Last night I deleted 5000 words from my new WIP. Oh, the tragedy. They were good words, but they all related back to that little issue of the unopened box. They had to go or the story would suffer. Snippedy snip. Of course, while in the course of fixing this error, I did write a couple new scenes, so I'm actually only 3000 words down from the highest word total.
Still, 3000 words is 2-3 hours out of my life. :shrug: Stuff happens.
On the bright side, all the fixing is finished and I can now proceed with creating the story. I'm still finding all the right threads to weave the best pattern, but I still think this is going to be a good story. (Even if I read somewhere that paranormal is becoming passe with some editors. Don't get me wrong, it's still selling very well, but some editors are tired of it.)
Anyway, in keeping with my 'I write for myself' philosophy, I don't care. I'm going to write this book and I'll love it, even if no one else wants it. Not like that hasn't been the story of my writing career thus far. I'll keep trying. Not trying is the only way any of us really fails. Ya know what I mean, jellybean?
Other than the book fixing I've been doing, everything's been pretty SSDD (Same Stuff, Different Day). Darling Daughter is driving herself (and me) crazy waiting for news on the essay contest she entered in March. They were supposed to contact all the entrants by July 27th, but we haven't heard anything yet. If I don't hear from them by Monday, I'll be shooting off a polite WTF email. (And yes, we did get confirmation that her entry was received, so they can't claim they never got it.)
How're things in your little corner of the world?
Friday, July 31, 2009
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Change Your Mind
One of my favorite songs of all time is Change Your Mind (in this video, the song is set to Veronica Mars clips) by Sister Hazel. This morning I got to thinking about the lyrics and what they mean to me right now. I've said it before - in fact I posted about it not too long ago - but before anything changes in your life, you have to make some changes in how you think about things.
So, here are the lyrics...
Hey, Hey
Did you ever think
There might be another way
To just feel better,
Just feel better about today
Oh no-
If you never want to have
To turn and go away
You might feel better,
Might feel better if you stay
Yeah yeah
I bet you haven't heard
A word I've said
Yeah yeah
If you've had enough
Of all your tryin'
Just give up
The state of mind you're in:
If you want to be
somebody else,
If you're tired of
fighting battles
with yourself
If you want to be
somebody else
Change your mind...
Hey hey-
Have you ever
danced in the rain
Or thanked the sun
Just for shining-
just for shining
Or the sea?
Oh no- take it all in
The world's a show
And yeah, you look
much better,
Look much better when you glow
Hey hey-
what ya say
We both go and seize the day
'cause what's your hurry
what's your hurry anyway
What's on your mind today? Anything need changing?
So, here are the lyrics...
Hey, Hey
Did you ever think
There might be another way
To just feel better,
Just feel better about today
Oh no-
If you never want to have
To turn and go away
You might feel better,
Might feel better if you stay
Yeah yeah
I bet you haven't heard
A word I've said
Yeah yeah
If you've had enough
Of all your tryin'
Just give up
The state of mind you're in:
If you want to be
somebody else,
If you're tired of
fighting battles
with yourself
If you want to be
somebody else
Change your mind...
Hey hey-
Have you ever
danced in the rain
Or thanked the sun
Just for shining-
just for shining
Or the sea?
Oh no- take it all in
The world's a show
And yeah, you look
much better,
Look much better when you glow
Hey hey-
what ya say
We both go and seize the day
'cause what's your hurry
what's your hurry anyway
What's on your mind today? Anything need changing?
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
What's Wrong with the World
Last week, we had a killer storm and while I was out battling the flood waters, a couple of my neighbors stood and watched me. Nice. I was doing what I thought was a civic duty - clearing limbs out of the street and getting all the gunk off the nearby storm grates so the intersection wouldn't flood any worse. Sure, the street department came by and checked them after I was done. If I'd waited, they would've done the job, but that's not the point. With a city full of flooding intersections and downed power lines, the more people who could help, the faster everything would get done.
When did people start standing and watching rather than doing?
Last I heard, parts of New Orleans were still waiting for someone - the government - to come rebuild for them. Funny, other parts have been finished for a long time, because people did for themselves. Hell, Greenville, KS was razed to the ground and it's already rebuilt. Yeah, it was smaller, so easier to rebuild, but smaller also means they had fewer people to help.
When did people start waiting for someone else rather than helping themselves?
With a large portion of Christians in this country, you'd think they'd remember that the Lord helps those who help themselves. Not the Lord helps those who wait around for help. Ya know?
Sure, I could've stayed inside and watched the road in front of my house flood. I could've watched the idiots trying to make it down one navigable lane. I could've laughed at the inevitable car accident as people swerved around the big branch outside my picture window. Instead, I got off my derriere and moved the damn limb. I waded in up to my ankles and pulled. My feet got wet and cold, but I lived.
I did it because I can't conceive of sitting and watching when something needs to be done. I was raised to get out there and do it. Nowadays, people would rather let someone else do the heavy lifting. Bah. (I also kept the neighbor kids out of the water and the street, but that's a rant for another day.)
Anyway, that's today installment of What's Wrong with the World. It may become a regular feature, or not - depending on my level of need to vent.
When did people start standing and watching rather than doing?
Last I heard, parts of New Orleans were still waiting for someone - the government - to come rebuild for them. Funny, other parts have been finished for a long time, because people did for themselves. Hell, Greenville, KS was razed to the ground and it's already rebuilt. Yeah, it was smaller, so easier to rebuild, but smaller also means they had fewer people to help.
When did people start waiting for someone else rather than helping themselves?
With a large portion of Christians in this country, you'd think they'd remember that the Lord helps those who help themselves. Not the Lord helps those who wait around for help. Ya know?
Sure, I could've stayed inside and watched the road in front of my house flood. I could've watched the idiots trying to make it down one navigable lane. I could've laughed at the inevitable car accident as people swerved around the big branch outside my picture window. Instead, I got off my derriere and moved the damn limb. I waded in up to my ankles and pulled. My feet got wet and cold, but I lived.
I did it because I can't conceive of sitting and watching when something needs to be done. I was raised to get out there and do it. Nowadays, people would rather let someone else do the heavy lifting. Bah. (I also kept the neighbor kids out of the water and the street, but that's a rant for another day.)
Anyway, that's today installment of What's Wrong with the World. It may become a regular feature, or not - depending on my level of need to vent.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
This n That
In case y'all missed it, Kristen Painter's got an interesting post over at Fictionistas. With books as with people, it's not the cover that counts, folks. I'm still looking forward to the day when everyone lives by MLK's example and judges men not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. Someday.
Look out world, another Sanderson has arrived. Last week, one of Hubby's nephews welcomed a son into existence. From all accounts, mother and baby are doing fine. They live in FL, so chances are we won't be seeing them any time soon, but we're happy just the same.
This just in: According to my mother, her part of Michigan has gotten 3 inches of rain so far this month. Here, we've gotten around 6 inches (if you add in the 6/10ths we got last night). I never thought I'd see a day when the high desert was wetter than any place in Michigan, but there it is. And I say again... Global warming my ass.
Have you noticed they stopped calling it 'Global Warming'? I guess since that was proved false, they thought they'd try another angle. Now it's the ever-scary 'Climate Change'. :shrug: Keep at it, boys, but you still can't change reality. =op
Personally, the rain is totally pissing me off, but on a wider scale, this area is seeing a bumper crop in wheat and corn, so I guess that's a good thing. It'll be great if the price of bread goods drops, and if corn is plentiful, then meat prices should drop, too. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Groceries have become so damn expensive, any drop will help.
In other news, we found what looks like an awesome set of belly-fat burning exercises. They're supposed to be done 3 times a day in combination with 30 minutes of aerobic exercise. (That's two and a quarter hours. Who's got time for that?) We're only doing the exercises 3 times a day and the aerobic thing once a day. If it looks like it's working, I'll post the exercises here. We've only done them today and yesterday, but those 7 exercises are kicking my butt. Yay.
And now it's time for the thirty minute workout, which will be a brisk walk today. See y'all later.
Look out world, another Sanderson has arrived. Last week, one of Hubby's nephews welcomed a son into existence. From all accounts, mother and baby are doing fine. They live in FL, so chances are we won't be seeing them any time soon, but we're happy just the same.
This just in: According to my mother, her part of Michigan has gotten 3 inches of rain so far this month. Here, we've gotten around 6 inches (if you add in the 6/10ths we got last night). I never thought I'd see a day when the high desert was wetter than any place in Michigan, but there it is. And I say again... Global warming my ass.
Have you noticed they stopped calling it 'Global Warming'? I guess since that was proved false, they thought they'd try another angle. Now it's the ever-scary 'Climate Change'. :shrug: Keep at it, boys, but you still can't change reality. =op
Personally, the rain is totally pissing me off, but on a wider scale, this area is seeing a bumper crop in wheat and corn, so I guess that's a good thing. It'll be great if the price of bread goods drops, and if corn is plentiful, then meat prices should drop, too. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Groceries have become so damn expensive, any drop will help.
In other news, we found what looks like an awesome set of belly-fat burning exercises. They're supposed to be done 3 times a day in combination with 30 minutes of aerobic exercise. (That's two and a quarter hours. Who's got time for that?) We're only doing the exercises 3 times a day and the aerobic thing once a day. If it looks like it's working, I'll post the exercises here. We've only done them today and yesterday, but those 7 exercises are kicking my butt. Yay.
And now it's time for the thirty minute workout, which will be a brisk walk today. See y'all later.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Sunday's Lack of Book Reviews
Short answer: I haven't finished a book since... well, whatever date it says in my 2009 Books Read list.*
Not that I haven't tried. I've picked up no less than four books over the past few weeks. The farthest I made in any of them was about a fifth of the way through Anne Rule's A Stranger Beside Me. I've also been trying to read Larry Elder's Ten Things You Can't Say in America. I still plan on finishing those.
I also started a Terry Goodkind I found at the thrift store, but silly me, it was like the fifth in a series, and I just can't get into it without knowing what happened in the previous books. I would like to read the whole series. We'll see if I can find the first at the library and work from there.
On a depressing note, I picked up a book by an author I remember loving when I was a teen. I read every one Steven Brust's Vlad Taltos series I could get my hands on back then, so when I saw one I'd never seen, I picked it up. I just can't get into this one. =o(
I've got about five other books in my TBR pile right now. I really do intend on reading them, but... And it's kind of a big but. (No ever-widening ass jokes, please.) The but of the moment is:
I can't seem to muster the urge to read anything while I'm writing this book. I pick up what other people have written and I find myself thinking about what I should be writing instead. Not a bad thing, really. I guess my subconscious is telling me to get my buns in gear.
I've read a boatload of books already this year, so it's not like I'm out of the loop. I expect my readingaddiction habit will come back after a while. I can never not read for long.
Meanwhile, tell me about a book you've read recently that you would recommend. My TBB (to be bought) list is ever-growing, but I can always use a few suggestions.
*I checked. The last book read was Marco Polo on June 27th. I guess it's been longer than I thought since I read a whole book. :sigh:
Not that I haven't tried. I've picked up no less than four books over the past few weeks. The farthest I made in any of them was about a fifth of the way through Anne Rule's A Stranger Beside Me. I've also been trying to read Larry Elder's Ten Things You Can't Say in America. I still plan on finishing those.
I also started a Terry Goodkind I found at the thrift store, but silly me, it was like the fifth in a series, and I just can't get into it without knowing what happened in the previous books. I would like to read the whole series. We'll see if I can find the first at the library and work from there.
On a depressing note, I picked up a book by an author I remember loving when I was a teen. I read every one Steven Brust's Vlad Taltos series I could get my hands on back then, so when I saw one I'd never seen, I picked it up. I just can't get into this one. =o(
I've got about five other books in my TBR pile right now. I really do intend on reading them, but... And it's kind of a big but. (No ever-widening ass jokes, please.) The but of the moment is:
I can't seem to muster the urge to read anything while I'm writing this book. I pick up what other people have written and I find myself thinking about what I should be writing instead. Not a bad thing, really. I guess my subconscious is telling me to get my buns in gear.
I've read a boatload of books already this year, so it's not like I'm out of the loop. I expect my reading
Meanwhile, tell me about a book you've read recently that you would recommend. My TBB (to be bought) list is ever-growing, but I can always use a few suggestions.
*I checked. The last book read was Marco Polo on June 27th. I guess it's been longer than I thought since I read a whole book. :sigh:
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Saturday's Super Site
Today's site is The Doe Network: International Center for Unidentified and Missing Persons. (Warning: The Doe Network site contains information that can be disturbing, so please browse at your own risk.)
"The Doe Network is a volunteer organization devoted to assisting Law Enforcement in solving cold cases concerning Unexplained Disappearances and Unidentified Victims from North America, Australia and Europe." (from their mission statement on the About page)
I first discovered this site while doing research for one of my novels. Not only is this a worthwhile endeavor - every human being deserves to be reunited with their identity, even years after their death - but... and I admit to being ashamed to say it... it's a source for story ideas.
Of course, by writing a fictional tale about one of these lost souls, we can share their story. We can give these unknown humans a voice. And maybe by writing about their deaths, we can help shed light on their deaths. (Or maybe I'm just finding ways to justify using these tragedies as story ideas... I don't know.)
If you browse through the Network's indexes, you will find information about these unknown persons - sometimes pictures and sometimes just basic descriptions and often just bare guesses about the physical makeup of who a person might have been based on the remains discovered. I never would've thought there would be so many...
I know this site isn't the happiest place to be, but I think it's necessary - and not just in a writerly sort of way.
There are literally hundreds of people listed in their 'Hot Case Index'. Each one was a person with a family who loved them and who wonders what happened. Just looking through the cases makes me want to do something to help these people, but I don't know anything. Maybe by posting about it here, someone else will know something.
Additionally, while browsing through the site, I came across their 'Missing Persons Checklist'. If you suspect a loved one has gone missing, it provides information on what to do and when to do it. Heaven forbid this should happen to anyone we know or love, but if it should, having this information will help those left behind deal with the disappearance and may help find the missing person.
Truth be told, I started today's Super Site post with the intention of just throwing this out for those of us who write suspense, as a place to glean story ideas and do research. While I've been writing this, I find myself horrified by the thought that there are people who've been missing for decades - and bodies without an identity for just as long. I'm disturbed by the images of clay models created to try and make a human face from skeletal remains. And I'm dismayed that mankind has not risen above this.
This isn't necessarily what one would call a Super Site. This is a series of tragedies, but it deserves to be mentioned. It deserves to be passed around so together we can maybe help some families find closure and some deceased find a final resting place.
Be safe out there everyone.
"The Doe Network is a volunteer organization devoted to assisting Law Enforcement in solving cold cases concerning Unexplained Disappearances and Unidentified Victims from North America, Australia and Europe." (from their mission statement on the About page)
I first discovered this site while doing research for one of my novels. Not only is this a worthwhile endeavor - every human being deserves to be reunited with their identity, even years after their death - but... and I admit to being ashamed to say it... it's a source for story ideas.
Of course, by writing a fictional tale about one of these lost souls, we can share their story. We can give these unknown humans a voice. And maybe by writing about their deaths, we can help shed light on their deaths. (Or maybe I'm just finding ways to justify using these tragedies as story ideas... I don't know.)
If you browse through the Network's indexes, you will find information about these unknown persons - sometimes pictures and sometimes just basic descriptions and often just bare guesses about the physical makeup of who a person might have been based on the remains discovered. I never would've thought there would be so many...
I know this site isn't the happiest place to be, but I think it's necessary - and not just in a writerly sort of way.
There are literally hundreds of people listed in their 'Hot Case Index'. Each one was a person with a family who loved them and who wonders what happened. Just looking through the cases makes me want to do something to help these people, but I don't know anything. Maybe by posting about it here, someone else will know something.
Additionally, while browsing through the site, I came across their 'Missing Persons Checklist'. If you suspect a loved one has gone missing, it provides information on what to do and when to do it. Heaven forbid this should happen to anyone we know or love, but if it should, having this information will help those left behind deal with the disappearance and may help find the missing person.
Truth be told, I started today's Super Site post with the intention of just throwing this out for those of us who write suspense, as a place to glean story ideas and do research. While I've been writing this, I find myself horrified by the thought that there are people who've been missing for decades - and bodies without an identity for just as long. I'm disturbed by the images of clay models created to try and make a human face from skeletal remains. And I'm dismayed that mankind has not risen above this.
This isn't necessarily what one would call a Super Site. This is a series of tragedies, but it deserves to be mentioned. It deserves to be passed around so together we can maybe help some families find closure and some deceased find a final resting place.
Be safe out there everyone.
Friday, July 24, 2009
Weekly Update and Facebook
Well, I only accomplished 6500 new words this week, thanks to a niggle about a plot point. I'll start working on the fix tomorrow. Truth be told, it's somewhat daunting to go back a rework a story when I'm not finished with it. I might just chicken out and keeping moving forward. What's screwed up can be fixed later without affecting the plot from this point on. We'll see what I decide tonight.
I haven't mentioned it, but I do have a Facebook account. I'm sorry but to me Facebook is the weirdest thing ever. I only got an account because a friend of mine posted pictures he wanted me to see, and I needed an account to even browse his pics. Now I'm getting friend requests from all sorts of people. Don't get me wrong. I love the requests from people I know. When Karin Tabke friended me, I squealed like a little girl. Hell, I even got friended by an acquaintance from high school.
What's weird is when I get friended by people I don't know. Like tonight, I got a friend request from some guy in Washington state. No offense to him, but I don't make friends with people I don't know - either in real life or online*. :shrug: I'm touchy that way. It takes some time for me to feel friendly enough to 'friend' anyone.
Anyway, I was playing with Facebook tonight. I now have a picture up, but not much else. I really don't want too many exact details about me floating around the net. What you can find there, you can pretty much find here. I went to Goodrich High School and Northern Michigan University. I'm married. That's about it.
While I was playing, I went to my high school graduating class. Man-o-man, was that ever strange. The last time I saw any of those people was 1998 at my ten year reunion. Others I haven't seen since 1988. Quite a few of those people I'd never seen before in my life. The shocker was looking at picture of one of my old Quiz Bowl buddies. Wow. What a difference 21 years makes.
Anyway, if you're a regular visitor here and I know who you are, feel free to friend me. I might add more to the page once I have news to share. But then again, you'll find more recent and accurate information here anyway, so it's up to you.
On a slightly different note, I'd like to go on record as saying if we get ONE MORE storm, I'm going to scream. Last night's was a doozy, and another one looks like it's brewing even now. If you'll excuse me, I have to go shore up the basement before it hits. Stupid weather. =op
(*ETA (because I didn't think about this) - If you stop by the blog, then I consider you friend enough to 'friend' on Facebook. Like maybe not 'braid each other's hair' type of friend, but online buds, which is wonderful.)
Update @ 10:01pm: The storm went east of us. Yay!
I haven't mentioned it, but I do have a Facebook account. I'm sorry but to me Facebook is the weirdest thing ever. I only got an account because a friend of mine posted pictures he wanted me to see, and I needed an account to even browse his pics. Now I'm getting friend requests from all sorts of people. Don't get me wrong. I love the requests from people I know. When Karin Tabke friended me, I squealed like a little girl. Hell, I even got friended by an acquaintance from high school.
What's weird is when I get friended by people I don't know. Like tonight, I got a friend request from some guy in Washington state. No offense to him, but I don't make friends with people I don't know - either in real life or online*. :shrug: I'm touchy that way. It takes some time for me to feel friendly enough to 'friend' anyone.
Anyway, I was playing with Facebook tonight. I now have a picture up, but not much else. I really don't want too many exact details about me floating around the net. What you can find there, you can pretty much find here. I went to Goodrich High School and Northern Michigan University. I'm married. That's about it.
While I was playing, I went to my high school graduating class. Man-o-man, was that ever strange. The last time I saw any of those people was 1998 at my ten year reunion. Others I haven't seen since 1988. Quite a few of those people I'd never seen before in my life. The shocker was looking at picture of one of my old Quiz Bowl buddies. Wow. What a difference 21 years makes.
Anyway, if you're a regular visitor here and I know who you are, feel free to friend me. I might add more to the page once I have news to share. But then again, you'll find more recent and accurate information here anyway, so it's up to you.
On a slightly different note, I'd like to go on record as saying if we get ONE MORE storm, I'm going to scream. Last night's was a doozy, and another one looks like it's brewing even now. If you'll excuse me, I have to go shore up the basement before it hits. Stupid weather. =op
(*ETA (because I didn't think about this) - If you stop by the blog, then I consider you friend enough to 'friend' on Facebook. Like maybe not 'braid each other's hair' type of friend, but online buds, which is wonderful.)
Update @ 10:01pm: The storm went east of us. Yay!
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