When did Monday get here???

This past weekend I did nothing that was writing related, well I take that back I did walk past a book store in a mall and I also read A LOT of price tags. Yep, I went shopping and dancing with some of my girlfriends. That's my version of making time for the writer for the week. My legs are still tired, my feet are feeling a bit recovered and I am sporting sore muscles that I haven't used since the last time I went and shook my booty all night long.
Now that Monday has slipped up on me like a ninja monkey in the night looking for my banana stash I am wondering if I will get any "official" manuscript work done today. I seriously doubt that I can include the scrubbing that I did to my kitchen as book progress unless of course I want to burn my pages over an open natural gas flame. Which will end in me having to re-clean it due to ashes from the burnt offering to my muse. It's a Monday what can I say.

Making time for the Writer

Writing can be lonely and all consuming. As a writer you can spend hours and hours of your life haunched over a laptop or in my case a clipboard with a stack of loose leaf paper. You are consumed by the need to just tweek that chapter a little bit more, to do a spell check one more time, to make sure that phrase is worded just right so you can live with yourself. It's an ugly web we weave.
I read in one "how-to" writer book last year that we simply need to concentrate on our work and stay focused on that alone. The book actually recommenced to let things go, work till the paint peels off the walls and then you deal with life after your writing is done. To me that is not going to happen. Am I supposed to tell my five year old to wait a few years for that cup of water? Do I simply move my bed to be closer to my work station? No.
I know it is so easy to be wrapped up in your book/work and to let the world simply fall away. In doing that you loose connections with your family, friends, peers and of course yourself. Sometimes you simply have to "kick out" the people in your head and put yourself first. So that I am not consumed by my book I have special days. Thursday is nail night. I take the time to paint my nails and hang out with my husband after we tuck the kids into bed. I try to stick to this every week so that way I can connect to the people that mean the most to me and I don't forget WHY I wanted to write in the first place.
If you simply set aside a few nights or hours a week for "you" time it will help you feel more in touch with those around you and you can still get your work done. It doesn't have to be anything major. A bowling night once a month, a video game night once every couple of weeks, maybe you call a friend every Monday morning just to talk ( I do that one!), or you can simply snuggle up with a loved one and watch some TV.
What's important is that you still have a life after your book is finished and that you haven't lost yourself. Your characters are important, but when they start to take you over it's time to slack off and find yourself. What else this time off gives you is a chance to experience life. If it makes you feel better think of it as field research. Get out there and experience things. After you have had some time to yourself settle back in and work. You will be amazed how just a few simple hours away from things can change the way you think and feel. Pages will zip by and your characters will stand up and take notice. After all you are the one in charge, not them.

A Rant

Since the Olympics have officially kicked off I have been glued to the TV. I love watching the skiing and of course skating. If your wondering I do NOT always support team USA, there are actually a bunch of athletes out there that are excellent from other countries. I do feel bad for the nations that have one one person there competing. I think they should get a medal regardless. I can tell that I am sooo a mom while I am watching because I will hear about an athlete that has several medals from past competitions and I'll think, "Man, they should share the glory with someone else. Give someone else a turn to win." So I am addicted to the Olympics for the next couple of weeks.


I have a rant. Yep, I bought a new flavor of Pebbles cereal. It's "Cupcake Pebbles", it's got a cute box and smells awesome when you open the box. The taste is what's wrong. It tastes like they forgot to add something. It's bland. To me it tastes like they were making the normal fruity pebbles and ran out of the fruit, and they needed to produce a product due to a quota and said, "Screw it! Well sell this stuff as a new flavor!" My kids love it for some reason, which is good because I wont be eating any more of it, but I felt slighted.

In my eyes the Flintstones have went downhill. I simply adored the Old School Flintstones cartoons. My dad got me hooked on them when I was a kid because it was one of his favorite cartoons. The Flintstones are a major part of TV history. Fred and Wilma were the first couple on TV to be shown in bed together instead of in separate twin beds.

To me the Flintstones downhill slide began when they had Bam-Bam and Pebbles all grown up. I mean really do we need to watch a cartoon about a goody-too shoes girl and her all too helpful boyfriend who isn't too swift but can lift uber heavy crap? I can do without it to be honest.
I mean really did Barney and Betty need to adopt a kid? Was that even a necessary plot line? Just because Fred and Wilma had one doesn't mean everyone on the block has to have a kid. That would be like me getting a Viper and then everyone on my road going out and getting a Viper too. Overkill.
Why can't people leave something alone when it's good and the formula works? If they are going to mess with Fruity Pebbles they might as well go ahead and give the poor Trix rabbit some stupid yogurt and a bowl of Trix cereal so he can move on with his life.

Okay, there's my rant. If your wondering about the weather here it's sunny out. The snow is melting and all the ice on the roof is melting quickly so it sounds like it's raining out. The sky is blue and the temp. is above freezing! Were having a heatwave! If it wasn't so muddy out I could lay out in my lawn chair and enjoy the weather. It's a sad fact that my yard is so muddy I could go muddin' in it.
If you have a rant about Flintstones or another cartoon please leave it as a comment. Also feel free to sign my guest book. I love to hear from my readers!

Here's a little something to make to snow day seem well less snowy.



This Video brings back memories of the times I have been muddin'. Nothing is quite like it, and for those out there that didn't know it this is how Moster Trucks got their start. One guy with a mud hole and a tuck with a garage. Amzing how things evolve.

Snow

SNOW! It's snowing again and I am feeling a bit lazy while I watch the slow decent of the beautifully delicate flakes. It's hypnotizing really. The falling flakes can lure you into simply being content by watching their fall to the earth. I honestly can't remember a year when we got so much snow. Last week we got snow and now it's snowing again. This is year for the record books as far as Middle Tennessee is concerned. My hubby who lived in Wyoming for a year thinks all of this snow is small stuff. Yeah, it may not be feet of snow like they get in Jackson Hole WY, but for us it might as well be. In Nashville they have 5 snow trucks, that's including the salt trucks. Too funny! Miles and miles of roads to cover in salt and they only have 5 trucks. So for me to say that we are not really prepared for this much snow is really and understatement.
We have made a snowman, been sledding, had snow ball fights, made more snow angels than I can count and of course made snow creme! Now, I know what your thinking, "Snow Creme? What's that?" I am going to share a family recipe for a winter treat that is a HUGE family favorite. I have fond memories of my mom making it for me and my brother when we was growing up. We didn't look foreword to making snowmen, but to mom's Snow Creme.

Snow Creme is like ice cream to be honest. It's quicker to make than ice cream and it's a seasonal treat because you only get it when it snows. Here's a few simple rules that apply to Snow Creme. Number 1: DON'T USE YELLOW OR BROWN SNOW! Number 2: DON'T USE SNOW FROM THE FIRST SNOWFALL OF THE SEASON (this is because the first snow of the season catches all the pollen, dirt, smog and whatever else is in the atmosphere and you so do not want to eat that) Number 3: USE ONLY FRESH SNOWFALL( don't use snow after a couple of days after it fell.)

Now that you know the rules here's the recipe.

1 Big bowl of fresh snow (I sit out a large plastic bowl on my deck when it starts to snow that way I can ensure the snow is clean. If your car has been washed recently you can use snow off the hood too if it's still clean) Keep in mind that you will need a lot of snow!

Whole or 2% milk
Vanilla or another flavoring in liquid form (think an extract)
Plain granulated sugar

In a separate large bowl scoop out snow till the bowl is half full. Add milk in small amounts till the snow turns into slush. I add mine by the 1/2 cup while I stir with a large spoon. You may need to add more snow from your "collection" bowl to get a good constancy, it's okay if the slush has lumps.(Kids can help out!) After the snow is slush I add sugar and flavoring to taste. Start out small with the flavoring, it's always easier to add flavoring to the mix than to remove it if the flavor is too strong. It's okay if your extract has color, like a brown vanilla, it will not alter the color of the creme.
Then your done! It can be eaten right away or you can freeze it if you want your snow creme to be harder like ice cream instead of a slushy.

I usually put mine in individual servings (no hogging the snow creme!) and freeze them. If you want to add an extra treat you can add gummy bears or worms and bury them in the middle of the serving before you freeze it. This mix can be poured into Popsicle molds also. You can also add food coloring to make it fun to eat.
The main thing is to get the kids in the kitchen and have fun! This is an easy recipe that doesn't require sharp tools or a hot stove. It's kid friendly!

I hope this treat makes your snow day! Not only can you play in the snow but you can eat it too!

Here are a few PICS I took of the snow last week. I have yet to venture outdoors today, hey it's 23 degrees out! Chilly!

I, the murder

Writing can be a complex job. There are heaps of things to keep in mind while you dip into your creative well. We all want to write a story that will inspire our readers, we want to hook them into the story so that they can't put the book down and are eager for more when they read the last page. We all want to inspire those feelings in our readers. I ask you what about the writer?
To me the writer should not "force" the words out or struggle with the story. If you are struggling with the story it's not right one for you. You should be able to write your story with ease, the words should flow from your mind like wine from the bottle.
I have been nit picking my story to death. Yes, it had a horrid death where every sentence was properly executed and the characters were as stiff as boards, they resembled the cardboard cut-outs in the movie store window in my mind's eye. My nit picking and poking sucked all the wonderfully brilliant quirks out of my characters. It's a sad piece of work at the moment. Yes the manuscript is so clean of errors that it squeaks, but in truth my pages lost their essence because I could not leave it alone.
Yes, I am going to correct this, but not now. Those pages make me sad, I accidentally killed a small part of me in my effort to make it perfect. I have learned that perfection is not always what you need to strive for in a story. I can see all of my wonderful characters lined up for their turn at a well used, gore crusted guillotine waiting for their moment under the blade. Gruesome, but true. How much more I can strip from them? Nothing. They are bare bones naked and they are empty shells of what they used to be.
In order to make myself more confident as a writer and as a person I have decided to get back to my roots so to speak. I think every writer should do this if you are struggling with a story. Think back to what stories thrilled you when you were growing up. What stories did you read and re-read until the cover of the book was worn and the spine creased so badly that it would no longer remain closed without the aide of rubber-band? That is the story that you should be writing. Whatever genre that had you hooked at the age of 12 or 13 and made you want to write in the first place is the type of novel you should write.
Start small if you feeling nervous about it. A short story is an awesome way to begin. If you feel comfortable with it then you can expand it later. I am doing this myself. I have a story burning in me that is screaming to be let out, and I just realized that it has been doing so for a long time. I am excited about it, and I want to jump into the middle of it right now, but common sense is telling me to slow down, take a breath and to savor the moment. Consider this new project therapy for the other characters that I have slain with my proper grammar and sentence structure.

Background Narration

Everybody is a twitter about the new ipad released by Apple. I think it's cool and we'll leave it at that. I can't afford it so there's no need for me to go into it's merits which I am sure you have heard all about unless you have been living under a rock.
I have been coping with snow. Yes, coping with snow. I have two boys running amuck around my house since they haven't been to school since last thursday. A snow day is cool, but 4 snow days in a row gets weary. There's only so many things we can do in the snow, and it takes us longer to get dressed than we are actually outside because everyone gets cold quickly. Twenty minutes to get on snow gear= 15 minutes outside

This week has been messed up also because my dear sweet hubby had to travel to Nothern Kentucky for his job on Monday which resulted in him spending the night in a empty, creepy hotel before it was opened to the public. Empty hotel=spooky hotel
I don't believe it would of been so awful if he could of turned on a tv or even a radio, but they didn't have those set up yet and his ipod was dead.

So that leads me to today's post on writing. Have you ever watched a movie where in an intense scene there was no background music or noise, there was only silence. The silences intenifies the scene, as if sounds wouldn't dare intrude on such a "heavy" scene. In writing usually when we pen a scene we try to provide the background for the reader, an example would be:
"As Faye picked up her ringing phone the turned the volume down on the t.v. as a Price is Right re-run came on the screen."

So the reader knows she was watching t.v. and they can also visualize Bob Barker calling someone down and the crowd clapping wildly as she answers the phone. Take away the tv from the sentence and we can make it intense.

"As Faye walked through her front door the silence of the house was shattered by the ringing of her home phone."

How we use background narration is key in how the moment comes through to the readers. It leaves us the writers plenty of room to make the scene go as we please. Was Faye having a normal day? Did her home phone ring off the hook under normal conditions? Where is entering the house? Is she expecting a call? Background narration is just as important as the rest of the scene, and if we set up the background sounds and silences poorly it does influence the reader's view of the scene.
As a writer it's our job to ensure that the reader "sees" the entire scene. We need to ensure to encompass off the details. It doesn't matter if it's just a single sentence or a full on detailed paragraph the reader needs to know that is going on around the character(s).
If you having trouble with a scene or a section try reading it and if you find it has holes in it that need to be filled try adding background. It will widen your scene and make the pages seem fuller and more detailed. Dialouge is great, but a book cannot be written just with it alone. If your having issues with narration simply go outside and sit. Take a pen and paper with you and write what goes on around you. How is the weather? Are there people nearby? If so what is your impression of them? Is the traffic heavy? Use your senses. What do you hear, smell, touch and see? All of that is narration.
Background narration is the easiest thing in the world that you can do to help your chapters "pop" off the page for your readers.