Why didn't I see this pic this morning? As nice as books and chocolate are, this picture is much more appropriate!

Here's to a morning spent building castles :D

N

Happy Friday

Feels like forever since I had a writing day!!! I've finished my very rough first draft of my WIP so today's job is to start from the beginning and build the second draft. Truly a 'fleshing out' process to add the meat to the bones of the story. That's kinda gross isn't it? It's not about a butcher, or a murderer who slices up his victims, I promise.

I'm hoping it's a worthwhile project, one that will resonate and mean something to the readers. It's complicated. Where Game Plan was a year, month after month, a very linear and straight forward story, this one is convoluted and twisty. It's only one day. One day in the lives of four people whose experiences intersect and overlap... makes writing it kinda tricky, but the challenge is interesting and fun.

Which is probably why I'm still writing this blog - procrastination is a strong temptation.

N

Monday - Everything BUT a Writing Day

So last night I went to bed at 7:18. No shit. I was going to read but I was out cold by 8:00. I know! I slept through until 9:00, except for my morning ritual of letting my favourite pup out to pee and feeding him at his requested breakfast time of 6:15. Now I'm undoing all that good rest by staying up late puttering around cyberspace. I figured it was as good a time as any to do my Monday blog since tomorrow is shaping up to be anything but a writing day.

Remember when Elliot got hit in the eye with a hockey stick? He's got an appt tomorrow am at 7:45 to make sure it's all good. It is his eye, I guess, but man that's early. Especially since I'm still up and it's past 10:00. Then, just to make things interesting, Jack has an ortho appt at 10:15 in Dartmouth. If everyone plays nice I should be able to get E back to school in time to collect Jack and get him over the bridge in time... but I've got my folkses on standby to pick Jack up and meet me if I'm cutting it close.

Monday's the day I pick the Munsters up early from school to get them to music class and then onto Swimming. We'll hit the library too, which reminds me that they probably don't know where their library books are. Sigh. THAT is why we haven't used the library to it's full potential as yet, I'm sure it would be cheaper to buy new books than to pay the fines we're going to rack up.

So not much work will be done on the WIP tomorrow. I finished Charlie's Story - a companion short we're going to publish as an ebook - wait, is it an ebook if it's not a full book? eSomething. It was fun to dip back into that. I haven't been able to read Game Plan since it was published, too scared maybe? I dunno. But the short is a rewrite of the Halloween party from Charlie's POV, which means I had to look into the book to get the parts that overlap with Ella's story right. I'm hoping those who have read Game Plan will like it and those who haven't will come away from the story wanting to read more!

N

Fantastic Friday

It seems that Unproductive Writing days come in clumps. Last week my Dudes had a PD Day on Friday which meant they were home and I did nothing. Monday was a holiday in Canada and I hoped to hide on the couch and write but ended up in the kidlet ER instead (everyone's okay, eyes aren't that important, that's why you have two). Today is my Writing Friday but my future NHLer has two hockey games (yes, they have hockey during school hours... this is Canada where hockey is All Important). It's probably more likely that he'll get rich playing hockey than I'll get rich writing books so it's an investment to leave my desk for the rink, really. I've coerced a friend to pick him up with hers and take them the hour early they're supposed to be there but I've gotta cut my writing day short to actually SEE the game. Missing kid sports is painful for me. I intend to Pack my Mac in my supercool Etsy bag and take it with me, but chances are I'll end up gossiping with the other hockey parents instead of writing between games.

Ah well, there's always Monday.

On the reading front, I just finished The Night is Found by Kat Kruger. OMG you guys... such a great third to a trilogy... I dunno 'bout you but lots of times when I read a trilogy the third book seems kinda like a tack on, either they had a good story for two and needed to squeeze a third out, OR they had the three books but rushed to finish the third on time (or totally lost interest)... but this was totally the climactic ending of a great series... it picks up on the energy of the first two, ties all the ends together and... well, I can't REALLY review it 'til I have a cover so that's all I have to say about that... for now.

Now I'm onto The Time Keeper by Mitch Albom. (It's my pick for book club that I'm hosting on Tuesday which means I have to read the book AND clean the house... unless I just host on the deck with the black flies?) It's really poetic in a magical way, he has this way of writing prose that sounds fluid and lyrical and artistic. I love it so far.

N

Amy's Marathon

I've been reading to PJ's class on Mondays, as part of Amy's Marathon of Books. (If you don't know what Amy's doing, check it out! It's an awesome project for a great cause). I've picked books from each province to read and we've all really enjoyed the experience. I've got four provinces/territories left and it's getting tricky to find the books. Today was from Saskatchewan, a beautiful book called I Know Here about a third grader anticipating leaving behind her home in Saskatchewan and moving to Toronto. That leaves Alberta, Yukon and NWT - if you have any suggestions let me know!

The rest of my day is writing. It's hard to figure out the priority - I have one story that is done that I LOVE  and believe in, I really want to get out there. Then I have this new story that is growing and getting better - where do I put my resources? I'm trying to settle into a pattern of doing research and submissions during the evenings and going back to solid writing on Monday and Friday. It just makes me feel better.

N

Waiting for the Right Thing

When we knew we were moving into our new home, and we were pg with our first kid, and I had a mittful of cash from graduation presents, we decided to get a puppy. I've always had rescue pets, but I was worried about adopting a stray with the impending years of toddlerhood. I put my name on a list with a local breeder for a chocolate lab pup and waited. Weeks later I was disappointed to find out that the pgcy she had advertised was hysterical - I guess dogs can trick themselves into seeming pregnant! She moved me to another list and that litter fell through a week later. I was devastated (cause that was a real life problem back then) and desperate (b/c the baby was getting closer and I didn't want to have a newborn dog AND a newborn human at the same time. I scoured the internet for breeders within driving distance (pretty much the worst way to find a dog) and found one up in Northern NB. I put down a deposit with her and a few weeks later got an email that said "Your baby boy is born!" (exact wording, I remember it clearly). That sweet, funny puppy is now twelve years old. I describe him as my external furry soul. He's nothing short of perfect.

But what does that have to do with anything?

I remind myself of this story when I'm disappointed. Another 'no thanks' letter this morning. I'm reminding myself that it took several disappointments to end up with the Perfect Pup and so the 'no's I hear now are b/c there's a much better 'yes' coming. Right? RIGHT?

Book Bash and weekend stuff

Happy Monday!

Today's writing day will be truncated by a trip to the vet. My perfect pup needs a checkup.

Saturday was a writerly day for me - well after I left the gym following the six and a half hours of ball hockey games I sat cheered through. First I had dinner with a very good friend who also writes. We talked about our WIPs and shared frustrations and excitements. Then I headed to the annual Book Bash - hosted by Woozles and WFNS. It was in a cool quiet hall with paintings on the walls and artistic architecture... a very creative space. Several authors who had published books got up to talk about their stories and their inspiration, including me! Then I bought books. Ha. After that I went for fancy drinks in a fancy bar with three other writerly types.

Getting out with this crowd gives me a boost, a zap of energy. There's something almost supernatural that hovers around when creative folk get together. I remember it from my high school, and it's fun when I get out to feel it again.

If you're local you should go check out Woozles... it's a cozy little bookstore tucked away downtown. Books, toys, games, stuffies, lots of kidstuff and a friendly staff that knows all about it. And if you hate parking down there like me, they now take online orders and deliver on Wednesdays - pretty cool!

N

Writing day and pseudo-review

Happy, relieved, settle-back-into-the-couch, I-made-it sigh, it's Friday.

This week seemed looooong. Not bad, not different... work went well, my kids did well, we didn't have 1000 appts, just about 100, but Monday seems like forever ago. I'm happy it's Friday.

One thing I did this week that I'd never done before is read The Fault in Our Stars. I confess, I am a bandwagon reader. I've read all the trending ones - Twilight, Hunger Games, Divergent, 50 Shades, Harry Potter (does he really count as a trend? That's just brilliance I think)... so yes, I picked up The Fault in Our Stars knowing it was 'trendy' and sad. I was skeptical because I'm not convinced that ALL of the trending books really earn the millions of readers on writing quality. That's a polite way to say it, isn't it? So I went into The Fault in Our Stars with that reservation.

I read it in three days.

I read it at work (not a good idea). I had to stop every few paragraphs to look up at the ceiling to keep my composure b/c I was expecting a client any minute.

I am a sucker for emotional books, I cry easily if it's sad. What is amazing about THIS book, though is the way it is terribly sad but not melodramatic, not tacky or manipulative or sentimental. It even pokes fun at that typical way of yanking heart strings. The kid-aged characters who are both victims of cancer are precocious and verbose but still kids, flawed, scared teenagers - not pedestal riding saints. And the love story is real.

I loved every page. It's the kind of book that makes me say, "Gee, I wish I could write like that."

So jump on the wagon and check it out.

N