. Chelsey took this picture and texted it to me.
Isn't he cute? :)


Can he blow out his candles? He sure tried! ;)


My mom started horsing around, and I snapped this! :P
(Actually, I put her up to it, and Jeff was my
partner in crime.) :)
Josiah loves Dora the Explorer, and my mom got him a couple of Dora books, one of which had a music player included. He loved it!

And for my birthday, I got a Kindle from Jeff and my mom. My mom also got me a new slow cooker and an espresso machine. Eric and Chelsey got me a red dish drainer to match my other red kitchen things (I've been wanting this for a long time, so I'm really happy with it!) and some lilac candle tarts...and something else that's coming in the mail.

Speaking of the mail, I'd ordered a cook book for Chelsey, and it arrived in the mail yesterday...just in time for me to wrap it and take it over to the party! :D

We also went to the Farmer's Market yesterday morning. I bought some huge green onions and another small bottle of Goatie Girls Bug Be Gone lotion. My mom bought some snow peas, which I'll add to one of this week's meals, and a small loaf of Parker Pond Farms' Pumpkin Bread. The three of us (Jeff, my mom, and I) shared the bread over some drinks at Sweet Bay while I downloaded more of my Kindle library. :)

And after Josiah's party, we went grocery shopping. We spent a bit too much, but the important thing is that we put some weight on Jeff without buying the cheap, unhealthy crap you find everywhere. I've been fixing most meals in the slow cookers, and they're mostly healthy. I admit to using some cream of chicken in some of them. Next time, I'll get the fat-free kind so it's better for my mom.

Anyway, since I've been using the slow cookers a lot more, we've been having a lot more fruit and vegetables.

Speaking of...I need to write up an article, complete with photos, of the fruit salad I make, as well as the ensalata caprese, for Milli over at Fear of Writing. I'll try to post a link here once it's up.

Jeff's doing a lot better. He's still got some recovery left to go, but he's progressing well and is back at work. I just hope he doesn't overtax himself. Today's temp is hovering at 100°, and I'd hate for him to get sick!

He's also mostly done readying the hallway and part of the front entrance for painting. He just has to remove some wallpaper scraps, touch up with the primer, and then we can paint it. We bought the paint yesterday. :)

I haven't been doing much writing lately, but I've been working on a knit cardigan for myself. It's my first sweater, so it's a learning experience. I've had to scrap it three times (at least), and I have to undo about three rows and redo them. I hope I don't have to keep doing this. It's becoming a nuisance! :/

I plan to get back to my writing tomorrow.

Have a good one!

Lois

Tips for Writing Historical Fiction, by Shery Arrieta-Russ

Writing historical fiction requires much thought and understanding of history in general and basic writing tools. If you are going to be writing historical fiction, you need to have a grasp of the English language, proper grammar, and creative outlook of history. It isn't a task that is too difficult but it can come with some troubles if you neglect to do proper research.

Do Your Research

Research is important when writing historical fiction. This is the biggest, easiest, and best way to understand everything you are going to be writing about. It ensures you won't make mistakes when it comes to dates, places and people. Giving your readers the best possible and factual information can really set the scene or even give your audience a complete understanding of the characters.

Have Fun

Another tip when writing historical fiction is just to have fun with it. Be creative. Dull and boring writing can cause your audience to simply "check out". When writing, simply be sure you are adding true understanding and realistic feelings to every detail. From the setting, to the people to even the dialogue - it's all very important to the reader.

Be Passionate

Have passion. If what you're writing about isn't interesting or it isn't even something you love, how can your audience love it as well? Passion itself can be from the fact you love history to even the love for particular times and dates.

Have passion, patience, creativity, and understanding when writing historical fiction or anything else about history. These are ways to really make an amazing and interesting book or article. You want to engage your readers, make complicated situations easier to understand, and even have your audience more interested in history then ever before.

Copyright © Shery Russ


About Shery: Shery is the creator of WriteSparks!™- a software that generates over 10 *million* Story Sparkers for Writers. Download WriteSparks!™ Lite for free at http://writesparks.com. She is also the author of 3 books and creator of several email courses for writers. Visit her official site at http://sheryruss.com

Download an excerpt of The Journaling Life: 21 Types of Journals You Can Create to Express Yourself and Record Pieces of Your Life below:

thejournalinglife-sampler.zip OR thejournalinglife-sampler.pdf

If you want 3 writing *sparks* delivered to you every day for 31 days, check out WriteSparks!™ Daily HERE for info on how to get started -- it's free. :o)

Thank you for reading. Keep writing!

Best,
Shery Ma Belle Arrieta-Russ
WriteSparks!™ creator
WriteSparks.com

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Wow! Could It Be A Real Post?

Good morning! It's been a while since I've posted a "real" post, I know, but I'm here now. :)

This weekend was a little different. Friday morning, I asked Jeff what we were doing. I knew what needed to be done over the weekend. I just wanted to know what we were doing that day. We never decided before I posted my dailies, so I just puttered around a bit...on and off the computer...until about dinner time. Jeff then suggested we go out to get something to eat, so we went to Taco Bell.

After that, we went to Hobby Lobby. I got some yarn and knitting needles there with my 40% off coupon.

Then we headed down to the shopping center. Our first stop there was Shoe Carnival. We both bought hikers, and I have to say, mine are so much more comfortable than the shoes I bought last time I was there! :D

Next, we went to Books-A-Million to see if they had a Kindle on display. They didn't, so we headed over to Target so I could pick something up. They had Kindles on display, but they didn't work. :(

Our next stop was PetCo, where we bought some fish food, cookies for Nikita, and two more African Dwarf Frogs:



One of the older frogs seemed really interested in thenewcomers while they were being acclimated. Hestayed there,watching, for several minutes.


One of the newcomers

We got home late, and went to bed a lot later than usual, as acclimating the frogs to the aquarium took a long time.

Yesterday morning, we slept in. I never had time to post my dailies until last night, as we were out pretty much all day. We went to Hobby Lobby with another 40% off coupon, which I used for more knitting needles. I also got some more yarn and a yard of cloth to send to a friend who's going to make me a cover for my "tea cart":



My "tea cart" is really just a TV cart being used for all mytea and supplies. I like having it handy! :)


The material goes perfectly with my moss green walls, andthe pinks in it match the pink in some of mydecorative boxes! :D

I did a little rearranging in my studio last week, and I moved my new coffeemaker and all my tea stuff in to where I used to have my laptop table. I moved the laptop table back in front of the windows, where it used to be a long time ago.

Speaking of, I need to fix myself a cup before the coffeemaker shuts off...

Anyway, after that, we went to Staples to see if they had a Kindle on display. They had two, but one only showed a demonstration on the screen. That was the newer, bigger, more expensive one. That's not the one I want. I want the other one they had on display, the smaller one with free 3G. You could leaf through books that were on it and you could really play with it. Yay! :D I really, really want one more than ever now. ;)

We looked around at the furniture there. I saw a computer cart, some book cases (Jeff liked the three-shelf bookcase, but I like the lower profile of the two shelf, especially since it's wide, not narrow) and some other desks I really liked. Hopefully, I can get that cart sometime. It would be awesome. :)

After we left Staples, we headed over to Walmart to do our grocery shopping. We saw Eric and Chelsey and Chelsey's friend leaving, and since I had my Knitbook binder with me, I gave it to Chelsey (I'd told her I would give it to her the next time I saw her). We talked to them for a couple of minutes, then they left and we went inside to do our shopping.

It's been a pretty good weekend. We spent more than usual, but considering the things we bought, we did very well. Also, Jeff just paid the mortgage and put a large chunk toward his credit card bill (we had to fall back on it when he was unemployed), so our bank account balance has gone down a lot, but we'll build it up again.

And speaking of that, I'm finally getting serious about studying my driver's manual so Jeff can teach me to drive. Once I have my license, I plan to start looking for a job. The plan is to earn the money to fix up this house so either, A) we'll like it enough to live in it indefinitely, or B) we'll be able to sell this house and get something better closer to town.

You know, we looked at a house near the new library, but we turned it down because it needed a ton of work. I'm kicking myself over that now, because we could have fixed it up and it would be a much better house than this one...and I'd be right across the street from the library! It cost something like 58,000, I think. It might have been 68,000. I can't remember. Either way, for what we spent on this house, we could have bought that one, got a home improvement loan, and fixed it up. We'd be in town, and I'd be so close to the library!

Oh, well, no use whining about it. I'm done. ;)

I did a little writing this past week, but I did more research than anything. I finished a short story I'd been working on...a Will Scarlet short story. :)

Tomorrow, I'll be babysitting, so if I get any writing done, it will likely be after that. Today, I'll be designing and printing pages for my Day Timer. I need to work out a schedule. I've got several things I want to start doing:

• Write something every day
• Research for my writing
• Editing every day
• Sit down every day and do some real, honest-to-goodness reading!
• Start turning some of my art cards into other things, such as mugs, t-shirts, keychains, etc.
• Create some new art cards and other artwork
• Knit and/or crochet

So, I've got a lot of stuff I want to start doing on a daily basis (at least on my week days, which right now are Sunday through Thursday). I also want to get some of my writing ready for submission, as well as some of my artwork.

Of course, sometimes I have to babysit, so I have to be able to drop everything for that. But it should only be one day a week, and not even every week. Occasionally, it will be more than once a week, but it shouldn't be a problem. As long as I can work on at least one or two things on those days, I'll be fine. And the weekends I'll save for hanging with my hubby. :)

And on that note, I'd better get busy with those Day Planner pages. ;)

But first, here are a few more pictures:



Jeff looking through our new seed packets.In this picture, he's checking out the Lupines.


To brighten your day, Snapdragons andTexas Blue Bonnets! :D


Snapdragon buds close up with opened flowersin the background

I hope you're all happy and healthy! Have a good one,

Lois

I Really Need to Get Serious

I'm taking the next three days to work on weeding out. I haven't been ruthless enough. We still have a lot of clutter. I need to go through my clothes again, my books, and all the rest of my stuff. I want to get to where I only have the things I need and want most.

If I get a little writing done, it will be a nice bonus. :) Same goes for drawing. I'll be keeping a writing notebook (something I haven't been good about doing before) to jot down any notes or snippets, and I'll keep it nearby.I've also got a sketchbook, so I can do some sketching when inspiration moves me.

Anyway, my To Do List for today looks something like this:

1. Get a notebook and pen ready for note taking
2. Get my sketchbook, pens and pencils ready for sketching
3. Go through my clothing again
4. Go through my books again
5. Go through my CDs, videos and DVDs again
6. Go through my studio closet again
7. Go through guest room closet
8. Call S. in Vermont
9. Don't forget to eat and take vitamins during all this
10. Get thank you cards ready to go in the mail
11. Edit a few photos

I have a lot to do, but really, this list is for the next three days. I'll do most of it today, since Jeff's working. Then tomorrow and Saturday, I'll do what I can. It shouldn't be a problem. :)

Sunday will be either a 5K Day or a 10K Day. I'm hoping to make it to 10K. ;)

It's nice and sunny here right now. It's supposed to get up to 96°, but it will get hotter than that. It's been like that a lot lately. Yesterday, they predicted a high of 89°, but it got up to at least 100°, and it felt like 113°. The wasps and hornets are already out this morning. :(

Have an awesome day!

Lois

More Headway Today?

I'm feeling creative. I guess it's because of all the writing I did yesterday. But before I do anything creative, I need to get the things ready that I plan to move into the guest room so I'll be able to do that quickly.

I also want to draw. I need to get some practice in for some projects I want to do.

There's still no word on what's happening with the greenhouse, but I guess they're going to start selectively getting rid of some of the plants. Jeff had to go in a little early this morning.

I've been needing to call my friend in Vermont, but I want to wait until we have some kind of news. I don't want to get her hopes up...or mine. But if her husband would be willing to hire Jeff and train him in home construction, Jeff said he'd do it if the deal was good enough, so I really need to call her...just in case.

I also need to go through the stuff in my file cabinet and see what I can get rid of, as well as the rest of my stuff in the old studio. Slowly, but surely, I'm whittling down. I need to work faster, though.

Have I mentioned lately how much I love the Prince: It's Showtime soundtrack? It's easily my favorite CD right now, and has been since I got it. :)

Lois

It's Showtime...At Least I Wish It Was.

Yesterday was so-so. It was cloudy and gray all day, then we had storms last night...or, to put it more accurately, some areas to the north and south of us had storms. The supercell that hit Oklahoma City came to our area, but we were spared the worst of it. Today is supposed to be mostly cloudy, and we have a 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms this afternoon. Our high is supposed to be 85°.

I finally got my Prince CD! :D I absolutely love it! It was well worth every penny I spent and every day I waited for it. I can't wait until I can order the movie on DVD! :)

I didn't get a lot of writing done, as you know if you read my writing progress post. I doubt I'll get much written today, either, but we'll see.

Jeff has a doctor's appointment this afternoon. It's a follow-up to last week's E.R. visit. I'll be going with him, and I plan to take the laptop in case I stay in the waiting room. I probably won't take the device, so won't connect unless there's Wi-fi there.

Speaking of Wi-fi, I'm seriously considering getting rid of AT&T. The device I have keeps reverting back to a connection profile that can't connect. I have to choose the correct profile every time I open the stupid software. On top of that, the connection is lousy a lot of the time. So, I'll be doing more research on other plans and see what I can come up with. If I disappear at some point this month, it's because I've canceled my plan and didn't have time to post about it (though it shouldn't be a problem to post about it first).

Anyway, that's about all that's going on here. We're all alive and well, and I hope you are, too! ;) Hopefully soon, I'll be able to catch up on my F-List.

Lois

A Short Post

Yesterday was another very good day. The trip to the airport went well, and obviously, we got home alright. ;)

I did very little writing, only about 285 words. I plan on doing some writing today, but first I need a shower and some more tea.

The dog decided to tear her pillow apart, so now she's just got folded blankets in her kennel. I'm getting to the point where I don't want to get her anything nice, because she always destroys it. *sigh*

Well, I'd better go. I have more things I need to do before I can start writing.

Have a great day (and happy Mother's Day, to all you mom's out there)!

Lois

Busy, Busy, Busy!

I'm really late today, I know. I started the day fixing breakfast bowls and doing the dishes. Then I started the laundry, changed the litter in the litter box, and vacuumed Jeff's and my room and bathroom.

The technician from the ER called. She said there was a problem with the portable heart monitor and that they lost a ton of data. She wanted to know if Jeff wanted to try again or forget about it. I had to call him and give him the number, so he's likely called them by now.

Josiah's been doing a lot of walking lately. He can pretty much walk across the living room without falling. Sometimes, he'll lose his balance, steady himself, then keep going. He's so cute! :D

Chelsey's done a lot of cleaning today, and Eric cleaned my mom's fan. He also drilled a hole in the wall so he could run the satellite cable into their room instead of running it down the hallway in front of my mom's door. That would not be good when my mom's here. She would have tripped over it for sure.

I got my check for Jury Duty. That was fast! :D It's not a lot, but I sure need it! I'm going to put most of it into our joint account and keep a little out for myself.

Thanks for the virtual tulips, j0yful_melody! :D They're pretty! :)

I'm loving this new device, but I'm not so sure about the AT&T Communication Manager software that came with it. It keeps stalling, and it screwed up my computer twice already. :/ At least I haven't lost anything because of it.

I don't know if I'll get any writing done, but I'd like to work on the storm story a little more.

We're going shopping again tonight, but not for too much stuff. We just need to get a couple birthday cards, some gas for the lawn mower and some Kleenex for my mom's room...and another rawhide bone for Niki. The kids need to pick up some stuff, too.

I need to straighten up and organize my work area in the living room, then I should have time to do some writing. I want to take another shower, too...maybe. I got sweaty and dirty after my early shower, so I really should.

Anyway, have a great day!

Lois

Busy, Busy, Busy!

I'm really late today, I know. I started the day fixing breakfast bowls and doing the dishes. Then I started the laundry, changed the litter in the litter box, and vacuumed Jeff's and my room and bathroom.

The technician from the ER called. She said there was a problem with the portable heart monitor and that they lost a ton of data. She wanted to know if Jeff wanted to try again or forget about it. I had to call him and give him the number, so he's likely called them by now.

Josiah's been doing a lot of walking lately. He can pretty much walk across the living room without falling. Sometimes, he'll lose his balance, steady himself, then keep going. He's so cute! :D

Chelsey's done a lot of cleaning today, and Eric cleaned my mom's fan. He also drilled a hole in the wall so he could run the satellite cable into their room instead of running it down the hallway in front of my mom's door. That would not be good when my mom's here. She would have tripped over it for sure.

I got my check for Jury Duty. That was fast! :D It's not a lot, but I sure need it! I'm going to put most of it into our joint account and keep a little out for myself.

Thanks for the virtual tulips, j0yful_melody! :D They're pretty! :)

I'm loving this new device, but I'm not so sure about the AT&T Communication Manager software that came with it. It keeps stalling, and it screwed up my computer twice already. :/ At least I haven't lost anything because of it.

I don't know if I'll get any writing done, but I'd like to work on the storm story a little more.

We're going shopping again tonight, but not for too much stuff. We just need to get a couple birthday cards, some gas for the lawn mower and some Kleenex for my mom's room...and another rawhide bone for Niki. The kids need to pick up some stuff, too.

I need to straighten up and organize my work area in the living room, then I should have time to do some writing. I want to take another shower, too...maybe. I got sweaty and dirty after my early shower, so I really should.

Anyway, have a great day!

Lois

What's On the Agenda for Today?

Today will be an "off" day. The kids and I are going to Walmart for a few groceries, and we have to stop at the ATM first so I can take out some cash. They'll be getting an oil change while I'm shopping.

I'm watching Chance Pe Dance, starring Shahid Kapoor. He's so great in this! :D He's one of those actors who's equally great at comedy and drama.

I'm planning on doing some writing and editing later, if I feel up to it after being out this morning. We shall see...

Have a great day!

Lois

Briefly Speaking

Yesterday didn't go as planned. I basically squandered it away. I guess I needed to relax a bit more before hitting the writing today.

I did get a pretty good idea of what kind of dog Niki might be: a Brindle Plott Hound (at least in part). She's got the characteristics (the brindled coat, the hunting habits, the sturdy build and sad eyes, etc.). Jeff was funny. He kept calling her "Brindle" and "Plott Hound." Personally, I think it's fitting. I'm a plot hound, and she's a Plott Hound! :P

Anyway, I'm not feeling too great today, so I'm going to take a shower, then sit back on the sofa and write. And this has nothing to do with the nasty, skunky poo I stepped in this morning (yuck!!!). I don't know if it was Niki's, Chloe's or if it belonged to some other animal, but it was obviously disgusting!!! I had to spot steam clean the carpet and mop the kitchen floor. Ick! Not the greatest job when you're already not feeling too great. :(

Anyway, I'd better go take that shower, then get some tea and relax with my writing.

Have a great day!

Lois

A Lazy Day, But I'm Going To Write, At Least

I have jury duty tomorrow. On the way to the grocery store last night, we looked for the Division Two courtroom. I now know where it is. It's not far from the Division One courtroom. I can walk there from the courthouse. That helps. :)

It's been rainy here, and that's made it easier for me to walk Niki. I dread the return of the sun, if only because I dread going outside with the wasps.

I did a little writing yesterday, but very little else in the way of creativity. I plan to work on my screenplay in a bit. I need to bring my page count up. And I've just discovered that the Script Frenzy Web site is having problems. I can't update my userpic, and I can't view my status. I wonder what else I can't do...

I'd better cut this short. I've got laundry that needs to be switched over, a dog that needs to be walked, and a screenplay that needs to be written. ;)

Happy Sunday!

Lois

I'm Soooooo Sleepy...Zzzzzzz...

Well, I've posted two feedbacks, then wrote another, which is awaiting approval. In spite of being a bit tired this morning, I'm on a roll. :)

The sun is out today, too, and it's supposed to get up around 63°! :D

I never did any writing yesterday (besides the feedback) and don't think I'll do any today, either. I've been kind of tired lately. I keep waking up during the night. Last night was the worst so far. :( This morning, I decided to cut out most of the caffeine. I only had about a third of a cup of lite coffee. I'm hoping I'll sleep a lot better tonight. If not, I'll start taking antihistamines again. *sigh*

Eric and Chelsey have been doing a lot of cleaning. Her dad's coming down some time today. Eric's insisting that I go out there and socialize. It's a good thing I've written my feedback, however, if I don't get to take a shower, I won't be going out there. I've told him I need the dryer. If it's not emptied in time for me to finish my first load of laundry and take a shower, I won't go out there looking like something the cat dragged in. ;)

My Atif Aslam CD, Doorie, shipped yesterday. YAY! :D I ordered a couple DVDs from the same company today: Mukhbiir and Jannat. I'm not going on any spending sprees, but I've got a list of movies I want to buy when they're on sale. These two were $5 each, and shipping was $5. Not a bad deal, really. :) The next two I'd like to get are Shootout At Lokhandwala and Kurbaan.

Guess I'll go see if the dryer's free yet. When it is, I'll dry my first load, then I may start watching my recently downloaded Atif Aslam videos, for lack of better things to do with my time when I'm this sleepy. I don't want to take a nap.

Have a good one!

Lois

Still Not 100%...

but I'm feeling a lot better than I was a couple of days ago. My cold became the flu and I had pretty much every symptom you can think of except for vomiting. I'm still taking Thermaflu and Mucinex, along with my vitamins and Echinacea tea.

My Forever CD came in the mail yesterday! :D It's awesome! You can listen to several of their songs online at their ReverbNation page (or you can listen to the widget above right on this page). The only thing the CD is missing is the lyrics, but Mark Wayne Hawkins' voice is so clear that I can understand him, so who needs the lyrics? :)

Jeff has to work today. :/ Hopefully, it'll just be for half a day or less. At least his boss will be working too, so Jeff's not being picked on. ;)

I haven't worked on my novel at all since I've been sick. I'm hoping to get back to it tomorrow or Sunday. It'll depend on how I feel.

I've been lucky enough to get the chance to watch a few soccer games on DirecTV over the past few days. They're offering some of the EUFA games for free! :D

And I finally finished reading William W. Johnstone's Blood Bond: Gunsmoke And Gold. It was a great book! Now I'm working my way through John Grisham's Ford County Stories. It's really good, so far. :)

Well, I'd better get off here. I need to finish checking my e-mail (it'll take a while...I haven't been reading all of it because of bandwidth, so I've got a lot of e-mails I'll need to catch up on tomorrow when the new billing cycle begins), then get off here.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING! :D

Lois

I Love Sweet Bay! :D

Well, I'm at Sweet Bay again, but this time it's one of the ones in Fort Smith. I'm almost finished here, though. I had a yummy low carb omelet bowl and a decaf spiced chai latte. Now Jeff's getting me a decaf Irish cream cappuccino. :)

They have two laptops set up here for people to use. How cool is that? :D I don't need to use them, as I'm using my laptop with their Wi-fi, but still... :)

We'll be doing several things in Fort Smith before heading to Walmart to do our grocery shopping, then home. Chelsey's brothers are visiting and Eric wants us to meet them.

We may be going to Best Buy, J.C. Penney, Michael's and/ or Hobby Lobby and several other places. It'll be a busy day. :)

I won't be transcribing my writing until tomorrow. I won't be brainstorming/ outlining my short story until tomorrow. Today will be busy, but it won't be writing related. Tomorrow will be. :)

The weather has greatly improved: 82° and sunny. I hope it stays sunny for a long time! :D

Have a great day! :)

Lois

A Nice Day To Write A Rainy Piece

Cool! I just downloaded the September/ October edition of Script Magazine! :D I've been thinking about making Jack Hunter's story into a screenplay and the western fantasy will definitely be a screenplay, so I'm very interested in how other screenwriters do their thing. :)

And I found out that a book I ordered two or three days ago has shipped! Screenwriting Formula. (Check out the used prices! I'm kicking myself for buying it at 40% off from Writer's Digest...sort of. I'm happy to support them, when I can.)

Today is starting off rainy and stormy, although the thunder and lightning have mostly moved off. Perfect day to work on my short story! :D I'll also be doing some outlining and brainstorming.

Jeff and I watched Ghost Hunters and Destination: Truth last night. Josh Gates investigated with the Ghost Hunters team, then on Destination: Truth, he took some evidence to Grant and Jason to get their professional opinions on it. It was pretty wild, to say the least! (The evidence, I mean.) I need to see if Netflix has the first seasons of Destination: Truth. We haven't seen very many episodes because it's on so late, but I love the show.

Well, that's all for now.

Have a great day! :D

Lois

James Patterson To Crank Out 17 Books In 3 Years

I wanna be James Patterson when I grow up! :D

James Patterson To Crank Out 17 Books In 3 Years

I know not everyone is into his stuff and, truth be told, I have yet to read any of his books. I've heard mixed reviews. I just think it's cool that he's got so many ideas that he's able to write so many books (and yes, many of them are collaborations with other authors, but I don't see a problem with that). I just hope I can keep having lots of ideas and keep writing...and, yes, even publishing...my novels.

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