Baby Steps

Slow down and everything you are chasing will come around and catch you. ~John De Paola

Yesterday was obscenely busy. Just plain crazy. We started a new promo in LASR/WC for Easter, and I got slammed with emails (which is good... but not, yanno?), we were all running out of socks and undies, so laundry was a must-do (six loads... yeah, it had been a while), the dog needed her food made (chop, chop, cook, cook, grind, grind), we had books due at the library, I had no cheese for what I had planned for dinner (drive, drive).

I ran flat out all day long.

Dinner, though, should be getting easier soon for two reasons. First, I'm doubling everything and making one pan for the freezer on anything I can (last night I made enchiladas -- one for us, one for the freezer), so I'll have things I can just pull out on nights that are crazy (like my agility nights where I lose a good four hours). Second, I'm having DD work with me every time I cook now in the hope that she'll eventually be able to take over cooking at least a couple nights a week (she can already do the simpler stuff like stew and spaghetti). She may not like that idea so much (yesterday ... after I washed and she dried/put away three sets of dishes, and then I told her she was helping me cook, she said, "Do I get paid for this?" and I replied, "Yeah: room and board."), but it's all part of growing up, IMHO.

During the time I was sending out about 100 email responses for the promo yesterday, my brain was working on my story. I just let it drift and kept a pad of paper beside the computer to scribble ideas. I had a few that will be so much fun to write... my favorite thing about writing romance that's a little nuts is that I can do just about anything and it's okay (like my character in "One Love for Liv" who is trying to break a Guinness World Record).

I still have obscene amounts of work to do, but that's okay. I took advice from Kris Kringle yesterday (couldn't find the original clip, but this works):



So, I'm off to put one foot in front of the other...

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You Are Sleepy

You are an easy-going, relaxed person. You don't have a care in the world, and you find it easy to nod off anytime. People enjoy being around you. You are a complete natural, and you always act however you feel. Despite what people may think, you don't have a lazy bone in your body. You are a very hard worker. When work needs to be done, you'll work your hardest. That's why you're so sleepy at the end of the day!

Which of the Seven Dwarfs Are You?

Uh... that first part? SO not right...

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Brainstorming

"I never make [my books]: they grow; they come to me and insist on being written." -- Samuel Butler

I've come to the conclusion that nothing is better for writing than sitting around with a friend and talking about it. Okay, maybe actually putting pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) is better, but talking comes in a really close second.

Yesterday, I was chatting via IM with a friend and the subject of dancing came up... we'd been talking about music, and I sent her a YouTube link to some big band ("In the Mood" by Glenn Miller, if you're interested) and said, "I used to dance to that." She was surprised, and mentioned that her husband considered it an affront to his manhood whenever she mentioned dancing (real dancing, yanno, with steps and stuff *G*). I told her that I thought dancing was sexy. She said I should write a seduction-type scene in a book that used dancing.

Et voila!

In my sequel to "One Love For Liv", I have the perfect, perfect place to do just that. And it's one of the scenes coming up shortly. What a great way for my H/H to really become aware of one another! Right now, they're really just acquaintances, not even exactly friends... though on the way to that. But a dance, one short three-minute dance, could really change things between them.

What a fabulous idea!

And I owe it all to a chat that started with my friend quoting a song (Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy) that gave me an earworm that caused me to find the YouTube video that listed "In the Mood" as related that led to our conversation.

Fate. Kismet. Whatever.

And they wonder where authors get their ideas.... they are freakin' EVERYWHERE.

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Next time it's snowing outside and I take out the dog to go potty, I'm taking my camera. She does the funniest thing -- she tries to catch snowflakes. She had me in stitches the last couple of nights (yes, we had some flurries last night) and I have to catch it on film... er...memory card.

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You Are a Cartographer

You have a wide range of knowledge and you're very detail oriented. You have a photographic memory, and you remember places very well. Like a middle ages cartographer, you're also very adventurous and curious about the world. In modern times, you would make a good non-fiction writer or scientist.

What's Your Medieval Profession?

Um... yes on the first paragraph, and a solid NO on the second. Me? A Scientist? You must have mistaken me for my oldest brother...

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Jazzed!

"Anyone can dabble, but once you've made that commitment, your blood has that particular thing in it, and it's very hard for people to stop you." — Bill Cosby

"The most powerful weapon on earth is the human soul on fire." — Field Marshal Ferdinand Foch

Last night I started thinking--really thinking--about the story WW rejected that I wanted to lengthen into a novel. I opened up my Character Interview and started... I didn't get far with my heroine, Lynette. But my hero, Calvin? He was gabby. He talked and talked and talked. He's a HOOT. I love him. I suppose I should love all of my heroes, but I really think Cal is going to weasel his way into first place in my heart.

And then, scene ideas started pouring in. And I got both of them gainfully employed (the heroine's job really surprised me!) and decided that my wobbly kitty from yesterday deserved a spot in the story. So, Cal now has a kitty named Weeble. The ideas wouldn't stop, so I grabbed a notepad and sat in bed writing, and writing, and writing. I even got the Darkest Moment (for me, this is always the cause of The Break-Up).

The short story was entitled "Perilous Love", and I'll keep that as a working title, but I don't love it for the story itself. I'm going to do more brainstorming -- I want to get a rough outline (dear heavens... I never outline, but for some reason this story is asking me to make one). I want to make sure I have plenty of scenes (I usually only start with 15 or so... I'd like to have at least twice that) before I start. Because, when I start writing, I don't want to stop.

Yes, I'm excited.

Woot.

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RE: All the questions about Dakota from yesterday...

I have my fingers crossed that the probiotics are working. I kept her on the icky food and the meds for a few days, then starting introducing new, better food to her (1/3 new food to 2/3 old food). It didn't seem to upset her tummy. So, I gave her what was left of her treat ball (I LOVE THESE -- They keep her busy for hours), and that didn't seem to give her the runs (as an aside, I had an IM to Judy yesterday that read: Is it wrong to get so excited that my dog has solid poop?).

Unfortunately, I'd only purchased a small bag of the new food, and when I went to buy more, I found that it's a really hard line to find. It's Wellness, which I love and recommend to anyone who will listen, but this particular kind -- I'm using venison and brown rice--tough. So, I've opted to switch to something I can find almost anywhere: Nutro Natural choice Venison and Brown Rice. She started on it yesterday (still mixed with her old, icky food), and is tolerating it so far.

Bored yet?

Amy asked if Dakota is quieting down at all. Not really. We're just making sure we keep her as active as possible. DD takes the dog outside at least 2 times a day to go sledding for 30 mins or more. And, considering Dakota runs the trail twice for DD's once, she gets a lot of running in. BUT, on the days where she doesn't get that kind of activity? She still knows how to get into plenty of trouble. My darling dog, Bailey, didn't really start to calm down until she was three, so I'm pinning my hopes on 9/22/10.

RE: Agility Class. If you want to see some dogs who are really good at agility, Animal Planet is showing the AKC Agility Championships tonight at 8 p.m. On my TiVo, it just showed up as "dog show". I tried searching by name, but ended up browsing by channel to find it. It's so much fun to watch. I recommend it.

Hopefully, someday Dd will be that good. We have plans to invest in agility equipment for spring/summer/fall. I think it will be good for all of us -- I'm as tired as she is when we're done with class!

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You Are a Calculator

No matter what someone tells you, you're likely to focus on facts and data. You're a highly analytic person. You are only concerned with what you can know for sure. You look at situations objectively, and you have no problem approaching problems from multiple angles. You would make a good analyst or investment banker. You are confident enough to make tough calls and hard decisions.

What Office Supply Are You?

AnalyticAL, yes. Any job requiring math? No...

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Stuck with ME

No problem can withstand the assault of sustained thinking. ~Voltaire

No guest blogger today... y'all are stuck with me.

I spent the day, yesterday, doing brainless but necessary work for LASR and contemplating a short story I had begun quite some time ago. In it, I have a heroine who has a mysterious something that demands her attention after work everyday and ... when I started writing it, I had no idea what that was. Yesterday, I sat and wondered what had happened to Millie and Paul from "Miles From You" -- they've been on my brain because Womans World still has my "Perilous Love" story and the last time they had once this long, it had gotten all the way to Johnene Granger before being rejected (with handwritten comments, which I treasured, lol). That story eventually became "Miles From You".

The brain is a funny thing, isn't it?

In any case, and for whatever reason my very odd brain smooshed both thought together and now I know what my heroine from the short story does every afternoon -- it involves her parents, Millie and Paul! LOL...

Now, to find the time to finish writing it. I really like the hero in the story -- he's sweet, but geeky and unsure. I can't recall writing a sweet, geeky and unsure hero before.

So... one more to add to JaNoWriMo?

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Hey, folks... yesterday Ceri asked a question in the LASR Yahoo group that didn't get an answer, and I thought I'd ask it here, because I'd like to know, too!

She asked:

On their guidelines page they list what to send (cover letter, synopsis, first three chapters) but further down the page it says that we can send an email query to the proper editor.

Which is the best way to submit? I didn't seen any addresses to physically mail anything, so I'm wondering if the email is the preferred method.

Does anyone know?

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We did "quirky things" yesterday in the LASR group and it got me to watching stuff around me. Dakota is VERY quirky... lol. Her biggest quirk is this: She always takes the first mouthful of food away from the dish to eat it. She'll go over, fill her mouth up and run to the stairs, spit it out and eat it one piece at a time. Then, and only then, will she go back and eat the entire thing.

And my cat's feet are ticklish, so I love to go and stick a finger in the middle of her pads and wiggle... her entire foot flexes. She'll let me do that once or twice before smacking me in annoyance, lol. I'm the only one who can do it even that many times, though.

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Isn't it amazing how warm 40 degrees feels in the winter? I have my screen door open!! LOL...

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You Should Be a Puppeteer

You are an entertainer - pure and simple. You know how to engage an audience. You are a natural storyteller. You are naturally dramatic, even when life doesn't call for drama. Luckily though, you save most of your drama for your stellar performances.

What Circus Act Should You Perform?

And, DD got her "drama queen"-ness from me! *G*

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