Just too nice outside

It was 60 degrees here today, which is pretty awesome for November in Michigan. I've been getting a headache from staring at the computer screen too much this past week and it was too gorgeous to be inside. So I took my notebook outside, sat on the porch next to my dog and wrote part of my short story. It's always hard to say how much I got done since long hand and computer typing is quite different when you're counting pages but I got something done. Now I just have to take the time to type what I wrote.
I just got done reading a short story that my friend wrote and now I'm thinking over what I read. I'll probably reread it again tomorrow and then write down my thoughts.
Right now, I'm getting ready to watch Castle. The awesome TV show about a murder mystery writer.
Then it will probably be off to bed. I'll read first and I think tonight I'll finish the book I'm reading.

Two Become One

Yesterday, I met with a friend of mine, who also happens to be a writer. We talked about many things such as finishing what we started, finding time to write and the list goes on. It was a really good conversation and we're going to try to meet more often either to talk about writing, submitting and our work. I think it will be very productive.

One of the other things we talked about was this blog and my livejournal. I have both and I have always kept them separate. I started this blog first about my writing and later started the livejournal so that I could friend my friends. The livejournal has always just been personal posts. Occasionally, I have posted the same stuff both places. I've often wondered what would be the easiest way to get people who read the livejournal to read blogger and people who read blogger to read my livejournal. And not everyone has both so if they follow me on blogspot or livejournal they may never get the other one. I've tried links but that's still a hassle. I thought about giving one up but either way it would be inconvenient for one set of "friends."
After talking about it I'll keep them both but start posting the same thing on each. I mostly post about writing anyway and have seriously neglected the livejournal. I think there was a whole year on livejournal where I posted maybe five times so I'm clearly not writing many personal things that don't link to writing somehow. So now Ink On Paper and Babbling On are the same. I might change them to the same name. I haven't decided which one or maybe just a new name altogether. I also have to decide whether or not to transfer posts from one to the other. Lots to think about but for now I post the same thing on both. So no need to click the link anymore. I'll try it for awhile and we'll see how it goes.

Also, our conversation also came around to Castle the awesome TV show I recently posted about (ABC Monday nights @ 10pm). The book that the character wrote is a real book on the New York Times Bestseller List. I saw the advertisement for it and thought it was a fake to promote the show but it's a real book. How cool is that?

Making it "fair"

I'm converting my old comic book story, Incognito, into prose and have been giving it to my writing group for suggestions. I just finished rewriting the last scene of what would have been issue one and now I'm onto issue two. And I have to say that I absolutely hate what I wrote. There is one scene that makes absolutely no sense to me. I'm not even sure how to fill the void. Maybe I need to read further on to get an idea of what I can do to fix it but I feel like I put my character into a dangerous situation and got them out too easily.
It's kind of like in Stephen King's Misery, when Annie says the way he brings Misery back to life isn't realistic or fair. It's kind of like that, except not as extreme. I'm not trying to bring some back to life or rescue someone from going over a cliff in car. I'm really just trying to get someone, undercover as a prostitute, out of a room before they actually have to get to work. Right now, she sneaks into the bathroom and calls in a bomb threat but realistically how long would it take the cops to get there? And everyone still sees her leaving the building, which I want people to see her but I don't want it be that obvious. I'm just not sure it's the best way to get what I want in the story. But on the other hand I do want her to seem like an amateur at crime fighting so maybe that is why originally wrote such a sloppy and poorly planned escape?

Thank goodness writing group decided to postpone a week other wise I'd only have two pages to take. And if I can't break through this funk I will only have two pages to take on Sunday.
I'll work on it for a few more minutes tonight but then I must be off. Pam and Jim are getting married on the Office tonight. I can't miss it!

"...they simultaneously murdered the English language."

Last week I watched the season premiere of Castle, a show on ABC. This is it's second season and unfortunately, I didn't catch any of those episodes. I have to say that I really like this show. It's really funny and interesting.
The idea is that a famous novelist is doing research for books by following around a NYC homicide detective. This famous writer, Castle is played by Nathan Fillion formerly known as Captain Malcolm Reynolds in the TV series, Firefly, and movie, Serenity. He manages to bring humor to serious characters and he was just absolutely funny in Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog.
Castle is an interesting character. He's cocky as a writer but also actually good at the detective work.
In last night's episode he obsessed about a murderer who used improper grammar while writing on a dead body. And while the NYPD are wearing bullet proof vests that say "POLICE" his vest says "WRITER".
It's a good show but I can tell that it's not going to be one of those mainstream hits like CSI and I worry that it will be canceled prematurely. However, it made it to a second season so I'll continue to watch. Hopefully, I'll have more good things to say and maybe get a chance to watch the season one episodes.

The post is in the comments

It's snowing. And it's pretty snow. Not that heavy wet snow that soon turns into cold, gross mounds of yuck.
I am so in the Christmas spirit and I keep feeling like Christmas is tomorrow but it's not even December yet. YAY!
I still need to get lights and decorate my tree. Tomorrow night is when I expect to get that done.
Tonight is t.v. night. I'm going to watch Chuck and Heroes.
And that's about all I have to post about. To be fair though, I think the comment I left in reply to Jenni's comment on my last post, was long enough to qualify as a post on it's own.
That's my way of saying that I'm slacking off tonight.

Finally another meeting

We actually managed to have a writing group meeting today. I was the only one that brought work so it was kind of an all about me meeting but we also got a chance to talk about how we could have future meetings more regularly. It seems we're going to try once a month meetings and see how that goes since the 'we'll see' week by week thing isn't going too well.

I got some good feedback on the first half of my story and everyone is anxious for the next part so I guess that's a good thing.

Other than that not much is going on. Today was filled with problems and drama between work and family. I was lucky to make it to the meeting. And I really didn't think I would get a post up at all today but I guess I'll make it just in time.

Oh and in case you come across this page looking for the Family Guy, Stewie to Bryan, 'how's that novel comin'?' I have put a link in my side bar that goes directly to the post with that quote since most of my visitors come here looking for it.

T.V. troubles

Tonight is t.v. night. Thursday and Monday are the two days a week that I succumb to the calling of the glowing box with people living in it that sucks the life out of all that are entranced by it, including me. When the t.v. is on I get absolutely nothing done and I get hooked. I cannot walk away. So now I just don't turn it on. It does seem lonely without the chatter of others but the radio fills in the silence and allows for focusing on other things.

I'm in love with the Thursday night comedies on NBC and come to think of it the two shows I watch on Monday are on NBC. And I'm excited they're having a green week, which has been pretty interesting.

I know that soon my t.v. nights may resort to reruns. I don't pretend to know enough about the writers strike to give an educated opinion or even a summary. I haven't been keeping up well on the news lately. I do see that Tina Fey seems to be the person they refer to the most. Probably because she's really the only recognizable t.v. writer and that's due to her acting as well as writing.
I love my regular t.v. schedule and I will be completely annoyed by reruns. I also think that generally people in the entertainment industry are overpaid but if actors and directors are getting there fair percentage then writers should too. Where do you start if there's no writing?

So I'm off to watch 30 Rock. I know some people may not agree but I think Tina Fey is a hilarious writer. And it seems to be rare to find funny women that make it anywhere, not that women aren't funny they just don't seem to get as far in their comedy careers.
But regardless of who starred in Mean Girls it was hysterical and true. I really appreciated the sketches and comedy that were more aimed at women when she wrote for SNL, like the Barbie sketch where they joke about the giant brush and Barbie losing all her shoes. I doubt many guys would understand it.

Well anyway, I hope it gets worked out so the world doesn't go mad from reruns. Although, I'd probably get more done if shows went into reruns. But then again if it was a particularly good episode I'd just watch it anyway so maybe not.

Catching up and slacking off

Sorry I didn't post yesterday, I'm still trying to catch up with everything. Also I'm procrastinating as usual.

One of the things I was wasting time on was checking my sitemeter. I really didn't get a chance to check it while I was computerless. I didn't want to waste my precious few minutes on the library computer by wandering aimless through visits.
Apparently, putting the Family Guy-Stewie to Bryan "How's that novel comin'?" quotes on my blog has gotten me a lot of visitors. All the other sites I've been to have the clip from the show rather than typing out the whole quote. So they end up at my site when they type in random lines from the quote since the video clips are usually just labeled "How's that novel comin'?"

The other cool thing on my site meter was "Scrubs the musical, 'Am I going to be okay?' Rent"
I was excited to find that I was not the only person who thought that one or more of the songs on the Scrubs musical episode sounded similar to RENT songs.

What fills the time when you don't have a computer?

My computer is still nonexistent but I did discover that the library computers have a USB port on the front so I can use my flash drive without having to climb over/around the computer like a weirdo. I already feel awkward enough with the loud clicky keyboards. Anyway, that means that I can write blog posts and long e-mails at work then post or send them once I get to the library.

I have been working on writing but not as much as I thought I would be now that the computer has been down. Of course, it doesn’t help that it’s the new fall season on TV. I know that’s absolutely no excuse not to get any writing done. However, I only have Mondays and Thursdays as must see TV. I watched that new show Chuck which wasn’t too bad and Heroes of course. Then Thursday I watched the Office. 30 Rock and Scrubs will be on soon too.
Although, I think I'm done with CSI. I was disappointed that the season finale was nearly identical to the season finale when Nick(Sara this time around) got kidnapped by someone who felt like CSI had wronged a loved one. Then CSI races to find Nick/Sara just before they die.
Other than too much TV, I have been reading. One of my livejournal friends who’s a writer that I don’t actually know, was talking about a series of books by Megan McCafferty. I checked out the first one, Sloppy First, while I was at the library.
Even though they’re young adult books I still liked it. The main character’s best friend moves away and she feels like she has no one to talk to. They keep in touch through e-mails that have funny endings. Like instead of ‘sincerely’ they say weird stuff. I wish I hadn’t returned the book already because now I can’t remember any of them. Anyway, this reminded me so much of Jenni and I. She moved away and I miss her. We still keep in touch with e-mails that we end in ways that usually involve a shoe something and something else like, hugs and heel grips. Sure we’re weird but apparently so are these fictional teenage characters so that must mean we’re not that odd. Right?
Also for a Christmas present this girl makes her friend a mix tape. We all know how I feel about those. And she loves Captain Crunch, which could be the awesomest cereal of all time.
The book also had a good point about perspective. How people who have experienced bad things in their lives don’t worry about the small things being bad because they realize that it could be much worse. And the main character wanted to get the huge bad things out of the way so she could enjoy the small bad things for the rest of her life.
I'll probably read the next one eventually.

And thanks for voting in the poll to name my novel. I know Going It Alone won but now I feel bad that I can't name it what everyone voted for. Couldn't people just all vote for the same one? Well, no matter what you voted for, thanks for voting. Getting more than one vote made me feel very honored.

Somethings Take Time After Time

Sometimes I don't get things right away. Movies don't make sense to me or they're not funny. Songs annoy me. Then just out of nowhere one day, I get it. I understand what they were trying to say, I find what it means to me or I realize I just wasn't in the right mood when I first encountered it.
When I first saw the movie Napoleon Dynamite I felt disappointed. To me it wasn't the movie everyone had made it out to be. Then when I had to watch it again I thought it was funny. Maybe because the second time around I wasn't expecting much.
The t.v show Scrubs use to be annoying to me. Of course, I think I was jaded from the beginning because someone I didn't particularly care for loved the show. Maybe I never gave it a fair chance but the more I watched it the more I liked it.
This happens with books too. The first book in the Stephen King Dark Tower series, The Gunslinger, I didn't like it all that much. I think mostly I didn't like that there were so few characters. It seemed a lonely book and I didn't like the choices the Gunslinger made. I forced myself to read the next book because the thought of not completing the series drove me nuts. The next book introduced more characters and the Gunslinger was no longer alone. I started to like it more. Later on I reread the first one, knowing where it was going and while it wasn't my favorite in the series, it made more sense to me.
And would you believe it if I said the first time I saw RENT I loved it but I didn't truly get it? It was a musical and I'm a sucker for those. It was entertaining and I enjoyed it. Then the music got stuck in my head so I finally bought the soundtrack. I started really listening to it and that's when I really felt connected to it.

What got me thinking about all of this? When I was about three years old I ran around singing Cyndi Lauper songs like a maniac. One of her songs, Time After Time, had a significant place in my heart due to an incident when I got lost in a store and thought that if I looked I would find Cyndi and was mad when I ended up finding my parents. Other than that I really had no reason to like the song. It's a good song but I really had no reason that it meant anything to me. A few days ago Jenni wrote me an e-mail where she was trying to put a really difficult decision I had to make into perspective for me and as I was reading her explanation it hit me. For some reason the words to that song popped in my head and I finally understood what the song meant, at least to me, and it kind of helped me figure out my problem.

This whole post probably seems like a really odd thing to write about. I guess one of the reasons that I felt like mentioning it was because it got me thinking. Sometimes things come to people at the wrong time when they're not ready for it yet. They won't like it or understand it for some reason or another but that doesn't mean that all is lost. It doesn't mean that they won't ever like it or understand it but some people need time to think it over and somethings need time to become truly appreciated.
I'm trying to apply this philosophy to my work. Maybe it's not all bad. I'm sure some of it might be. Everyone flops sometime but maybe my work just hasn't been on the right desk at the right moment. The editor might have just been in the wrong mood or maybe they didn't give it a chance for some reason or another. Or maybe it was just a bad story.

And this post may seem kind of odd, like I'm grasping for it to have something to do with writing. That could be because I am having a really rough time with a complicated situation. I wanted to talk about it but I didn't want to share all the details with the entire world. So this is how I ended up mentioning it on a blog about writing.

"Sometimes you picture me, I'm walking too far ahead. You're calling to me, I can't hear what you've said. You say 'go slow', I fall behind..." -Time After Time

Writer's quiz

Dancing with the Stars is now over. I thought Laila, Joey and Apollo were all awesome from the beginning so I didn't care who won as long as they were the final three.

Since I spent tonight, my final night since the season finales are over, glued to the television here's a little writer survey that I found and saved in case there was ever a day or two when I didn't have a lot of time to write a post.

1. Do you outline?

Yes, most of the time. Occasionally I do just go on a whim and sometimes I write an outline but don't stick to it at all. I mostly do it because my mind works faster than I type and I think if I write down general notes, like an outline, I won't forget anything.

2. Do you write straight through a book, or do you sometimes tackle the scenes out of order?

I've always written straight through.

3. Do you prefer writing with a pen or using a computer?

I prefer writing with a pen but I hate having to type it in again later. Although, it is a good way to reread and edit what I've already written.

4. Do you prefer writing in first person or third?

Most of the stuff I've written is in third person. I did do something in second person once and it's my only short story to get published in an actual literary magazine.

5. Do you listen to music while you write? If so, do you create a play list, listen randomly, or pick a single song that fits the book?

YES! I always listen to music when I'm writing. Sometimes I pick just one song that fits the book. Other times I pick a few CD's that work. I don't really make a play list though. I don't have the technology to do so unless I want to get up every four minutes and put a new song on, which significantly cuts down on writing time.

6. How do you come up with the perfect names for your characters?

Sometimes I think of names that are similar to the people the characters are inspired by. Not necessarily names that sound or are spelled similar but names that have the same characteristics like short, rare, common, simple.

If I'm writing at work sometimes I use the names of shoes or shoe companies.

7. When you’re writing, do you ever imagine your book as a television show or movie?

Not necessarily that it would get made into one of them but I picture them in my head as if they were one and then I write what I see.

8. Have you ever had a character insist on doing something you really didn’t want him/her to do?

If you count being boring, yes. Otherwise I can't really say that has happened to me.

9. Do you know how a book is going to end when you start it?

Sometimes. Both of my Nano novels, I knew how they would end. Jenni and I kind of had a general idea when it came to Behind the Naugahyde but we've come up with more and more as we go. The novel I'm working on now I have no clue which makes it even more scary.

10. Where do you write?

Usually in my office. Sometimes I write at work. Other times I write at the library or a coffee shop if it's too hot and I need some free air conditioning.

11. What do you do when you get writer’s block?

I go for a walk, watch T.V or a movie, read, listen to music. I do anything but write and hope that something pops in my head.

12. What size increments do you write in (either in terms of word count, or as a percentage of the book as a whole)?

As much as I can at once. I don't usually get the luxury of writing for as long as I want.

13. How many different drafts did you write for your last project?

My last project would be my last Nano novel and so far I've only written one.

14. Have you ever changed a character’s name midway through a draft?

In Behind the Naugahyde, Jenni and I decided on a name for a character. Then I realized half way through that I had been using the wrong name. And there were a few times I changed names on purpose either because I had already used them or they just didn't seem to fit anymore.

15. Do you let anyone read your book while you’re working on it, or do you wait until you’ve completed a draft before letting someone else see it?

I usually wait until it's finished but there was one exception. It didn't really go like I thought it would so I doubt I'd do it again.

16. What do you do to celebrate when you finish a draft?

Announce it on my blog!

17. One project at a time, or multiple projects at once?

I try to focus on one project at a time but occasionally, when I'm having writer's block or procrastinating, I'll work on something else for bit. Usually just editing.

18. Do your books grow or shrink in revision?

I have yet to fully revise a book so it's hard to say.

19. Do you have any writing or critique partners?

Jenni is my writing partner and has often critiqued my work as well.

20. Do you prefer drafting or revising?

I've always done revisions.

So there's a little more insight to my writing technique. I hope no one got hurt when they jumped out of their chair from the excitement.

Heroes is over and the Harry Potter schedule is soon to begin.

Yes, I should not have been neglecting writing to watch t.v. again tonight but it was the Heroes season finale. I'm so sad it's over for now. Of course since it's going to be back next season they didn't wrap everything up but the big stuff got answered. I'm satisfied.
So now that every show I usually watch on a regular basis has had their season finales, except Dancing with the Stars which is tomorrow, I will no longer be sidetracked by t.v. Of course, now we're getting into the summer movie season so I'll probably be a the movies a lot, paycheck permitting.
Then there's Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows coming out. Am I the only one that has a schedule made to read each of the previous books before the last one comes out?

Tentatively it goes like this:

June 10-16 The Sorcerer's Stone
June 17-23 The Chamber of Secrets
June 24-30 The Prisoner of Azkaban
July 1-7 The Goblet of Fire
July 8-14 The Order of the Phoenix (the movie comes out the 13th)
July 15- 20 The Half-Blood Prince
July 21 The Deathly Hallows ( and yes I will read it all in one day)

It usually doesn't take a week for me to read a book especially if work continues to be super slow. I just like to factor in things that may come up and I'm the maid-of-honor in a wedding on July 4 so I imagine the wedding and wedding related things will mess up my schedule a bit.

Comments, non-readers and animated t.v. show season finales featuring politics. That's if you're still awake after reading this title.

Wow! When I checked my e-mail this morning my mail box was full of blog comments. It's nice to know someone is reading.

Not that I'm being a whiner about not having any blog readers but I realized today that Jenni is the only person that I didn't meet through this blog that actually reads this blog. That means all my other family, friends, acquaintances, and co-workers don't read my blog. Can you feel the love? I'm sure a few have stopped by before but none of them have returned.

Well enough whining. I must admit that I took time off from writing to watch the Simpsons 400th episode and the Family Guy season finale.
First may I say that the alternative world in Family Guy where Lois marries Quagmire is awesome!
Second, I was almost disappointed with the Simpsons until Lisa asked the question I've being wondering about for quite some time. How can FOX be the channel known for airing controversial shows like Married with Children and Family Guy, yet FOX News is known for being the most conservative news? And they actually answered it.
Since the things I liked about both shows were rather political, I'm not going to give more detail because I don't like to discuss politics on my writing blog. But if anyone reading doesn't usually watch the shows, *cough* Jenni, then I can fill you in later.

"How you comin' on that novel?"

I was reminded once again, when I got my second questionnaire the other day, that I have no choice but to write this book. Both surveys that I received have come with that wonderful note that has sealed the fate of this book. "I can't wait to read it." It must be written or I will disappoint people. I know maybe they don't care enough to be disappointed in me but I don't want to be that person that everyone comes up to for the next five years and ask, " So how's that novel coming?" That means the pressure is on.
It's bad enough that I have a co-worker, who has the ability to quote just about every movie and T.V. show she's ever seen, is amazing at doing the voices of just about every character, and who also happens to be a huge Family Guy fan. Anyway, she knows Jenni and I are working on Behind the Naugahyde so she comes up to me all the time and says:

"How you uh, how you comin' on that novel you're working on? Huh? Gotta a big, uh, big stack of papers there? Gotta, gotta nice little story you're working on there? Your big novel you've been working on for 3 years? Huh? Gotta, gotta compelling protagonist? Yeah? Gotta obstacle for him to overcome? Huh? Gotta story brewing there? Working on, working on that for quite some time? Huh? Yea, talking about that 3 years ago. Been working on that the whole time? Nice little narrative? Beginning, middle, and end? Some friends become enemies, some enemies become friends? At the end your main character is richer from the experience? Yeah? Yeah? No, no, you deserve some time off."

or

" Oh I know it hurts now, but look at the bright side: you have some new material for that novel you've been writing. You know...the novel you've been workin' on? You know the the one, uh, you've been workin on for three years? You know the novel. Got somethin' new to write about now. You know? Maybe a, maybe a main character gets into a relationship and suffers a little heartbreak? Somethin' like what... what you've just been through? Draw from real life experience? Little, little heartbreak? You know? Work it into the story? Make the characters a little more three dimensional? Little, uh, richer experience for the reader? Make those second hundred pages really keep the reader guessing what's going to happen? Some twists and turns? A little epilogue? Everybody learns that the hero's journey isn't always a happy one? Oh, I look forward to reading it. "

- Stewie to Brian from "Family Guy"

I definitely don't want to keep hearing that. Although, I'm not sure which is worse "How's that novel coming?" or "Your book sucked!"

Suspense, ridiculousness and crazy brides. Sounds like it would make a good story but no, it's just a boring blog post.

Goodness, am I the only one on the edge of my seat waiting for the final two episodes of Heroes? I'm not sure if I can take this new T.V. show format where the whole season is one giant episode that is 'to be continued...'. Sure it allows for a huge epic story that would be way too long for a movie but the suspense kills me. The only thing worse than waiting a whole season to find out what happens is the years that have been waited to find out what happens to Harry Potter. It's madness.

Anyway, I worked on submissions this weekend until my computer ran out of ink. I'm thinking of taking them to work and doing them there since my boss just recently gave me a speech on how my efforts to conserve things for the company, such as paper, were completely pointless. I know those things add up but he doesn't care. He once told Jenni "if a nickel fell out of my pocket every day, I wouldn't care." So I really don't think he can or will be mad that I'm using company time and supplies to work on my writing. Not that he'd ever notice. But enough about work because I need to save the ridiculousness in my 'Behind the Naugahyde-possibilities' folder.

Nothing else really exciting going on. Although I have been involved in and reading blogs about insane pre-wedding functions/weddings and the brides that plan them. I'm not sure what really to do with all the craziness but I feel a story bursting out. I'll just have to figure out what kind of story.

Literary magaiznes>bad reality T.V.

I finally got my September 2006 issue of Writer's Post Journal! YAY! There was a small typo in my story but it was my fault so I'll just have to live with it. I suppose there could be more than one typo. Maybe I just didn't notice.
My story wasn't the only one with a typo so that made me feel slightly better. Not that I want to feel better from others misfortunes. Maybe the editor should of caught theses things but I'm not going to be picky because they published me and I know running an independent literary magazine is tough.
Lately I've been getting a lot of letters from companies I submitted to saying they are going out of business. While I am a little annoyed that my precious stamps were wasted I'm more sad than anything. It's hard for these literary magazines to keep running. Everyone wants their story published but no many are buying. I know a lot of writer's don't have the extra money. I try to buy as many different ones as I can but I can't really afford it either.
It just seems that in general the only people reading literary magazines are the writers. It's good to support others but I just want to live in a dream world where people chose to read over watching bad reality T.V. shows.
Sorry about the rant.

Bye "That 70's Show"!

I would just like to say good-bye to one of my favorite TV shows. The first one I've watched from the beginning to the end. It was hilarious and, I know this sounds wrong since it is a sitcom but, the characters were inspiring, especially when I was in high school. I'll miss you 'That 70's show'!