Today I'm talking about pleasures....the guilty kind! This time of year we relax into all kinds of guilty pleasures from sugary treats, to corny holiday movies and that hippopotamus song.
You're probably singing it in your head now, aren't you???
"I want a hippopotamus for Christmas, only a hippopotamus will do..."
But anyway....I'm here to question why these silly things are considered "guilty" pleasures. The definition for guilty pleasure is: something one considers pleasurable despite feeling guilt for enjoying it. Often, the "guilt" involved is simply fear of others discovering one's lowbrow or otherwise embarrassing tastes, rather than actual moral guilt.
If someone feels pleasure from something...if someone enjoys something...why should they feel guilty about it?? If the pleasurable activity is not hurting anyone...then why not be proud?? There is so much in this world that is depressing and very un-pleasurable. I'm not going to waste any time feeling guilty for liking what I like.
So come on...share you pleasures!! Any of them...I won't make fun of you!!!!
Me...here are a few of the simple things in life that bring me true joy and I don't care who knows!!
New Kids on the Block (and those of you who know me, know I have NO problems what so ever shouting to the world that I am a huge Blockhead!!)
All 80's music
Boy Bands: Backstreet Boys, N'Sync, LFO, 98 Degrees, OTown
Patsy Cline
Dirty Dancing
America Pie Movies (only the three with Jason Biggs...not all the ones that followed)
Scrapbooking
Chick Lit and Romance Books (and I like the sexy scenes too!)
Dancing with the Stars
All My Children
Disney World
Celebrity Gossip Mags
I will add more later when I think of them!!
This will be my last post before the holiday!! Have a wonderful week!!!!!
Monday, December 21, 2009
Friday, December 18, 2009
It's OFFICIAL!!! I'm beginning this journey!!
I received an email from my editor today...yep...round 1 of copy edits!!!!
I am beyond excited for this!! Yes, this all started months ago when I had a "Congratulations" email in my inbox. But now is when it REALLY starts! She told me she loved it and did the entire edit in seven days time!
And she prepared me for what lays heads. I know it's not gonna be all compliments and adoration...I know a ton of work is in my immediate future. But the work will be worth it. This time....editing is getting me where I want to go...it's not just endless work that might get me somewhere. And I have a professional to guide me along the way!
She'd like it back by Jan. 15th...yeah...not a problem! I'm lucky in that I get a solid 3 hours a day while my son naps. Plus, the way I'm feeling right now, it may be all I want to do over the next few days! I say that now....I haven't even opened the file yet. She already warned me that there will be times I will call her names and close my laptop.
I am beyond excited for this!! Yes, this all started months ago when I had a "Congratulations" email in my inbox. But now is when it REALLY starts! She told me she loved it and did the entire edit in seven days time!
And she prepared me for what lays heads. I know it's not gonna be all compliments and adoration...I know a ton of work is in my immediate future. But the work will be worth it. This time....editing is getting me where I want to go...it's not just endless work that might get me somewhere. And I have a professional to guide me along the way!
She'd like it back by Jan. 15th...yeah...not a problem! I'm lucky in that I get a solid 3 hours a day while my son naps. Plus, the way I'm feeling right now, it may be all I want to do over the next few days! I say that now....I haven't even opened the file yet. She already warned me that there will be times I will call her names and close my laptop.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Either I'm fabulously brilliant...or really really stupid....
I can't decide which.
Either I take a huge risk and follow my heart and the inspiration that has struck me....or go the safe yet boring route.
Basically....what happened was....a fantastic story idea burst into my brain the other night (I blogged about it here, I couldn't sleep till I wrote it down and the opening scene). Today I finally got down to adding a file to my idea folder in my computer. I wrote the beginning scene and kept on writing. I did not want to stop. Ideas flooded my brain with where to take this story. I typed a quick outline. I turned off the computer and got ready to go out for the evening with my family...more ideas came to me..I jotted them in a notepad. I haven't been this excited and inspired in almost three years...since I started my second novel...the entire 70,000 words that poured out of me in about three months time. The novel that I fell madly, deeply, in love with and finally found a home for it this past summer.
But the timing is so so awful.
I got an email from my editor a few days ago. She will be emailing me my first round of copy edits within the week.
But that's not really the biggest dilemma.
I am attending The Write Stuff conference the end of March. There will be agents there...several of them. I will get the chance to pitch to one of them. I NEED a polished novel to take with me.
Up until today, I was working on a POV change for my third novel, 1st to 3rd. It was a major undertaking but aside from being time consuming, it wasn't as annoying as I'd imagined. It was going well. I had tons of time to do it and have the story perfected by the conference. But this story is...just........there. I love the first chapter, but the rest just has no sizzle. I like the story..it has many endearing qualities, but I never felt the intensity I do for my other novel and the new one. And I don't know how to make it sizzle. I don't know what to do to it to make it something that an agent just HAS to have. I know the story has problems...I've had it out on submission to a good 50 agents not even one partial request. My hope was that a POV change would help.....but my fear is that it needs major work...and I don't have a clue where to even begin.
So.....now I am in quite a predicament.
Do I take the risk...work my little tushie off and complete and perfect a novel in just over 3 months time??? (It is doable...I figured I can write it in 2 months, I would only need about 1300 words a day...completely doable when I am in ultra creative mode- added 30,000 words to my WIP in 3-1/2 weeks time once. People do NaNo every year and do 50,000 in one month.) Then I'd need to edit my heart out the last month.
OR
Do I stick with what I have? I can easily finish the POV switch and clean up the rest. As far as fixing whatever is wrong with it and giving it some sizzle...well.....I just don't know about that. You have to know what's wrong before you can fix something.
Would it be the end of the world if I try option 1 and fail??? No. It's my first conference ever so if I just go and observe, that would be okay too.
So what would you do?? Go with your gut and take a risk.....or stay safe and try to fix what you already have?????
Either I take a huge risk and follow my heart and the inspiration that has struck me....or go the safe yet boring route.
Basically....what happened was....a fantastic story idea burst into my brain the other night (I blogged about it here, I couldn't sleep till I wrote it down and the opening scene). Today I finally got down to adding a file to my idea folder in my computer. I wrote the beginning scene and kept on writing. I did not want to stop. Ideas flooded my brain with where to take this story. I typed a quick outline. I turned off the computer and got ready to go out for the evening with my family...more ideas came to me..I jotted them in a notepad. I haven't been this excited and inspired in almost three years...since I started my second novel...the entire 70,000 words that poured out of me in about three months time. The novel that I fell madly, deeply, in love with and finally found a home for it this past summer.
But the timing is so so awful.
I got an email from my editor a few days ago. She will be emailing me my first round of copy edits within the week.
But that's not really the biggest dilemma.
I am attending The Write Stuff conference the end of March. There will be agents there...several of them. I will get the chance to pitch to one of them. I NEED a polished novel to take with me.
Up until today, I was working on a POV change for my third novel, 1st to 3rd. It was a major undertaking but aside from being time consuming, it wasn't as annoying as I'd imagined. It was going well. I had tons of time to do it and have the story perfected by the conference. But this story is...just........there. I love the first chapter, but the rest just has no sizzle. I like the story..it has many endearing qualities, but I never felt the intensity I do for my other novel and the new one. And I don't know how to make it sizzle. I don't know what to do to it to make it something that an agent just HAS to have. I know the story has problems...I've had it out on submission to a good 50 agents not even one partial request. My hope was that a POV change would help.....but my fear is that it needs major work...and I don't have a clue where to even begin.
So.....now I am in quite a predicament.
Do I take the risk...work my little tushie off and complete and perfect a novel in just over 3 months time??? (It is doable...I figured I can write it in 2 months, I would only need about 1300 words a day...completely doable when I am in ultra creative mode- added 30,000 words to my WIP in 3-1/2 weeks time once. People do NaNo every year and do 50,000 in one month.) Then I'd need to edit my heart out the last month.
OR
Do I stick with what I have? I can easily finish the POV switch and clean up the rest. As far as fixing whatever is wrong with it and giving it some sizzle...well.....I just don't know about that. You have to know what's wrong before you can fix something.
Would it be the end of the world if I try option 1 and fail??? No. It's my first conference ever so if I just go and observe, that would be okay too.
So what would you do?? Go with your gut and take a risk.....or stay safe and try to fix what you already have?????
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Does the look of a Blog really matter???
When it comes to graphic design and web design and all that good stuff...I am about as dumb as it gets. I know how to use a computer...I can do some maintenance.....I manage pretty well and when something major happens I call up my uncle and he takes care of it for me.
I had a website for my floral business when I was still doing it. It was pretty awesome. I didn't do it, of course. I paid a cousin and his friend to do it. When I needed a website for my writing, I didn't have the cash to pay anyone so I went with a template. Then when I started blogging...again...free template.
Do both of them look nice and presentable??? Yeah, I guess so. They're both neat and tidy. Check out my website if you want to take a peek. Do they serve the purpose?? Definitely. Original??? Not even slightly.
I do have some ideas of what I'd like them to look like, but bottom line, I do not have the money to pay someone to make them all pretty.
And how much do readers care what the blog or site actually look like?? Both of mine are easy to read...I am turned off by hard to read sites and blogs...especially those with dark backgrounds and funky fonts.
In this world of judging books (and most things) by covers, is an uninteresting looking blog page or website a deal breaker??? Or is the content more important?? I'm finally stepping into the publishing industry...and I am a reader myself...I know how important a fantastic cover is.
I had a website for my floral business when I was still doing it. It was pretty awesome. I didn't do it, of course. I paid a cousin and his friend to do it. When I needed a website for my writing, I didn't have the cash to pay anyone so I went with a template. Then when I started blogging...again...free template.
Do both of them look nice and presentable??? Yeah, I guess so. They're both neat and tidy. Check out my website if you want to take a peek. Do they serve the purpose?? Definitely. Original??? Not even slightly.
I do have some ideas of what I'd like them to look like, but bottom line, I do not have the money to pay someone to make them all pretty.
And how much do readers care what the blog or site actually look like?? Both of mine are easy to read...I am turned off by hard to read sites and blogs...especially those with dark backgrounds and funky fonts.
In this world of judging books (and most things) by covers, is an uninteresting looking blog page or website a deal breaker??? Or is the content more important?? I'm finally stepping into the publishing industry...and I am a reader myself...I know how important a fantastic cover is.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
I love when this happens...I hate when this happens....
Last night I got into bed...it was maybe 11:30, which is a normal bedtime for me. I try to get in earlier if I have a book to read but I hadn't had a chance to get to the library yet. And if I don't have a book, I cannot get into bed before I am absolutely tired....I just lay there.
So anyway, I got into bed last night and I was tired. I thought I'd fall right asleep. Ah, nope. Somehow a new story idea popped into my head and it's fabulous opening line (we all know how important an opening line is!). When this happens, my brain replays the thought over and over in hope that I will remember it all in the morning. And that NEVER happens. It's gone forever. So I lay there, not wanting to turn on the light. But I knew I had to. The thoughts would not go away until I wrote them down.
So I turned on the light, grabbed a notebook and jotted down the idea and the opening line. The light goes off and I snuggle back under my comforter. But oh no...that wasn't good enough. My brain decides it wants to imagine what will come after that first awesome line. So again, I am forced out of my warm cocoon. I grab the notepad and write a page worth of dialog and text. I could have gone on and on but I stopped, hoping what I had was enough to jog my memory today. And finally my brain allowed my body the rest it desired.
I love when this stuff happens-- an idea comes to me out of no where...something that sounds fun and quirky, something different from what's already out there. I love the thrill of creation.
I hate when this stuff happens because the idea will nag at me till I get it on paper. And usually ideas like this come when I'm knee deep in something else and there is no possible way to start on it. I'm in the middle of my POV change on my 3rd novel and I'll be starting copy edits in the very near future for my 2nd novel. I just cannot start something new right now.
But what an idea it is!! I really love it!! So now I will add it to my "Project Ideas" folder and save it for another day :)
What do you do when inspiration strikes????
So anyway, I got into bed last night and I was tired. I thought I'd fall right asleep. Ah, nope. Somehow a new story idea popped into my head and it's fabulous opening line (we all know how important an opening line is!). When this happens, my brain replays the thought over and over in hope that I will remember it all in the morning. And that NEVER happens. It's gone forever. So I lay there, not wanting to turn on the light. But I knew I had to. The thoughts would not go away until I wrote them down.
So I turned on the light, grabbed a notebook and jotted down the idea and the opening line. The light goes off and I snuggle back under my comforter. But oh no...that wasn't good enough. My brain decides it wants to imagine what will come after that first awesome line. So again, I am forced out of my warm cocoon. I grab the notepad and write a page worth of dialog and text. I could have gone on and on but I stopped, hoping what I had was enough to jog my memory today. And finally my brain allowed my body the rest it desired.
I love when this stuff happens-- an idea comes to me out of no where...something that sounds fun and quirky, something different from what's already out there. I love the thrill of creation.
I hate when this stuff happens because the idea will nag at me till I get it on paper. And usually ideas like this come when I'm knee deep in something else and there is no possible way to start on it. I'm in the middle of my POV change on my 3rd novel and I'll be starting copy edits in the very near future for my 2nd novel. I just cannot start something new right now.
But what an idea it is!! I really love it!! So now I will add it to my "Project Ideas" folder and save it for another day :)
What do you do when inspiration strikes????
Monday, December 14, 2009
Good old-fashioned RomCom!!!
I write contemporary romance and if my books ever become movies...oh...wait....and now my brain has entered the dreamy state of "what if" land...
~~~~ Oh it's so lovely here! My books are adored by millions and so beloved that my story MUST be on the big screen. I see myself walking The Red Carpet for the movie premier of my first novel....camera flashes come from all directions as reporters call me over to ask who I'm wearing and what my inspiration was for writing the book. Inside the Capitan Theater in Hollywood, I get to sit between Zac Efron and Cameron Mathison, the two leading men in the movie. Life is good!~~~~~~~
Okay, now I'm back....so anyway...my movies would most definitely be grouped into Romantic Comedy. I LOVE a good RomCom!! It's probably my most favorite genre of movies. I love to laugh, first of all, and I'm a sucker for the sappy stuff. If it makes me cry....oh yeah...even better!!!
But lately.....most of the RomComs I've rented have been serious duds. I know all romantic books and movies are predictable...the HEA (Happily Ever After) is a given...but still. Make the reader/watcher at least wonder a little bit!!
I watched two movies this week on TV...I've seen them a ZILLION times and it doesn't matter...I cry every time!!
Overboard Yeah...it's old...came out over 20 years ago....doesn't matter one bit! Kurt Russell was still young and Goldie Hawn still had a real face. (I noticed how much Kate Hudson really looks like her mom!) What a story of opposites attract!! And the transformation of a hoity toity rich b%&#* into a loving mother and irresponsible trash into a respectable man. At the end she remembers who she is and tells her "family" she doesn't belong there....the kids run after the limo and the youngest yells "You said moms never leave!". OMG...I'm tearing up just typing it!!! But then Kurt goes after her and Goldie turns her yacht to go back for him and they are reunited! He then finds out the money is all hers and asks- "What can I possibly give you that you don't already have?"....she replies, after gazing lovingly at the boys.... "A little girl." That's good stuff!!
You've Got Mail The story of the big corporation squashing the little guy...but what they don't know is that they're secret internet pals...no names, no faces...just emails and chats. They connect in cyberspace and start to fall in love...then they decide to meet. He sees it's her and stands her up.....he knows the guy in real life is not who she wants. He starts to befriends her and says something to her that makes her think her secret man might be him. She asks to meet in real life again...... they agree on a park. "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" is playing in the background..she starts to cry when she sees it's him. He says "Don't cry Shopgirl" (her internet screen name). And she says "I wanted it to be you." I totally melt here!!!!
The Notebook Don't think this one is RomCom but I couldn't write this post without mentioning it. This movie invokes tears...not just the watering of my eyes....I'm talking full on waterworks....bucketfuls come soaring down my cheeks. And the end...when she remembers but then falls back into her dementia...I can't even imagine the pain of that. Then at the very end...they die in each others arms....don't all couples in love wish they go that way???
What are your favorite RomComs??? How do they make you feel when you watch them???
~~~~ Oh it's so lovely here! My books are adored by millions and so beloved that my story MUST be on the big screen. I see myself walking The Red Carpet for the movie premier of my first novel....camera flashes come from all directions as reporters call me over to ask who I'm wearing and what my inspiration was for writing the book. Inside the Capitan Theater in Hollywood, I get to sit between Zac Efron and Cameron Mathison, the two leading men in the movie. Life is good!~~~~~~~
Okay, now I'm back....so anyway...my movies would most definitely be grouped into Romantic Comedy. I LOVE a good RomCom!! It's probably my most favorite genre of movies. I love to laugh, first of all, and I'm a sucker for the sappy stuff. If it makes me cry....oh yeah...even better!!!
But lately.....most of the RomComs I've rented have been serious duds. I know all romantic books and movies are predictable...the HEA (Happily Ever After) is a given...but still. Make the reader/watcher at least wonder a little bit!!
I watched two movies this week on TV...I've seen them a ZILLION times and it doesn't matter...I cry every time!!
Overboard Yeah...it's old...came out over 20 years ago....doesn't matter one bit! Kurt Russell was still young and Goldie Hawn still had a real face. (I noticed how much Kate Hudson really looks like her mom!) What a story of opposites attract!! And the transformation of a hoity toity rich b%&#* into a loving mother and irresponsible trash into a respectable man. At the end she remembers who she is and tells her "family" she doesn't belong there....the kids run after the limo and the youngest yells "You said moms never leave!". OMG...I'm tearing up just typing it!!! But then Kurt goes after her and Goldie turns her yacht to go back for him and they are reunited! He then finds out the money is all hers and asks- "What can I possibly give you that you don't already have?"....she replies, after gazing lovingly at the boys.... "A little girl." That's good stuff!!
You've Got Mail The story of the big corporation squashing the little guy...but what they don't know is that they're secret internet pals...no names, no faces...just emails and chats. They connect in cyberspace and start to fall in love...then they decide to meet. He sees it's her and stands her up.....he knows the guy in real life is not who she wants. He starts to befriends her and says something to her that makes her think her secret man might be him. She asks to meet in real life again...... they agree on a park. "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" is playing in the background..she starts to cry when she sees it's him. He says "Don't cry Shopgirl" (her internet screen name). And she says "I wanted it to be you." I totally melt here!!!!
The Notebook Don't think this one is RomCom but I couldn't write this post without mentioning it. This movie invokes tears...not just the watering of my eyes....I'm talking full on waterworks....bucketfuls come soaring down my cheeks. And the end...when she remembers but then falls back into her dementia...I can't even imagine the pain of that. Then at the very end...they die in each others arms....don't all couples in love wish they go that way???
What are your favorite RomComs??? How do they make you feel when you watch them???
Friday, December 11, 2009
I'm doing it...I'm changing the POV of my ENTIRE 93,000 word novel.
Yep......I decided it was a must. The entire thing is written in 1st person and sicne it's romance, I decided it would be in my best interest to change it to 3rd. I am keeping the original though.
So here I go. At first I was going to edit the entire thing first..again...go through...look for all the adverbs, work on taking out all those no no words...really change the spots that tell instead of show. THEN I would start the POV switch. But I decided it would be a much better idea to do the POV switch first.
So has anyone done this before....any advice???? So far it seems pretty simple....just a matter of going though each line and changing I to her, she, character's name, etc...
I will also be adding in some of the hero's perspective too...which I never could do before...so this will be interesting.
I have a deadline in mind here for the POV change and the rest of the editing. I am attending a conference the end of March and I hope to pitch this book then. Do you think I can accomplish this all in, oh, just over 3 months time??? I think it's doable!
So here I go. At first I was going to edit the entire thing first..again...go through...look for all the adverbs, work on taking out all those no no words...really change the spots that tell instead of show. THEN I would start the POV switch. But I decided it would be a much better idea to do the POV switch first.
So has anyone done this before....any advice???? So far it seems pretty simple....just a matter of going though each line and changing I to her, she, character's name, etc...
I will also be adding in some of the hero's perspective too...which I never could do before...so this will be interesting.
I have a deadline in mind here for the POV change and the rest of the editing. I am attending a conference the end of March and I hope to pitch this book then. Do you think I can accomplish this all in, oh, just over 3 months time??? I think it's doable!
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