flight - A soaring above the ordinary.
What an wonderfully inspirational message to start my week this early Monday morning.
Showing posts with label Too COOL. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Too COOL. Show all posts
One Definition of Flight
flight - A soaring above the ordinary.
What an wonderfully inspirational message to start my week this early Monday morning.
Down Days
I think I really wore myself out earlier this week, editing the same 10 pages over and over again. I got what I wanted out of it though, so I don't regret it. Moving forward.
Oh, and the most fun so far today is this top 10 list of country songs Michael emailed me this morning:
10. I Hate Every Bone In Her Body But Mine
9. I Ain't Never Gone To Bed With an Ugly Woman But I Woke Up With A Few
8. If The Phone Don't Ring, You'll Know It's Me
7. I've Missed You, But My Aim's Improvin'
6. Wouldn't Take Her To A Dogfight 'Cause I'm Scared She'd Win
5. I'm So Miserable Without You It's Like You're Still Here
4. My Wife Ran Off With My Best Friend And I Miss Him
3. She Took My Ring and Gave Me the Finger
2. She's Lookin' Better with Every Beer
And the Number One Country & Western Song...
1. It's Hard To Kiss The Lips At Night That Chewed My Ass All Day Long
Finding Barry's Voice
I did it! I finally found Barry's narration voice. Only took a year and a half.
Why did it take so long for his voice to come to me? I got Margery and Vern almost immediately. Nina was also pretty easy. I even got Pete, who you'll meet at the end of book 1 and he's a major character in book 2 and 3, right away.
By the way, the picture to the right makes me nauseous. How about you?
With Barry, I've always felt a connection to him, can visualize him perfectly, and can even sense his presence in the room with me. But for some reason I was having a hard time completely capturing the tone of his voice and his personality in the narration. Now that I've got it, I blame it on that first person present thing. Way back when I started the story, I thought it'd be easier to write in it. LOL! Boy was I wrong. Like most protagonists, Barry's constantly in situations where he has to think fast or choose between the lesser of two evils, so he inevitably makes lots of bad decisions. Capturing his voice during those moments, before he has a chance to think through his actions or embellish on his experiences, as he would in past tense, has been one of my greatest challenges.
How'd I find Barry's narrator voice. I edited and rewrote and edited and rewrote the first chapter about twenty times with the intent to find it. Insane, huh? Well, it worked.
One other comment about writing and reading first person present. We writers who tackle it get a lot of flack about how uncomfortable it reads when you're not used to it. But after a year and a half of writing in first person present, it's hard to switch back to past tense. And recently I started reading Back on Murder by J. Mark Bertrand, which is really well written in first person present. After reading the first few pages of his book, I've realized I prefer the way it reads as well. So come on publishers, give us more of it.
By the way, the picture to the right makes me nauseous. How about you?
With Barry, I've always felt a connection to him, can visualize him perfectly, and can even sense his presence in the room with me. But for some reason I was having a hard time completely capturing the tone of his voice and his personality in the narration. Now that I've got it, I blame it on that first person present thing. Way back when I started the story, I thought it'd be easier to write in it. LOL! Boy was I wrong. Like most protagonists, Barry's constantly in situations where he has to think fast or choose between the lesser of two evils, so he inevitably makes lots of bad decisions. Capturing his voice during those moments, before he has a chance to think through his actions or embellish on his experiences, as he would in past tense, has been one of my greatest challenges.
How'd I find Barry's narrator voice. I edited and rewrote and edited and rewrote the first chapter about twenty times with the intent to find it. Insane, huh? Well, it worked.
One other comment about writing and reading first person present. We writers who tackle it get a lot of flack about how uncomfortable it reads when you're not used to it. But after a year and a half of writing in first person present, it's hard to switch back to past tense. And recently I started reading Back on Murder by J. Mark Bertrand, which is really well written in first person present. After reading the first few pages of his book, I've realized I prefer the way it reads as well. So come on publishers, give us more of it.
Ladybug Sightings
I couldn't remember the last time I'd seen a ladybug when I found one crawling through my hair over the weekend. Then I found another one this morning. It met me by the refrigerator as I gathered rice milk for my cereal and orange juice.
When something catches my eye and grabs my attention, I can't help but wonder what spiritual message I'm being sent. So this morning it was off to the Internet to search for the meaning behind ladybug sightings. I was pretty happy with what I found because it so perfectly suits where I am in life at the moment. In summary, I feel my funky block melting away and now is the time for renewed creativity. I felt it this morning, even before the second ladybug sighting, when I woke up to sparks of ideas for three new characters and more of the storyline for Warrant for Damnation. Exactly what I need while I finish preparing for the 3 Day Novel Contest.
If you are interested in learning more about ladybugs, here are a few things I've found:
"LadyBug Life, Rebirth, Abundance, and Hope. Lady bugs, a type of winged beetle, is a gardener's friend in keeping other more harmful bugs out of the flower beds. Lady bugs with their bright red shells and black spots carry the magic of rebirth. Red and black are the colors of thoughts and manifestation. Often Ladybug will appear to us when we have an opportunity to succeed, grow, and start something new. All of the beetle family transforms from larvae to adult, showing us we too can transform our lives. Ladybugs can consume large quantities of aphids and other harmful bugs which eat and destroy plants. When we garden with more conscientious we can be aware of this balance within the garden. Allowing nature to show us how it takes care of the pests, without the use of harmful pesticides and chemicals. So as Summer begins to fade into Fall watch for Ladybug to fly into your life. Let Ladybug consume your unwanted fears and encourage new adventures." -- Raven Medium Website
"The Ladybug is associated with spirituality and religious devotion. The name Ladybug originated in Europe during the Middle Ages, when insects were destroying the crops. Catholic farmers were said to have prayed to the Virgin Mary for help. Soon after, Ladybugs appeared and began eating the pests and saved the crops from destruction. The farmers began to call the Ladybugs “the Beetles of Our Lady” and eventually they were known as Lady Beetles. The Ladybug's red wings are said to represent the Virgin's cloak and the black spots her joys and sorrows."
The Ladybug is widely considered a symbol of luck and is seen as a good omen when it comes calling. In Sweden, it is said that if one lands on a young woman's hand, she will soon get married. In France, it is said that if you are ill when one lands on you, it will fly away with your illness.
Ladybugs are also considered to be symbols of fire and the Sun.
Ladybug teaches life is short and it teaches to let go of ones' worries and fears, to trust in spirit and enjoy life. It brings the gifts of renewal and regeneration. The message of the Ladybug could be asking you to “Let go and let God”." -- Montana Dreams Website
When something catches my eye and grabs my attention, I can't help but wonder what spiritual message I'm being sent. So this morning it was off to the Internet to search for the meaning behind ladybug sightings. I was pretty happy with what I found because it so perfectly suits where I am in life at the moment. In summary, I feel my funky block melting away and now is the time for renewed creativity. I felt it this morning, even before the second ladybug sighting, when I woke up to sparks of ideas for three new characters and more of the storyline for Warrant for Damnation. Exactly what I need while I finish preparing for the 3 Day Novel Contest.
If you are interested in learning more about ladybugs, here are a few things I've found:
"The Ladybug is associated with spirituality and religious devotion. The name Ladybug originated in Europe during the Middle Ages, when insects were destroying the crops. Catholic farmers were said to have prayed to the Virgin Mary for help. Soon after, Ladybugs appeared and began eating the pests and saved the crops from destruction. The farmers began to call the Ladybugs “the Beetles of Our Lady” and eventually they were known as Lady Beetles. The Ladybug's red wings are said to represent the Virgin's cloak and the black spots her joys and sorrows."
The Ladybug is widely considered a symbol of luck and is seen as a good omen when it comes calling. In Sweden, it is said that if one lands on a young woman's hand, she will soon get married. In France, it is said that if you are ill when one lands on you, it will fly away with your illness.
Ladybugs are also considered to be symbols of fire and the Sun.
Ladybug teaches life is short and it teaches to let go of ones' worries and fears, to trust in spirit and enjoy life. It brings the gifts of renewal and regeneration. The message of the Ladybug could be asking you to “Let go and let God”." -- Montana Dreams Website
Wine with Breakfast for Dinner
Lately I'm finding that I really enjoy white wines from Chili. The reds we've tried are okay, but that could be because we haven't tried many of them yet.
On a side note, an interesting fact about Chilean wine:
Outside of its dramatic landscape and picture-perfect climate, Chile is unique in all the wine world in that its soils have never been infested with the insidious root louse, phylloxera. This vine pest almost completely devastated all of the vineyards of Europe in the late 1800s.So I had to mention that last weekend I made breakfast for dinner and the pictured 2008 Sauvignon Blanc from Veramonte was especially good with eggs and bacon and sausage and pancakes. It has a very light pinapple and citrusy flavor that we both enjoyed. And considering we eat breakfast for dinner frequently on the weekends, finding a wine we can drink with it is worth mentioning. It would also be great with Chinese. Keep this one cold though.
I'm the author of the award winning novel