Sleeping and the CVoD

I'm not asleep... but that doesn't mean I'm awake. ~Author Unknown

Sundays are the only day I can actually sleep in. It's the only day during the week I don't upload new pages on the LASR/WC site. As a result, I tend to force myself to stay in a reclining position as long as I can.

This morning I finally got up around 6:15 a.m. -- and I am paying for it. I have a headache, I'm groggy, and I really just don't feel right. I need to remind myself to NOT sleep in any more. Blech.

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UPDATE: The Cunning Voles of Doom

Two nights ago, DH saw a vole running down our front walkway and diving under the steps. This is SO bad for a number a reasons. 1. This means they ARE living out front -- and the gardens on either side of the steps are full of nummies for them (LOTS of bulbs, seedum, etc.) 2. DH threw all the little bits of concrete (from the steps he destroyed last year in the great "replace the door" fiasco) underneath the new steps, so there is absolutely no possible way, short of pulling out all the bits, to find the vole hole. This means I can't use the carbon monoxide bomb (or even poison... though that is an absolute last resort that I'm still not sure I'm going to resort to -- I'm giving serious thought to digging up my gardens and planting grass). So, I'm going to have to try live trapping the buggers, and we know how well THAT worked last year.

**sigh**

How can something so small be such an incredible nuisance?

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Daisy Dexter Dobbs has some great advice for aspiring authors. Even published authors can get a nice kick in the pants from it. I highly recommend reading it (I will add a quick disclaimer: she writes erotic romance, so her covers are a big suggestive--though not any more than most romance covers nowadays):

An Addiction that Doesn’t Cause Liver Failure: Advice for Aspiring Writers

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You Are Riding Boots

You are very sophisticated. You have refined tastes, and you don't fall for cheesy trends. You are naturally chic and stylish. You can pull together a great look in no time flat. You don't need a lot of flash or bling in your life. You prefer the glamour of the understated. You treasure wisdom. You are attracted to ideas and things that have stood the test of time.

What Kind of Boots Are You?

Surprisingly, that's mostly correct (sans the "You are sophisticated" part)...

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Pet Peeve #2

The world may be full of fourth-rate writers, but it's also full of fourth-rate readers. - Stan Barstow

Okay... next reading/writing pet peeve: POV breaks, or "head-hopping".

People always throw La Nora out when this comes up, so we'll just get her out of the way right now: love her or hate her, Nora Roberts IS who she is, and can write whatever she wants. Until other authors are as big as Nora, they should (IMHO) play by the POV rule.

I lurked on a group with many editors discussing this very issue once. It was about 50/50 as to whether they'd let authors head hop or not. And, things were typically ambiguous or random, stuff like, "If the POV swaps are smooth, it's okay." or "If it only happens once in a scene, it's okay." Of course, there were some who put their foot down and said: NO HEAD-HOPPING. They were my heroes.

Fact is, IMHO again, POV switches are never smooth. I always notice them. Some bug me less than others, but they don't slip under my POV purist radar.

Additionally, I think that head-hopping is just lazy on the author's part. Sometimes, it's HARD to get something across when you only stay in one character's head in a scene. It's also the reason that choosing your POV character is so important, and why when I'm struggling with a scene, I'll sometimes try to write it from the other character's POV to see if it works better.

And, no matter the argument, I firmly believe that people who DON'T care about POV switches also won't care if an author is a POV purist. BUT -- and this is important!! -- people like me who don't particularly like head-hopping? They're NOT going to like your work if you jump around POVs willy-nilly. They may have bought your work once, but they won't again. What's more, you won't get positive word-of-mouth from them.

I don't know about you, but I prefer to annoy the fewest number of people possible with my writing. I know not everyone will like what I do, but I can make an effort not to push hot buttons that I can avoid.

What do YOU think?

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I have FOUR crocus that should bloom today -- and if the rain holds off this morning, I'll post pictures. Those of you down south are probably snickering at my excitement. After all, YOUR crocus bloomed two months ago. You're probably planting your veggie gardens.

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Gratuitous pet picture -- because Breeann is seldom so undignified. She's only started doing this lately:



I think Dakota is rubbing off on her:



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I Am So There!

I am learning all the time. The tombstone will be my diploma. ~ Eartha Kitt

I already have a seat right in the front row for this... wanna join me? Check it out:

The Wet Noodle Posse had such a great time with their month of Golden Heart prep that they're giving away writing tips … one month at a time.

In addition to book and critique giveaways, join Q&A sessions and read guest blogs from bestselling writers like Sherrilyn Kenyon and Gena Showalter.

Check out the topics!:

>> January-Getting Started (goals, choosing story idea, focus, etc.)
>> February-Character Development (names, physical descriptions, backstory, etc.)
>> March-Plotting
>> April - Conflict
>> May-Research
>> June-Business side of Writing (market, marketing, promotion, etiquette)
>> July-Prepping for Conference (both for national and smaller conferences)
>> August-Inspiration (for stories and for keeping yourself going)
>> September-Writer Health (physical and mental)
>> October-GH Preparation
>> November-Writing Challenges (NaNo, BIAW, etc.)
>> December-Editing/Revisions

Get great information in a fun community! Visit http://wetnoodleposse.blogspot.com/

You can enter to win Barnes and Noble.com gift certificates by posting this news release on your blog or forwarding to a chapter/group e-mail loop or newsletter. To be eligible, e-mail the particulars of your forward/post to jillmonroe @ cox.net (no spaces) and post no later than January 20, 2008. A random drawing will determine the winner(s) of the gift certificates.

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I had another person--Hi, Chris! ((waves))--tell me I made her cry, in a good way, with my story (released yesterday), "Don't Fence Me In". Soon the world will be awash with tears...LOL... have you read it yet? Feel free to post a review of it on your blog and/or over at The Wild Rose Press!

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Your Daily Dakota:



A little doggy/daughter bonding by the wood stove. I have a picture, somewhere, of the DD at about 3 y.o. sitting up against Bailey in front of the stove, reading a book to her. History is repeating itself.

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You Are Very Honest

You tell it like it is, no matter what. Even if the truth hurts, you'll dish it out. And while some may get hurt by your honesty... At least everyone knows where you stand!

How Honest Are You?

LOL... This is a very real problem for me. Don't ever, EVER, ask me if "that" makes you look fat. *G*.

To Take or Not To Take Advice

The true secret of giving advice is, after you have honestly given it, to be perfectly indifferent whether it is taken or not, and never persist in trying to set people right. ~Hannah Whitall Smith

Judy is going to smack me upside the head for talking about this, but I can't stand it. I have to.

A few days ago, someone somewhere (how's THAT for obscure?) posted a question regarding passive voice and adverbs, having been told by her crit group not to use them. In her message, she mentioned that she "didn't care what Stephen King thought", that adverbs were perfectly good parts of speech and she liked to use them. And so, by the way, are words like "was". So what was the problem?

Various people responded, but none really addressed her question. The discussion hared off into what to do with crits -- fix your stuff right away or keep moving forward with your writing, and the whole adverb/passive voice thing got pushed to one side.

So I, despite misgivings and having been kicked in the teeth before, chose to respond to her initial question by using examples of why stronger verbs are better than weak verbs + adverbs ("he whispered" instead of "he spoke softly" for instance). I also tried to show why active voice is better than passive. I linked to several articles about the same, and encouraged her to listen to her crit partners (some of whom are published authors), and to decide whether she was writing only for herself or for the chance to be published. I mentioned that any editor would tell her to tighten her prose if she liberally used adverbs and passive voice in her writing.

I got two responses -- one from her saying (with liberal amounts of sarcasm), "Well, then, I guess I'll never be published then." and one from someone else, quite long, explaining just why the use of passive voice is a better choice than active in some cases.

I should have expected the same. After all, why should she listen to me when she wouldn't listen to Stephen King? And I made a vow to never, ever stick my nose in where it wasn't specifically invited by name. No more comments to general questions.

Still, it's amazing that anyone who is seriously seeking publication (which this person is) would discount the recommendations of others. I'm not talking about me -- but the links I gave her were written by some very well known folks. And, well, there was the King comment.

I simply don't understand.

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It occurred to me, this morning, that I can't post pictures of our trip because you can clearly see the faces of my family. Some time ago, I posted a picture of my DD at her ballet recital, and received some slimy, anonymous comments that gave me the willies. I decided that I would never post identifiable pix of my family on this blog. I'm sorry... but one bad apple and all that...

I could post a picture of DH's boat (he wanted a new one -- because the boat has changed somehow since last years pictures?) or the scenery... but those are dull.

I can post a picture of Otto, though! How's that for a segue into Pillar Place? This was taken on Saturday (and because of how close I needed to get, it's a tad blurry -- which is why I couldn't take them when he was smaller):



Since then, he's probably tripled in size. Tomorrow will be Otto's tenth birthday (ten WHOLE days since he hatched), and he'll be transferred into the butterfly box because they make pupas sometime between ten and fourteen days and his container isn't big enough for when he becomes a butterfly, so he can't pupate in there.

We checked on the outside pillars, and found we'd lost some. DD was distraught and asked if we could bring them in. There were three, and I only had two containers, so one was left outside until Otto moves into the box. If she's still around on Wednesday, we'll grab her. Her name is Nellie. Please, God, let her live...

The other two are named Anne and Andy. I know "Anne" shouldn't have an "e" (they're named for the Raggedy's in case you hadn't picked that up), but I don't like how Ann(e) looks without an e.

Our next swallowtail should hatch on or about Thursday. Then two more a day later. And then a two day break, and the last one.

Raising pillars has been exhausting. I don't know if I'll do it again any time soon. Of course, it's probably like giving birth. Next year, I'll have forgotten what a pain it is!

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I don't think they're asking the right questions...

You're a Gorilla!

Highly social and group-oriented, you like hanging out with the same people constantly. You have either black or gray hair and spend a good deal of time grooming it or getting others to groom it for you. Sleep is a big part of your daily routine and you like to either make very loud noise or no noise at all. You have more skills with language than most, however. One of your absolute favorite drinks is hot cocoa.

Take the Animal Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid.

I am SO not highly social, though I do typically have only one or two good friends that I hang with. NOT groups. Yes, I have dark hair, no I do not spend time grooming it -- what good would it do? My hair is hopeless. I'm good with the language skills and hot cocoa, though. :-)

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DH was off yesterday and goes back to work today. My whole week is going to be messed up because today feels like Monday. Urgh.

Happy Whatever Day!