So this morning started rather funny. I’m not sure how many of you do this, but I’m hoping I’m not the only one. As I’m working on a novel, (editing, plotting, writing or revising) I often talk it out, especially dialogue. Most of this happens in the shower so I’m alone. Usually while I’m driving to work or walking to my office, I think out scenes in my head—silently. Every now and then I think of things and get so caught up in the scene that I need to speak/act it out.
That’s what happened this morning. I talked—to myself—the entire way to work this morning, mapping out a scene and I didn’t stop when I got on the hospital’s campus, or in the employee garage. I was parking my car, still talking through the scene when I felt someone looking at me. The woman in the car beside me was staring like she thought I should be checking into One-West (our psych ward-lol). I could see that she was wondering if I had a Bluetooth. “No lady, I’m not on the phone, I be a WRITER!” I proudly declared—to myself-lol.
Tell me I’m not alone. We quirky writers have to stick together.
So, anywho, I got this idea from a comment I read here and decided to borrow it for my blog. For the next four Fridays, I’ll be posting an interview with my characters from Light Bringers. The interviewer—my alter ego, Rosepddle, will conduct the interviews for the Telling Point Gazette, which is the fictional city in Light Bringers. The first interview will be with Ryan Webb, a 19 year old member of an elite group of soldiers known as Venators.
Hope you all enjoy!
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Accidental Plagiarism…Sort of
Plagiarizing someone isn’t something I worry too much about. First, I would never do that to someone, no matter how fantastic I thought their writing was. And second, between writing fanfiction, novels and short stories, I have yet to accidentally plagiarize someone’s work…until now. Dum-dum-duuuuuuuuum *rubs hands sinisterly*
Actually, I caught myself by the time I’d moved onto the next sentence. My current WIP (which I hope to actually finish by the end of NaNo) is about a girl who has psychic dreams. Well, she dreams of the Headmaster of her private school slipping in the cafeteria and falling in front of everyone. When I mentally wrote it, Headmaster Mannor slipped on mashed potatoes, but when I actually put it on paper, for some strange reason I wrote: I laughed, remembering my dream of Headmaster Mannor slipping on that banana peel. I mean, an actual banana peel!
I’d completed the next sentence after that, and then I stopped and said to myself, “Self, why does that sound familiar?” My self answered that it did not know. So I sat there, thinking about that, staring out of my terrace doors at the gloomy rain and then I was like, DOH!
The second sentence is nearly an exact sentence from Justine Larbalestier’s Liar. Now, I know it could be argued that the sentence in and of itself is pretty non-distinct and no court in the world would find be guilty of using it, but I knew where it came from, and that was enough for me. If I’d read that book years ago and had no real memory of reading that sentence, then I wouldn’t think twice about using it. But the combination of the scene originally being with mashed potatoes, then my changing it to a banana peel, and knowing exactly where I got it from felt too much like plagiarism to me.
Has this ever happened to you…even if it’s a small incident like this?
Actually, I caught myself by the time I’d moved onto the next sentence. My current WIP (which I hope to actually finish by the end of NaNo) is about a girl who has psychic dreams. Well, she dreams of the Headmaster of her private school slipping in the cafeteria and falling in front of everyone. When I mentally wrote it, Headmaster Mannor slipped on mashed potatoes, but when I actually put it on paper, for some strange reason I wrote: I laughed, remembering my dream of Headmaster Mannor slipping on that banana peel. I mean, an actual banana peel!
I’d completed the next sentence after that, and then I stopped and said to myself, “Self, why does that sound familiar?” My self answered that it did not know. So I sat there, thinking about that, staring out of my terrace doors at the gloomy rain and then I was like, DOH!
The second sentence is nearly an exact sentence from Justine Larbalestier’s Liar. Now, I know it could be argued that the sentence in and of itself is pretty non-distinct and no court in the world would find be guilty of using it, but I knew where it came from, and that was enough for me. If I’d read that book years ago and had no real memory of reading that sentence, then I wouldn’t think twice about using it. But the combination of the scene originally being with mashed potatoes, then my changing it to a banana peel, and knowing exactly where I got it from felt too much like plagiarism to me.
Has this ever happened to you…even if it’s a small incident like this?
Monday, October 19, 2009
MEDIEVAL TIMES
It’s dinner AND a Tournament!
I’m not sure if any of you out there have ever been to Medieval Times or even live near one of the few locations in the country. Well, as it was my stepdad’s 64th birthday and he’s dorktastic like we all are, he wanted to go, so mom made it happen.
See, he's waaay too excited-lol
Now, I’m not too into the “Medieval” period, mainly because I have a problem with stinky people and just about everyone from that era looks like they stink-lol. Still, I love movies that have knights, and lords and ladies and DRAGONS!
There were no utensils to eat our food. We drank our soup—tomato bisque or as they say, dragon scale soup—in a pewter bowl with a handle. Then came our roasted baby dragon—or half of a rotisserie chicken. I heard a little kid ask if was really a baby dragon…too cute!
After that we had a small piece of rib and half a potato. Dessert was an apple pastry. Over all, it was a good meal and as close to what they served during that time as I’d want to get to—lol.
So they seat you in sections by the colors of the knights. They were, the Yellow Knight, the Red Knight, the Blue Knight, the Green Knight, the Black and White Knight and the Red and Yellow Knight. We are in the section for the Black and White Knight and he was the cutest knight out of the lot. Yes, this is how I chose my loyalty, by cuteness and overall lustability. I wasn’t able to get a really good picture of him. He was too busy prancing around, tossing roses into the crowd, or he had his back to me.
Although the final battle was a bit canned, the jousting was excellent. Those guys really know what they’re doing. It was a real and exciting. If you’re ever in the area, check it out. But be prepared, it costs a small fortune!
So that was part of my dorktastic weekend.
Yesterday was the first day since the 20th of September that I wrote close to 1000 words on my new wip…well, on anything. I write most on the weekends as my brain is fried when I come home after work. But since my parents moved back in town, I haven’t had a weekend to myself. I’m not complaining because I love having them near, but I NEED TO WRITE!
Now, I’m off to sleep or as I like to say, write in my head. Tell me about your dorktastic weekend.
I’m not sure if any of you out there have ever been to Medieval Times or even live near one of the few locations in the country. Well, as it was my stepdad’s 64th birthday and he’s dorktastic like we all are, he wanted to go, so mom made it happen.
See, he's waaay too excited-lol
Now, I’m not too into the “Medieval” period, mainly because I have a problem with stinky people and just about everyone from that era looks like they stink-lol. Still, I love movies that have knights, and lords and ladies and DRAGONS!
There were no utensils to eat our food. We drank our soup—tomato bisque or as they say, dragon scale soup—in a pewter bowl with a handle. Then came our roasted baby dragon—or half of a rotisserie chicken. I heard a little kid ask if was really a baby dragon…too cute!
After that we had a small piece of rib and half a potato. Dessert was an apple pastry. Over all, it was a good meal and as close to what they served during that time as I’d want to get to—lol.
So they seat you in sections by the colors of the knights. They were, the Yellow Knight, the Red Knight, the Blue Knight, the Green Knight, the Black and White Knight and the Red and Yellow Knight. We are in the section for the Black and White Knight and he was the cutest knight out of the lot. Yes, this is how I chose my loyalty, by cuteness and overall lustability. I wasn’t able to get a really good picture of him. He was too busy prancing around, tossing roses into the crowd, or he had his back to me.
Although the final battle was a bit canned, the jousting was excellent. Those guys really know what they’re doing. It was a real and exciting. If you’re ever in the area, check it out. But be prepared, it costs a small fortune!
So that was part of my dorktastic weekend.
Yesterday was the first day since the 20th of September that I wrote close to 1000 words on my new wip…well, on anything. I write most on the weekends as my brain is fried when I come home after work. But since my parents moved back in town, I haven’t had a weekend to myself. I’m not complaining because I love having them near, but I NEED TO WRITE!
Now, I’m off to sleep or as I like to say, write in my head. Tell me about your dorktastic weekend.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Catching Fire and Liar
On my quest to read 100 books in 2009, I’ve just finished books number 60 and 61…or is it 61 and 62? No matter, I’ll get the final count later. My point is, I’ve just finished Suzanne Collins’s CATCHING FIRE and Justine Larbalestier’s LIAR.
Let’s start with CATCHING FIRE
I LOVED IT! I’ve read some reviews that say, “hey, we’ve seen this before in the first book”, but I don’t get that. Yes there was another game, but it was so much more in depth, so much more Katness, so much more Peeta, so much more big brother, mutated animals. I used to be tore between Peeta and Gale with Peeta getting a little more of the votes, but now I’m firmly on the side of Peeta. He is handsome, smart, and selfless and he just loves Katness so much. My heart is going to break if she ends up with Gale. But at the same time, I know Gale is a good guy and he really loves her. I think, because of the way the book ended—which I’m not going to say here—the third book is going to be a lot of Katness and Gale, which may make her pick him over Peeta. Granted, she may not go with either of them…I really hate that I’m going to have to wait a year to find out!
Now for LIAR
I’m still confused about this book. This is the first book I’ve read by Larbalestier and I know that I want to read others now. I really enjoyed her writing. It was crisp, clean and we stayed firmly in the main character’s head. The plot of the book is that Micah is a liar and I still don’t know what the truth of the story is. There was a plot point that really threw me and had me listening to the last ¾ of the book with a skeptical ear. Reading the reviews, some people were upset that Micah even lies to us, so we can’t trust the story at all. A part of me thinks this is brilliant on the part of Larbalestier, part of me just wants to know the real story, but I guess it’s fitting to have a liar have you guessing right up to the end.
Oh, btw, I love both of these covers!
Let’s start with CATCHING FIRE
I LOVED IT! I’ve read some reviews that say, “hey, we’ve seen this before in the first book”, but I don’t get that. Yes there was another game, but it was so much more in depth, so much more Katness, so much more Peeta, so much more big brother, mutated animals. I used to be tore between Peeta and Gale with Peeta getting a little more of the votes, but now I’m firmly on the side of Peeta. He is handsome, smart, and selfless and he just loves Katness so much. My heart is going to break if she ends up with Gale. But at the same time, I know Gale is a good guy and he really loves her. I think, because of the way the book ended—which I’m not going to say here—the third book is going to be a lot of Katness and Gale, which may make her pick him over Peeta. Granted, she may not go with either of them…I really hate that I’m going to have to wait a year to find out!
Now for LIAR
I’m still confused about this book. This is the first book I’ve read by Larbalestier and I know that I want to read others now. I really enjoyed her writing. It was crisp, clean and we stayed firmly in the main character’s head. The plot of the book is that Micah is a liar and I still don’t know what the truth of the story is. There was a plot point that really threw me and had me listening to the last ¾ of the book with a skeptical ear. Reading the reviews, some people were upset that Micah even lies to us, so we can’t trust the story at all. A part of me thinks this is brilliant on the part of Larbalestier, part of me just wants to know the real story, but I guess it’s fitting to have a liar have you guessing right up to the end.
Oh, btw, I love both of these covers!
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Feedback?
I’ve had a nice run of requests for my novel Light Bringers and I’m totally appreciative of all the feedback, although I’ve only really had one agent actually spell out clear reasons why the story didn’t work for them and that was from the awesome Kate Testerman. While I didn’t agree with all of her comments and didn’t make all of the suggested changes, I knew exactly what didn’t work for her and why. Plus, her feedback helped to make Light Bringers better. (wish she would have asked for a revise and resub *pout-pout*)
Well, the rest of the feedback from other agents who have read my full manuscript has been less than helpful. And I’m not saying that in a whinny kind of way, I’m just saying I don’t really know what to do with their feedback.
One agent said that she found nothing really wrong with the story, it was just at the end of the day it didn’t resonate with her. That’s fine. It’s not going to resonate with everyone, but I can’t really take that and make my book better. Someone should totally market Resonating Dust. Just sprinkle it on your manuscript and it will guarantee to make it resonate with everyone who reads it!
*Don’t steal my idea. I’m totally thinking of marketing that!
Another agent said my conflict didn’t come in soon enough for her—that’s constructive and something I can fix, but then she said my main character was whinny and self-indulgent—not much I can do about that. Well, I could but I don’t wanna-lol.
Just had another request for a full from a pretty impressive house so I was on cloud nine when the request came only three hours after I sent the partial. I knew the response would be fast so I’m grateful for that.
He said he thought the premise was great and I had a good frame, but he had concerns about the writing, for example, he didn’t know why Heath needed to be British and what was the deal with me saying Ryan used fruity shampoo on his hair? Does he have an aversion to fruity shampoo or herbal?
Um…WTH?
Heath’s British because I want him to be and it’s MY NOVEL! One of my friends said that he was probably wondering if it will have some bearing on the story, does it move the plot along? Since when does someone’s nationality have to move the plot along? Maybe I’m mistaken, and if I am, please enlighten me, but I don’t see why my choice to have Heath be British should make a difference. I think it’s mentioned twice in the entire novel and shown through his speech. And Heath’s background as well as England will be featured in the third novel. Still, I have no idea what to do with that feedback.
As for the shampoo and Ryan’s “aversion” to the fruity scent, well, that scene was taking place in his mother’s house so he wasn’t pleased that the only shampoo available to him had a fruity scent. He’s a soldier, a macho type guy, and not too keen on showing up for work smelling like strawberries. Most guys would probably feel the same. I’m not sure what to do with that bit of info either.
I’ve just ordered Donald Maass’ book, Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook, so I’m hopeful that the exercises will help me strengthen my novel, maybe even answer some of these unanswered questions I have about this feedback.
As I said, I’m not complaining. I just figured that sometimes when you talk things out with others going through the same thing, they may help you make sense of it, so…HELP!
Well, the rest of the feedback from other agents who have read my full manuscript has been less than helpful. And I’m not saying that in a whinny kind of way, I’m just saying I don’t really know what to do with their feedback.
One agent said that she found nothing really wrong with the story, it was just at the end of the day it didn’t resonate with her. That’s fine. It’s not going to resonate with everyone, but I can’t really take that and make my book better. Someone should totally market Resonating Dust. Just sprinkle it on your manuscript and it will guarantee to make it resonate with everyone who reads it!
*Don’t steal my idea. I’m totally thinking of marketing that!
Another agent said my conflict didn’t come in soon enough for her—that’s constructive and something I can fix, but then she said my main character was whinny and self-indulgent—not much I can do about that. Well, I could but I don’t wanna-lol.
Just had another request for a full from a pretty impressive house so I was on cloud nine when the request came only three hours after I sent the partial. I knew the response would be fast so I’m grateful for that.
He said he thought the premise was great and I had a good frame, but he had concerns about the writing, for example, he didn’t know why Heath needed to be British and what was the deal with me saying Ryan used fruity shampoo on his hair? Does he have an aversion to fruity shampoo or herbal?
Um…WTH?
Heath’s British because I want him to be and it’s MY NOVEL! One of my friends said that he was probably wondering if it will have some bearing on the story, does it move the plot along? Since when does someone’s nationality have to move the plot along? Maybe I’m mistaken, and if I am, please enlighten me, but I don’t see why my choice to have Heath be British should make a difference. I think it’s mentioned twice in the entire novel and shown through his speech. And Heath’s background as well as England will be featured in the third novel. Still, I have no idea what to do with that feedback.
As for the shampoo and Ryan’s “aversion” to the fruity scent, well, that scene was taking place in his mother’s house so he wasn’t pleased that the only shampoo available to him had a fruity scent. He’s a soldier, a macho type guy, and not too keen on showing up for work smelling like strawberries. Most guys would probably feel the same. I’m not sure what to do with that bit of info either.
I’ve just ordered Donald Maass’ book, Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook, so I’m hopeful that the exercises will help me strengthen my novel, maybe even answer some of these unanswered questions I have about this feedback.
As I said, I’m not complaining. I just figured that sometimes when you talk things out with others going through the same thing, they may help you make sense of it, so…HELP!
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Ended Up...
A few days ago I was reading an email from a friend. In the email she used the phrase “ended up” a few times. As this was an email, and I am not the type to edit or critique people’s casual emails (and I HATE we people do that to me), I didn’t say anything. Granted, there is nothing wrong with the phrase “ended up” it’s perfectly fine, it just happens to be a trigger for me. When I see it in books it feels very passive. I can’t really say why I dislike it so much, but it just seems like a copout. Show me how you ended up in whatever situation you are claiming to have ended up in.
It’s like saying: Ryan pushed me, and I ended up at the bottom of the steps.
Or you could say: Ryan pushed me and I lost my footing, went ass-over-elbows down the flight of stairs, landing in a heap at the bottom.
The second one isn’t perfect but it’s much more active than the first. So what are some of the trigger phrases, words or expressions that get under your skin when you read them?
It’s like saying: Ryan pushed me, and I ended up at the bottom of the steps.
Or you could say: Ryan pushed me and I lost my footing, went ass-over-elbows down the flight of stairs, landing in a heap at the bottom.
The second one isn’t perfect but it’s much more active than the first. So what are some of the trigger phrases, words or expressions that get under your skin when you read them?
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Kreativ Blogger
Thank you Amanda @ A Fortnight of Mustard for the lovely nomination!
Seven Things About Me:
1. I’m a trained cosmetologist—not licensed.
2. I used to work in a prison.
3. I’ve written four novels.
4. I lived in Miami for a year.
5. My sister’s nickname for me is Bean.
6. Whenever Ghostbusters is on tv, I have to watch it.
7. I’m in love with Roarke from J.D. Robb’s In Death series.
My nominees…
1. Kestrel Rising
2. Talespinning
3. The Literary Gathering
4. The Lesser Key
5. Write About Now
6. The Writer’s Cocoon
7. Susan Sandmore
The rules:
Seven Things About Me:
1. I’m a trained cosmetologist—not licensed.
2. I used to work in a prison.
3. I’ve written four novels.
4. I lived in Miami for a year.
5. My sister’s nickname for me is Bean.
6. Whenever Ghostbusters is on tv, I have to watch it.
7. I’m in love with Roarke from J.D. Robb’s In Death series.
My nominees…
1. Kestrel Rising
2. Talespinning
3. The Literary Gathering
4. The Lesser Key
5. Write About Now
6. The Writer’s Cocoon
7. Susan Sandmore
The rules:
1. Thank the person who nominated you for this award.
2. Copy the logo and place it on your blog.
3. Link to the person who nominated you for this award.
4. Name 7 things about yourself that people might find interesting.
5. Nominate 7 Kreativ Bloggers.
6. Post links to the 7 blogs you nominate.
7. Leave a comment on each of the blogs letting them know they have been nominated.
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