Write Smarter Write Faster Write Better

I finished my first book November 2008.

But somehow it keeps going, and going, and going. It’s just like the Eveready Battery.

So why is it I keep going back to it over and over, changing this, tweaking that? Because as I read blogs and sites from established authors or editors, I learn more and more.

My new and improved version wouldn’t be here had I not come across an incredibly informative and educational blog that changed my whole outlook on writing.

I used to be what they’re calling an ‘organic’ writer. While I did a lot of planning and thinking, I just wrote and wrote, hoping the story was interesting and the characters likable.

BOY was I wrong! Writing that way is why, a year later, I’m still rewriting the same damn story. In fact, I’m so tired of rewriting I’m beginning to hate the characters and the words just blur. That’s the point at which you put a story aside for awhile and work on another project. Trust me, after reading this series of articles, the next book will not take more than a few drafts, if that.

Larry Brooks has an 11-part series called Story Structure.This was as good as taking a class in writing. And today’s post, 8/12, is equally awesome with a list of questions writers should be able to answer before writing their story.

Now I have to sit and think back through my original MS, the one in its 100th evolution, and make sure I can answer all of these questions.  Sure wish I’d had this information a year ago.

Oh, well, better late than never.

SO, we were watching tv last evening, it had been raining for hours; a light drizzle mostly. We heard a strange sound over Eureka, so I muted the tv. My husband asked, “Does that sound like cats fighting?” We have 4 outdoor cats who fight off intruders all the time, so it was a possibility.

We listened until it happened again and my husband got up, went out front to see what was happening. He came to the window and crooked a finger at me. Curious, I, too, went outside. He was peering down at something from the porch. I thought maybe an armadillo or possum, we get them all the time where we live.

To my surprise, I saw a teeny tiny tan, muddy, wet puppy. He was crying pitifully between growls.

Now, you have to understand. We’re cat people. We have 2 in and 4 out. We’ve tried dogs about 3 times previously and never made it past the housebreaking stage. So here we are, holding a trembling, wet, crying puppy that God or some other divine force delivered at out doorstep.

Needless to say my kids, with the exception of my teenaged son who dislikes dogs completely, wants to keep him. We took him to the vet and got rid of the fleas and checked him over. He’s about 6 weeks old and healthy.

They said others had brought similar puppies in, apparently the owner distributed them throughout the neighborhood. At least he didn’t kill them.

We’re having trouble naming him, though, we all want something different. So I’m asking for recommendations. What would you name him? Comment and let me know.

So, since we kept the crate and leash from the last try, I guess we’ll try again. He is awfully cute. And he seems to be quiet, which is probably why we prefer cats.

Oh, yeah, the cats. Boy are they pissed!

Youth Envy – Aging is a Law of the Universe

Why do so many ads promote being or staying young? Youthful appearance, energy, styles of dress, music, reading material, you name it? Why have cosmetic surgeries for face lifts, eye lifts, chin lifts increased through the last couple of decades?  Some surgeries have been so extreme as to make the patient nearly unrecognizable afterward.  Have you ever counted the numbers of ‘age-defying’ creams, lotions, gells, wrinkle creams, wrinkle covering cosmetics? How about hair color – it MUST cover the gray, right? And for men, covering the gray makes you appear capable instead of over-the-hill. But aging is an inevitable part of life; so why do we fight it so?

Craig Ferguson may have hit the nail on the head. See what you think?