For the Criminally Inane

Went to a new doctor yesterday. Every time I go, I have to fill out one of those healthy surveys with questions like: Do you have, ever have, intend to have any of the following . . . and then they list horrible things. Thankfully, I can strike through the column of illnesses. It makes me grateful that I have never smoked, never drank and never took drugs. Makes me thankful that I have been blessed with a healthy body. I think of my predecessors who passed on some healthy genes and rejoice in my good fortune. I like having a dose of perspective every once in a while.

I just finished book four of Fablehaven by Brandon Mull. I'll have to say, the first one started a little slow. My hubby read most of it out loud to my six and three year old. I admit, I got a little bored. Toward the end, it started getting my attention. We checked out the second book from the library and I was hooked. Well written, but also imaginative. It's like there's a fourth grade boy stuck inside the adult body of Brandon Mull. I liked being surprised, amused, amazed and transported to a whole other world. So far the third book is my favorite, the working against the clock makes a great page-turner. Finished the fourth book last night, as I said. My hubby did too, then today he ran out and bought the fifth one and is reading it right now. Who says independent reader books are just for kids? As a writer what did I learn from Brandon Mull. Well, I learned that I need to be more creative with my plots and characters. At each page turn, I was amazed at t...

I read this book, "A Truth Universally Acknowledged: Why we read Jane Austen" about, imagine this, Jane Austen's writing. One of the essays really hit me. The author talked about how Austen used an emotional description in her writing. This is really more powerful than describing every little detail because it allows the reader to imagine the hero/heroine in her mind, but with the careful guidance of the writer. What does Darcy look like? Well, now he looks like Colin Firth to the majority of the people out there, but before A&E's adaptation, what did he look like? Whatever I wanted him to look like, imposing figure maybe, but it more of what I felt about him. I knew him emotionally not from a line up of guys. I knew that he needed to be respected, that his presence commanded respect. Well-groomed, perhaps because he was wealthy. We know people who are rich and how they wear their clothes, so we can imagine what he was wearing without being explicitly t...

I think they are finally polished enough to let them go out into the world. I wonder if mom's feel this way when they send their kids off to college? Kindergarten? Yeah. Had to reorder my chapters yesterday on my story after my amputation of 30k words. When I'm done with this one, I think I'll start revising, reworking my humorous book about a girl heroine. Or write another one. I've got tons of ideas I'd love to start working on. I wish my hubby had the time to collaborate on a middle-grade fiction idea. He's the one with the humor!

I've been on a reading frenzy lately. I've been writing too, don't worry, even 8.5 months pregnant, I don't neglect my writing. Read "If I Tell You I Love You, I'd have to Kill You" by Ally Carter. When I read the back cover, my first reaction was, "Man, I wish I'd thought of this brilliant idea!" Now that I've read it, I'm glad I didn't. Ms. Carter did an excellent job! I found her voice engaging, her characters fun and the plot hilariously outrageous. Having said that, I was a little sad that the boyfriend, Josh, was a little two-dimensional. Sure, he was a nice, sweet, forgiving boyfriend, but I'm not sure he had much personality. But really, reading back on my jr. high journals, I really didn't know the boys I had crushes on. I mostly saw that they were hot, and hoped for this ideal that couldn't possibly be expected of a young kid at that age. Anyway, I enjoyed it so much, I think I'll try submitt...

I've decided to work on my signed author collection. I have four books right now. I'm hoping to have another by the end of the week. This is a huge commitment right now considering our budget. So, I went to see Holly Black of Spiderwick Chronicles and Cassandra Clare when they came to our local library. I was astounded when on the cover of Clare's paperback I saw a blurb by Stephanie Meyer. I was not surprised she blurbed it, but I was surprised that under Ms. Meyer's name was "Author of Twilight." Like we have to be told? My husband is my preview reader. He's going to read the Clare book and let me know if it's something I would like to read. (I'm a bit of a sensitive reader. In my present condition, I cannot read anything sad or depressing. ) Anyway, he reads a good deal, too, and wrote two novels when he was 14. Completed, though not edited or revised or even rewritten, but that's still a heck of a lot more than some people can boa...

Now I have two versions of my story. One that is 20k words and one that is 79k words. I think if I can meld them together, I might have a pretty good story. One comment from my brother in law, when he read it. He said, I wanted more. Surely, with nearly 80k words he didn't mean more plot, I think he meant more depth. So, instead of breadth, I tried in my 20k version to make it deeper, more intense feeling. More personal thoughts, less action. We shall see how it turns out. I went back to the first version and cut it to 63k words and am infusing it with depth--maybe.