Monday, February 28, 2011

Stabbing Myself in the Eye with a Pen

This morning, I'd like to stab myself in the eye with a pen.

Here's the deal.  After having woken at half-past ungodly, I was going through my usual blogroll and stopped on an interview with author Sonya Bateman.  She writes urban fantasy, which is totally cool.  I love me some new-to-me urban fantasy.  Except Sonya's writing about - you guessed it - DJINN.

:thud:

I know, I know.  There are no new ideas under the sun.  Everything that ever will be done, someone else is doing.  But seriously?  I mean, SERIOUSLY???  Now?

My kingdom for a Sharpie.  Well, not a Sharpie, because those aren't really sharp and they stink.  My kingdom for a PaperMate!

Sure, her plot is different from mine, but the thing is that it's just similar enough to make me want to stab myself in the eye with a pen.  Nope, not that one - that's my favorite.  And not that one, it's for addressing padded mailers.  And that?  Well, that's a mechanical pencil, silly.  I can't use that.  There's got to be a stabbing pen around here somewhere.

From the sounds of it, her novel starts with a thief stealing something that happens to have a genie in it.  My novel starts with the daughter of a thief stealing something she knows has a genie inside so she can keep him out of mortal hands.  GAH!  Where's that damned pen.  How about the purple one I got from the dentist?  Nah, that's too pretty.  And I can't use the one from the library.  That would be tacky.

Could I possibly be any LESS lucky?  I mean, Ms. Bateman's first installment came out this time last year, so I'm not exactly running just behind the curve.  More like a couple years behind.  But I swear to all I hold dear, I researched this damn idea to make sure I wasn't overlapping with anyone else.  Problem is, I've been working on Djinnocide so long that I researched this before her first book came out.  And all I found in the realm of genie or Djinn was a paranormal romance series.

I'm a writer.  Why can't I find a damn pen!

So here I sit with a bright shiny manuscript currently out on query that sounds so similar to a newly published series that I might as well have been stalking this woman I've never even met. 

How ironic would it be to stab myself in the eye with an editing pen?  It's red, so the blood won't be as noticeable.  Right?

No offense meant to Ms. Bateman.  I really do wish her all the success in the world.  She wrote it, she got an agent for it (or went straight to published), and she got it to market.  It's not her fault I took too long, thought this up too late and can't get an agent to save my ass.  Plus, her book's on my new to-buy list, so she's got one more thing that I don't have - sales.  Good for her.

Doesn't mean I don't totally hate her right now...  Ahhh, the pen I stole from the Radisson the last time I had a vacation - back in 2008... that'll do.  Next time you see me I'll only be seeing half of you.  Just call me Pirate Writer.  Arrr.

(No eyes actually got stabbed in the making of this post.  I still have two.  Hey does that throbbing pain behind the right one mean I'm having that aneurysm I always dreamed of?  Who needs a pen when you have exploding blood vessels??)

Sunday, February 27, 2011

We Can Rebuild It

I took the beginning of Nano off the Tabula Rasa blog.  It was crap.  I know that now.  Funny how it took putting it out there to show me just how crappy it was. :shrug:  Anyway, I'm currently in the process of rebuilding it - better, stronger, faster...  ;o)

The first four chapters are printed.  I have my red ink pen and my trusty 5-subject notebook.  I have my comfy spot on the couch.  Now I just need to get my stupid hands to cooperate for longer than a few written paragraphs. 

Speaking of hand-written things, have you ever heard of IdeaPaint?  I heard about it watching something called "How I Made My Millions" on one of the news networks.  This stuff is amazing.  You can write right on the wall and just wipe it off.  They were talking about how it works in offices and schools in place of whiteboards, and my first thought was how valuable it would be to us writers.  Can you imagine a whole office painted with this stuff?  A whole big blank wall to jot notes, plot, list character traits - all right there in front of you.  And when you get done, just a swipe of your finger erases it.  A-frickin-mazing.  Who needs sticky notes and whiteboards and posterboard when you can have a whole wall??? 

When we have a house of our very own, my office is getting paint with that stuff.  I already told Husband.

Anyway, back to the revisions...  I think I've got the beginning hashed out.  I know what the character's motivation, conflict and goals are - I just need to make sure they're cohesive throughout the scene.  Because frankly, right now, they're all over the place.

So, back to work. 

What are you up to this fine day?  And do you want IdeaPaint as badly as I do?

Saturday, February 26, 2011

You Rejected Me Because _____________

Since I'm out there in Queryland with my latest novel, I've been pondering the world of rejection.  I've been writing for seven years now and querying for six and a half, so I've pretty much 'been there, done that, nailed it shut and got the t-shirt'.  Over the years, there's been a lot of 'It's not you, it's me' and 'It's not me, it's them'.  There've been a lot of excuses and accusations.  I've been through the stages of denial - both slowly, pausing to wallow in grief and anger, and quickly where I jumped right to acceptance and stopped querying anybody for anything.

This morning, I'd like to take a moment and list some of the silliest thoughts that have come through my head about why I was rejected.  (All of which were split second thoughts and discarded almost as quickly as they came.)

You rejected me because...
- I'm a woman.
- I'm too outspoken.
- I'm not outspoken enough.
- I'm brain-damaged.
- Of what I said that one time on that one forum four years ago.
- You've already rejected me for three other books and think anything else I send is crap and therefore a waste of your time.
- I don't edit my blog and you think this genuinely reflects how my books are going to be.
- Of who I like on Facebook.
- Of what my teenage nephew said on my Facebook that one time.
- My voice sucks.
- I once said/wrote/commented that I like X and you hate X.
- I once said/wrote/commented that I hate Y and you love Y.
- My command of the English language rivals a retarded chimpanzee's.
- I'm not a Democrat/Republican/GreenParty/Libertarian... pick a party - I'm not it.
- I'm too gritty
- I'm not gritty enough
- I suck.
- You suck.
- Everything I've ever written sucks.
- Everything you've ever accepted sucks.
- I'm unlucky.
- I'm on the Big List of Blackballed Authors* (BLoBA) because of one or all of the above.
- I just posted this list of insane reasons why I might've been rejected.

Anyway, I guess my point is that we can always find something to blame our lack of success on.  Sometimes the odds of getting published seem almost insurmountable (or totally insurmountable, depending on the day) and I'm flailing around trying to put my finger on the exact reason why I just got rejected by my dream agent, my kinda dream agent, or that one newbie who you'd think was so happy to be an agent she'd request anything that doesn't totally suck - so I can fix it.

In the end, though, if I've done the very best I can do - both on the writing and on the submission materials - it's out of my hands.  I truly believe there are no bad thoughts, just bad actions.  So, I let myself think those totally whacked-out, irrational and sometimes insane thoughts.  And then I move on.

Because not moving on would be the bad action (or inaction).

Ever think some out-there thoughts about why you were rejected?  Feel free to leave them in the comments, and if you're worried about joining me on the BLoBA, be Anonymous - just don't be mean.

*you know THE LIST... the one they all have and share between each other that may or may not be on a super secret website only agents have access to

Friday, February 25, 2011

No Internet

My internet connection at home is down.  Writing this from the library.  Blech.  Back later.

Update:  I no sooner got home from the library and my internet was back.  Maybe I should've complained about it online sooner.  LOL

Thursday, February 24, 2011

What Makes Something Inhale-Worthy?

Sorry.  Yesterday I dove into the new Allison Brennan - Kiss Me, Kill Me - and as always, I didn't get anything else done.  I still have the last bit to read, but I should be free of Allison's dastardly (and awesome) writing clutches sometime this morning.

Ya know, I really don't know what it is about certain writers that make me want to inhale their words.  Allison Brennan, Seanan McGuire/Mira Grant, Lynn Viehl (aka S.L. Viehl), Monica McCarty...  Their books arrive in my TBR pile and I squeal with glee.  I rush through whatever I'm reading so I can get to their books ASAP.  And then I inhale them.

They're like the best cheesecake ever - not too heavy, not too light, and perfectly flavored.  I love their writing so much I want to eat it all in one sitting.  (And best of all, no calories.)

Of course, sitting here writing this post, I'm feeling a little pathetic because I really don't know how these people do what they do.  I mean, as a writer, I ought to know the recipe.  Not that I'm not proud of my cheesecakes, but are they inhale-worthy? 

Like making the perfect cheesecake, though, inhale-worthy writing isn't really something you learn.  Sure, you can go to the finest cooking school in the world and make really great cheesecake, but it takes something more.  You can graduate with honors from the CIA (Culinary Institute of America) and still not have that certain je ne sais quoi.  

Of course, like those who love cheesecake, everyone's got their own idea of what makes an inhale-worthy read.  Not everyone loves Allison Brennan the way I do.  And I don't love New York cheesecake (oh, I'll eat it, but it's too dry to be inhale-worthy).  That's probably what agents mean by 'subjective' in their rejection letters.

Still, I'd love for the majority of readers to think of my novels as inhale-worthy.  Maybe I already have that elusive quality.  Maybe I'm still searching for it.  If I figure out what it is, I'll let you know.

What makes a book inhale-worthy to you?  What about cheesecake?  What do you inhale when you have the chance?

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Super Duper Release Day!

This year is going to be killer on my book budget.  Today we had FOUR releases of books I had to have.

Kiss Me, Kill Me by Allison Brennan (picked up at the grocery store just now)
Dead Waters by Anton Strout (ordered from Amazon this morning)
This Side of the Grave by Jeanine Frost (also ordered this morning)
Hunger Untamed by Pamela Palmer (ditto)

I also ordered  Living Nightmare by Shannon Butcher because I needed another book to make free shipping and it's been on my list for a while.

My ever-expanding TBR pile is now three shorter piles (for fear of collapse and its corresponding destruction), and I'm tapped out for fundage.  (Well, until March 1st, when another pair of great books is coming out - Late Eclipses by Seanan McGuire and Blackout by Rob Thurman.)  I think I need to throw some kind of telethon to fund my book addiction. 

Seriously, you people are killing me with your awesome books and clumped release dates.  Please don't stop.  I just need to stop sleeping so I can read more.

What's on your 'must buy' list?

*And it's a two-post day.  Scroll down to read the one I wrote earlier.

Caution Rewrite Ahead

It's not even six and I've been up for almost two and a half hours, so forgive any wandering or weirdness from me today.

So, yesterday I sat down with the printed pages of Nano.  Re-reading that first scene...  ugh.  It's got good bones, but the central character, Payton (the guy in the snippet I posted last night) is coming off as weak.  He's not a weak guy.  He couldn't be with the position he holds.  He's just caught between obeying orders and obeying his integrity.  I can make this work.  I just need to rewrite it.

I have a feeling most of the scenes have good bones, but need to be rewritten.  Such is the life of a plansterer.  I know what I intended for each scene, but I pantsed my way through them.  Now I have to go back and fix where my plans and my pantsing didn't agree.

Editing.  What fun.

In other news, I'm just about ready to write some new words.  Right now it's a toss-up between working on the sequel to Djinnocide and leaping into my idea file for something totally different.  Now that's real fun.

What are you up to these days?

Monday, February 21, 2011

Snippet Posted at Tabula Rasa

Since I'm going to be working on Nano for a while, I thought I'd post the beginning of it over at Tabula Rasa.  The whole thing is fairly rough, but I'm going to be working on this manuscript until I'm either ready to start something new or it's ready to make its way into the world.

Enjoy.

BoredBoredBored


It's Presidents' Day.  And I'm bored.  I think I oughta just go back to bed and restart this day.  Do over!  Maybe after a few more cups of java, I'll be raring to go rather than looking like this:

No mail.  No banking.  No school.  Hubs and Daughter both have the day off.  Boring.  The stupid sale I thought started today starts Wednesday, so that case of paper I need will have to wait.  (20% off, people.)  And since I'm almost out of paper, that leaves printing Nano off until I have more paper.

Boredboredbored.

Maybe I'll get dressed and hit the grocery store.  Snag some breakfast that I don't have to cook.  Buy a gas-station cappuccino... that'll wake me up.

Or not.  I need to light a fire under my butt.  Jumpstart my gumption hump.  Something.

I'll be back later if my motivation finally arrives.  Until then, consider me bored.

ETA:  I didn't find my motivation, but I'm forging ahead anyway.  I already went grocery shopping, decided I don't need that much paper since I don't really have to print the whole damn thing at once, and am currently working on paginating Nano, so I know what to tell my printer to print.  Oh, and I ate breakfast, which helped. 

Saturday, February 19, 2011

Picture Pause

I wrote two posts this morning - both of which were ranty or venty or just plain not appropriate to post on the interwebs.  I must be in a mood - although I don't feel moody.  :shrug:

Instead, I'll just give you a couple pictures I took recently.  Much nicer than listening to me gripe...

I'm pretty proud of this one.  I took it from the window of the car while Daughter was driving.  I made her stop for this and it turned out awesome.


This one is just at the local storm pond, but the geese seemed to be enjoying it.  Right now there's ice and water, so they can swim or sleep as they choose. 

This last one looks like a painting to me, but I swear it's a photo.  It's not even re-touched.  All I did was crop it. 

I hope those brightened your day a little.  Now I'm going to go chill for a while before I start diving into Nano and/or working on queries again.  Have a great day!  =o)

Friday, February 18, 2011

Friday Round Up

Well, as we come to the end of another eventful week, I thought I'd pop in and post a little somethin' about how this week went...

On the writing front, I'm still not doing it.  It's actually nice to step away for a while.  Although, I haven't stepped away entirely.  I printed off the first chapter of my old buddy Caldera and determined it needs a total rewrite if it's ever going to see the light of day.  (In fact, that sentiment is now written in big red letters across the top of that printed pile of steaming words.)  Rather than jump into that, though, I thought about revisiting my other buddy Nano.  That sucker has never really been finished - not even in the 'I don't know any better, so yeah, it's done' way. 

And it just so happens Husband was watching a History Channel show on... Nanotechnology!  It pretty much proved out the theories underlying my plot, so this manuscript is certainly viable.  Now I just have to get it finished so I can get it out to agents before someone else makes it to market with a similar novel.  My big stack of plot notecards is sitting on the coffee table next to my spot on the couch.  They're taunting me.  It's just such a monumental undertaking that it scares the crud out of me.  Scared or not, I start tomorrow.  And if I have to print the whole darned thing out - again - I will.  So there.  Take that you taciturn manuscript.

In personal news, I spent the week hashing out college stuff for Daughter.  You know, things like where she wants to live vs where we can afford for her to live.  How many meals she needs to eat a week.  Finding out which dorm is the 'party dorm' so we can steer clear of it.  Weeeee.  We have until 3/1 to finish the housing app.  Tick tock tick tock.  She also finally got her scholarship application turned in.  Oh, and we found out she didn't get into the Honors Program.  1300 kids applied, 350 got in.  She's bummed, but the odds were against her anyway.

We also weathered a minor personal storm this week.  No one died - even if I wanted to kill a couple people.  We still have income, we still have a home, and we're all healthy.  That's what's important.  Right?  Not whether certain anencephalic twerps wield their ignorance like an ogre with a club.  :deep breath:  Ahh, living well is the best revenge.

Back to the writing...  Djinnocide is out there again.  No news yet on any of the queries sent, and I'm still waiting on the person who's has my partial since last November to respond.  (Yeah, I nudged her last week.  Still nada.)  As always, I won't be giving query stats out here for the world so see.  If you really want to know, though, email me and we'll talk.

How are things going in your life?  How's the writing treating you these days?  Got anything to dish?

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Seven Years Ago Two Events Intertwined

Long about this time seven years ago, two things happened that changed my life.  1) I started my first novel, and 2) I found my husband.

I'm not sure either my novel or my marriage would've happened without the other.

In February of '04, I was already a couple weeks and a few thousand words into writing the book that would become Spectacle (aka Fear Itself), but this wasn't the first book I ever started.  At that point, it was probably headed for the same tragic end as the others.  Sure, I was writing almost every night after work - which is a helluva lot more committed than I'd been to any of the others - but I was also a single mom with a full time job.  I had the will to finish, just not the time and certainly not the confidence to squeeze an hour or two every day out of my busy schedule.

Enter one late post-Valentine's day night, sitting around feeling that hole in my life like a six year old prods the empty spot where her tooth used to be.  That night, I sat down at my computer and did a hard-target search.  My casual browsing previously had only yielded the incompatible, so I expanded my search outside the greater Salt Lake valley area.  I figured there had to be someone somewhere in the country who would be my Mr. Right. 

I found him in six-hundred-some miles away .  He replied to my tentative note and we were off to the races.  After numerous more emails, I sent him the first few chapters of my book and waited with nerves of Jell-o.  Once he read the snippet of unfinished, unedited story, he wrote me back.  I don't remember his exact words, but they were something along the lines of it would be a damn shame if I didn't write books for the rest of my life.

I was already falling in love with the man, but I think that sent me right over the edge.  It also gave me the confidence to continue to write this fledgling thing I would call my first book.  Not too awfully long after we were married and I moved out to CO, whereupon we had many discussions of whether I would work or I would write.  He won.  He told me my job was to write books. 

And I've been doing it ever since. 

So, you see, I don't think I would've ever finished that novel if he encouraged me.  And I don't think I would've gotten him to fall for me if it weren't for that novel.    

Sure, it's been a long seven years of writing, but it's also been a short seven years of loving this wonderful man.  Writing novels and spending forever with my husband - I wouldn't trade either for anything in the world.

=o)

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

How to Write Good

If you don't write so good and need some help, here's a cute list of tips over at Michelle McLean's blog.  

A favorite of mine is:  Avoid tumbling off the cliff of triteness into the black abyss of overused metaphors.

;o)

Monday, February 14, 2011

One Week

It's been one week since I finished Unequal.  One week without writing.  One week without editing.  And it's killing me.

Sure, I've been doing other writerly things - namely submissions work - but that's the business side and I'm jones'n for the creative side.

Except...

I'm dry.  I can't think of which new project I want to start.  Actually, it's more like I feel really guilty starting something new when I have all those old things just moldering on my hard drive.  And all those unfinished things rotting in my archives.  I didn't stop believing in them.  I just got distracted by newer, shinier ideas.  And to be perfectly honest, some of those projects were left behind in the dust of rejection.

And then I'm faced with the eternal question: How can you start something new when no one has jumped on anything you've already written?

I promised myself I would do something today.  Yesterday I looked over a couple of old manuscripts to see what my now-skills could do with my old-skills writing.  My second book - Caldera (aka Nature of Destruction) - still has promise, but I think I need to completely rewrite it.  (Or at least rewrite the crappy beginning.)  So, I think I'm going to start there and see if I can't whip that puppy into something attractive enough to query again.

What do you do when you're between manuscripts?  Do you ever revisit your old writings and see if they can be salvaged? 

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Thank You

I know I haven't said it in a while, but I hope you all know how much I appreciate you stopping by, commenting and posting to your own blogs.  You guys all rock.

Thank you for your continued existence in the world.  =o)

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Buy This Book

This isn't a review.  This is too good to review.  This is a simple statement of fact.  Across the Universe by Beth Revis is the best YA/SF novel I've read in a damn long time.

Where so many futuristic YA novels suck the hope right out of me, this book filled me up with hope.

Okay... so I wasn't too sure I'd like it through about the first fourth of the book.  There were a few little niggles that made me think "Oh god, not another one."  But she pulled it out.  There was a spot near the end where I thought "I swear to god, Beth, if you do what I think you're going to do, I'm going to find you and chuck this thing at your head."  But she didn't follow the slew of writers with piss poor senses of life.  She rose above and instead of giving in to a need to perpetuate despair, she gave me hope.

Thank you, Ms. Revis.  Sincerely and from the bottom of my heart, thank you.  I needed this more than I knew.

ETA:  Oops, forgot the disclaimer.  I bought this.  No one asked me to review it and I didn't get any goodies for doing so.  I don't know Beth Revis (although after reading this, I'd like to) and I'm not affiliated in any way with her.  No one paid me to gush.  The only thing I hope to gain is for Ms. Revis to publish more books for me to buy, so I can keep gushing.  (I gushed here, on Facebook and in a review at Amazon.  If I can find more places to gush, I will.)

News Bite

In case you didn't see it, Jennifer Jackson of the Donald Maass Literary Agency moved her blog to WordPress - so adjust your favorites and links accordingly.  She's also got some news over at her new blog.  Rather than ruin the surprise, I'll let you head over there if you're interested. 

Peace out.

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Excerpt over at Tabula Rasa

This morning I posted an excerpt from one of my previous works over at my other blog.  It's the blog I set up in my name and the one I created to post bits and snippets of my writing.  But like so many other things, I created it, was all excited about it and then forgot about it.  As I said over there, I'm going to try and post to that blog more often. 

I hope if you head over there, you enjoy the snippet I posted.  =o)

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Getting Things Done

The snowplow woke me up at 4am (okay, so I didn't roll out of bed until 4:20), so I figured this morning would be a good opportunity to talk about getting things done.  Especially since I'm finished with both my blogroll and my Facebook reading already and it's not even 6.

The other day I wrote a couple posts about being lost in a handful of kitty toys without a lifeguard.  I was drowning in a sea of things to do and not getting any of them accomplished.  Everyone was sympathetic and helpful and awesome in the comments.  (Thanks, Everyone.)  A few of people even commented about putting everything on a list and checking even the smallest things off to give myself a sense of accomplishment.  (Thanks Janet, Colene and Alleged.)  I took their advice.

As of yesterday, almost everything from that first list is crossed off - with the exception of my taxes which are almost done.  The biggest item was, of course, finishing UEQ.  It was the clot in my writerly artery.  (I know, eww gross, but the analogy works for me and it's less disgusting than the other analogy I can think of.)  Once I pushed through that, everything else seemed to flow. 

A few of the crossed off items are:

Finish UEQ
Update agent database
Research more agents and add them to database
Clean the toilets
Find and sort receipts for taxes
Enter receipts into spreadsheet
Work on taxes

The new list includes:

Finish taxes
Review DLN query
Send new batch of queries
Address Blink errors & decide whether it's still viable to query
Purge files
Clean the kitchen

So, if you're lost in a handful of kitty toys without a big hunk to pull you free, take a lesson from my blog pals and myself.  Make a list, cross it off, and feel great when you can wad that sucker up to throw away.

What do you feel good about accomplishing this week?

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Done dun dun done DONE

In case you missed it last night on Facebook.  I finished UEQ's first draft.  UEQ, btw, is code for Unequal.  It's a dystopian novel set against the backdrop of a world where everyone is equal - and it's against the law to be different.  So, of course, the heroine has to fight to be herself in a society where being who she wants to be could get her killed.

=o)

I love this book.  It's still pretty ugly.  I had to hack my way through the plot-jungle several times and the path isn't always the clearest thing.  But that's okay.  I can trim it up and make it pretty during the edits.  The point is that it is DONE.

Editing will start next month.  The rest of February will be devoted to working on getting DLN out there and to seeing what else I have that someone might be interested in.  Look for my 'Agent Sites' post to be updated in the near future. 

In other news, we're in the midst of yet another winter storm.  It's ZERO degrees right now.  Perfect day for working, reading and crocheting.  I'll also be shoveling.  I'm telling you, if I see that friggin; groundhog, he's a dead man.  Early Spring my ass.

How are things with you?  Anything exciting to share?  How's the weather out your way? 

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Super Bowl Sunday Writing Marathon

They'll be playing the Super Bowl today.  For the first time I can remember, I like both teams, so this will be an especially awesome sporting event for me.  I'll be happy no matter who wins - as long as they both play to the best of their abilities.  On that note, however, we've decided to root for the Pack.  (Because, ya know, football is so much more fun if you have someone to root for.)  Aaron Rodgers deserves a win - if only to put all talk of that former Packer QB (who shall not be named) to rest.  Aaron's way better than that dork ever was anyway.

Another big event on the horizon is the end of UEQ.  I just have to wrap up the climax, spread a little denouement around and finish this sucker.  5-10K words max, if that.  The only question is whether I'll finish this before the Super Bowl starts.

Hence the...

Super Bowl Sunday Writing Marathon

Good lord willin' and the creek don't rise, I'm planning on putting my head down and writing so I can get this puppy done today.  Nail it shut and watch football. (6:30 eastern on FOX, btw - 4:30 here)

Who's with me?

Saturday, February 5, 2011

Timesucks

Ack.  I can't believe I haven't posted since Wednesday.  I blame Facebook.  And my Dashboard blogroll Reading List thingie. 

I've been a lot more active on Facebook lately.  I see now what all the buzz has been about - and I also see why I avoided it for so long.  It's a huge timesuck.  But now I'm hooked, so I'll just go with it.  It's too late for me.  Save yourselves. 

Either that or friend me so we can be addicts together.  ;o)

As for my Blogger Dashboard Reading List, it's made checking on everyone's blogs so much easier.  I just scroll down the list, clicking and reading.  If I see a new blog I like, I just clickity-click and add it.  I'm reading all over the place and I'm lovin' it.  And I'm also spending way too much time now.  Before - when I was still in the stoneages and scrolling through my favorites one by one - I would spend the morning reading blogs and if someone updated their blog in the afternoon, it would have to wait.  Now I can see it as soon as it posts! 

Huge timesuck.

On the upside, I have been getting some writing done. (Mainly due to saying on FB I'm going to write and then needing to keep my word - so FB isn't a total waste).  I hope to have this sucker finished over the weekend.  (Yes, even with the Super Bowl looming Sunday afternoon.)  I'm working on the BIG CLIMAX scene now.  So it shouldn't be too much longer before I'm done.  Keep your fingers crossed that I don't get derailed.

What are the huge timesucks in your life?  How's your writing coming along?  Are you ready for some football?  ;o)

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Lifeguard Needed?

Yesterday I got exactly zilch accomplished.  And there's only so many times I can blame the weather, ya know?  Let's just say I'm still trapped in the kitty toys and I'm drowning. 

Okay.  First things first.  I need to sit down and make a list of everything I need to do and prioritize!  Regardless of what else I do today, I must prioritize or I'll never make it out of this self-imposed quicksand.

:glubglubgurgle:

I think I might need an assistant.  Or at least a lifeguard.

Do you think lifeguards work in quicksand?