Puppy News: Puppies are doing great. They are 1 week old today, and I will post pictures in a little bit, but if you want to see what they looked like at birth, check out the previous post. Mama is doing well too, and just over the past 48 hours has begun to want to be a bigger part of the family and come out for short intervals to play with the other dogs and kids. This makes me smile, because she is so different with her puppies this time. Very maternal, and I’m proud of her. Oh, and that puppy over there on the right? Not ours… but I would so do this to my puppies LOL That is so freakin’ cute! They aren’t big enough though.

Christmas News: I am finally finished shopping for my family. I have nothing left to buy for kids and hubby and this makes me smile. We decided to try a “secret santa” exchange between the kids instead of having them all buy stupid stuff for each other, and instead buy one really nice gift for one kid. I am proud of what they bought for their special person. I think this will definitely become a tradition.

Christmas Traditions: Our final Santa parade of 2010 was Sunday, and it was so bittersweet. We had an amazing time this holiday season and reminded us about what the season is about. It gave me little time for shopping but I think that was a good thing. We were so devoted to main street St. Charles every weekend. We have one last event for Christmas Traditions taking place the day after Christmas, but it is a silly and fun day, no parades and not as formal as the others. I will miss it.

Flash Mob: My girls & I joined a St. Louis Flash Mob, and have had a BLAST participating in everything. Unfortunately this past weekend was also the last one of the season, so our weekend was filled with bitter sweetness but we have the most amazing memories for Christmas 2010. LOVE IT! We’ll be mobbing again after the new year with a whole new song and dance.

MFA: I have decided to try and go back to school to earn my MFA (Masters of Fine Arts ) in Creative Writing. However, can I just say that finding programs is DIFFICULT to say the very least. Plus, I have two to choose from in my area (that have cropped up in just the past couple of years) but both are very limited in how many students they take. A total of 12 – 6 for poetry, 6 for fiction. I’m of course going for fiction. (would also like to check out the non-fiction area too). More on this later in another post, because through my research I learned a lot about the programs, and wish to share both my excitement and my frustrations. ha!

So that’s about it for now – will post those puppy pics in a little bit, but for now – you can just “awwwww” at the pics from last week.

I was trying to find different methods to try to see if I could race myself to write more shutting my inner editor up, because she likes to vocalize and be heard all through my writing. It’s annoying. Write or Die is great, but I haven’t really felt compelled to use it this year.

I did however find mytomatoes.com and it has been an interesting tool to use to try to get as much writing done as I can in a short amount of time. I don’t know that there is anything all that special about it, only that for some reason its fun and reminds me a little of the thrill I get when I participate in word wars. I’m notorious for missing word wars and word sprints on twitter, so this works the same way.

The idea is basically teaching you time management by using a cooking timer. Click on the link, load the page, sign in or register and start the time.  As soon as the 25 minutes appears, go write. Write and Write and Write. Don’t stop. Don’t edit. JUST WRITE. Get as many words as you can in that 25 minutes.  For me, I sometimes just need accountability. I also love that you do the task (whatever you WANT to do) for 25 minutes and then you take a 5 minute break. The alarm goes off and you start again. This gives you time for a reward, a potty break, getting coffee or food. When you hear the alarm again – its time to start a new tomato.

I have enjoyed this so far… I can usually get about 2 or 3 tomatoes in (sometimes 4 of 5) before I actually need to get up and do something else for a bit. I love that it gives me the time to do all of this. Check it out. If you need a push, this might be just the thing you need.

So with one week left, where should you be? This is the same information that would be helpful to anyone sitting down to write a novel, whether they have a month or a year.

At this point, you should have a summary, some character development, an outline and the drive to get going.

Your summary does not have to be written out. In my mind, a summary is nothing more than a blurb about what you expect your book to be about. If you don’t know what you are going to be writing, writing might be challenging and you might find yourself stuck after a couple of days and several thousand words. It has happened to me before. At least go in with SOME idea, even if it is just character development sketches.

Your character development doesn’t have to be extreme. Just knowing names, and an idea of the role the character will play in your story, is a good start. You still have a week to push forward and figure out more information. Take a quiz or fill out a character development sheet. These will help. (more on these coming this week).

I have an outline this year. I had one last year. Last year is the first year that I did not struggle to complete my novel in the 30 days. In fact, I finished early. The outline made it easier. Last year I used post it notes and did a timeline of the story. When I got stuck, I looked at what came next, and figured out how to get there. It was a lot easier than staring at a blank white page and figuring out what to type next or where to go with the story. This year, I planned a bit more and did an outline of sorts. The biggest reason I did this, is because I had two story ideas and I didn’t want them to cross each other. I have a huge problem hushing my inner editor and my muse is kinda vocal when I’m writing. I need both to behave, so I thought if I had an outline – something to follow – something that showed me where I wanted the story to go – this might help. I know it did last year. There is still time for you to formulate some kind of outline. It doesn’t have to be complete, or even detailed. Just something to help you write.

My drive to get going is ridiculous. I am itching to write this story. I know I have a good idea, I know it will be easy to write – now I’m ready to write it. This week long stretch into the start of NaNo is always the hardest for me. What about you?

Yesterday, I had a major inspiration moment – I know exactly what I am going to write, an idea that has been formulating in my brain for a long time. I don’t know what changed. I was sitting there by myself at the park watching my kids practice for their fife and drum corp (which has nothing to do with it, btw) and not only did inspiration hit – but I could visualize the whole story in my head. That hasn’t happened in a long time where I can actually see the beginning, the middle and the end. Usually I only have pieces, and I have to figure out how to put them all together when I am writing them. But this time, the only thing I really have to do is connect the dots, so to speak. I have to write the story all the way, but the only stuff I can’t foresee coming, is the stuff that connects the beginning, middle and end. That’s okay. In my opinion, this might be the easiest NaNo I’ve done. And I’m thrilled that the inspiration took hold before September was out, so I have plenty of time to figure it all out.

I usually don’t plan ahead. I write with “literary abandon” as the site suggests and at the end I have a somewhat decent story but that holds lots of plot holes that have to be filled in at the end. This should be different, I hope. This year, I am hoping to have an outline ahead of time, some character sketches (because right now, the characters are still foreign to me, I need to get to know them), and a few minor details in place. Why doesn’t this happen every year?

In the meantime, I plan to do some outlining, research and spend a little time on the forums getting to know new peeps and fleshing out some of the meatier parts of the story. Very excited.

The only thing I don’t like about September? They haven’t wiped the boards clean on NaNo yet, so everything that is posted now, will be deleted around Oct. 1. I know, its not that far away, I can wait.

Have you come up with your idea yet? Are you participating this year?

We all know there is at least one amazing character you wish were here with you. Here’s your chance to let them know!

What better of a way to let them know how we feel, than to send them a love letter.

I know who my crush is, but you’ll have to wait until Wednesday to find out.

From Frankie’s post:

Before you head out to see Eclipse, why not let your underappreciated literary crush know how much you love them. Tell them why they are so cute, adorable, sexy, caring, funny, and awesome that you wish they were real and not just living in some author’s head. And even if they’re not starring in a major movie at the end of this month, we still think they’re all that and a bag of chips.

Anyone can participate by going to Frankie Writes and signing up with the Mr. Linky. And if love letters aren’t your thing, feel free to format it any way you like–but come on, let’s spread the YA Literary Love! You can help out by tweeting, and posting on your blogs and then check back here on Wednesday to see who everyone’s literary crush is!

So are you in? If so hurry over and tell Frankie you’re going to join us! I can’t wait to see what transpires!

First, you have to answer these questions:

1. Adjective that describes you.
2. Something you hate to do.
3. The type of vehicle/model you drive.
4. A person you graduated high school with.
5. Your favorite condiment.
6. The color of the shirt you’re wearing.
7. The name of someone you saw today.
8. Your favorite food.

Now, using your answers write a sentence using all of the words. My answers to the above questions are:

motivated
laundry
Ford Windstar
Cyndi
ranch dressing
red
Jaime
sushi

Cyndi was feeling motivated to scrub the ranch dressing stain off the red shirt in the laundry, but Jaime showed up in her Ford Windstar and begged her to go out for Sushi instead.

That was a lot harder than I thought it would be, and I would NEVER write like that, but it was fun anyway!

I’d love to see your sentences, so feel free to leave a comment.

At first I thought I was just having some trouble with getting inspired due to all the stress, but that isn’t it at all. In fact if anything, I am more inspired than normal to write. I even know what I want to write, but finding the time seems to be the issue.

When I thought it was still a matter of inspiration:

• I tried going back to a former WIP that I hadn’t been working on lately. I wrote 128 words and then I was stuck.
• So, I started a few new stories on my cell phone while sitting in hospital waiting rooms. Collectively I got 734 words. But then I got bored and writing on an iPhone just isn’t all that easy.
• So, I spent some time editing a former nanowrimo project. I trimmed about 5000 words. Then I couldn’t find anymore words I wanted to eliminate so I gave up.
• So, I spent time staring at photographs I use for inspiration. A whole new idea cropped up in my mind, but I have no time to write it.

I really hope life settles down soon so I can get back to what I love.

So here is my version of the writer’s meme. (oh and if you decide to do it, please leave me a comment with a link so I can come visit yours, and if you’ve done it already and you know the link, leave that too. Would love to read your answers.)

What’s the last thing you wrote?
The last thing I wrote, other than a blog entry, was about 500 (take or give a few) words on a current WIP. Yesterday, while spending some time cleaning, I had an inspiration hit and my characters decided to try a new direction. It worked, and I’m on a roll at this point.

Was it any good?
I really think it is. I went back and re-read it again, and sometimes I surprise myself. I think this will be a perfect twist to the story.

What’s the first thing you ever wrote that you still have?
The first thing I wrote, that I still have would probably be my poems. I began writing them at age 6, but the oldest one I can find was when I was 10. I have letters and two essays I wrote in about 2nd or 3rd grade to and about, my mom – I guess those count. When I moved out, my mom got rid of everything in my room – toys, books, clothes, etc. I am so blessed that these were kept around in her desk and she didn’t find them until I was already a mom, and she knew I’d want them back. I also have an awesome portfolio from my 10th grade creative writing class filled with fiction, non-fiction and a few very, very short essays and poems. Very cool to have – its all bound in a folder and I love it.

Write poetry?
I used to, much more than I do now. When inspiration strikes, or I feel especially emotional, sometimes it helps – but more often than not, I turn to writing on my WIPs.

Angsty poetry?
That’s about all I wrote during my teenage years and I have it all. Sometimes it depresses me to go back and read it, sometimes it makes me laugh. I’m glad I have it and wrote it though.

Favorite genre of writing?
My favorite genre of writing is probably YA if I’m writing it. I also am getting into romance, but haven’t ventured too far into the “trashy” side – which are fun to read, so I figured they must be fun to write… right?
For reading purposes my genre’s are wide – I especially like mysteries, crime and general fiction.

Most fun character you ever wrote?
This probably has to be the antagonist in my current YA WIP. Bran Byrne, who is introduced a bit later than normal in the story. I just love him. He’s cute, sensitive and funny, however he has a little streak that is tested time and time again, causing him to get a little out of sorts from his ‘normal’ self. By nature, I am drawn to him because he is a make up of several people I know (both female and male) and he stole my heart from the moment I wrote him on the page. He’s lovable with plenty of endearing flaws.

Most annoying character you ever wrote?
Jacob Strong who winds up being the main male character in a WIP that is almost complete, has wound up being the most annoying. He has traits and personality issues, which make him annoying, but aside from that – he has changed my direction of the story so many times, I find him frustrating and annoying. Plus, he’s too whiny sometimes.

Best plot you’ve ever created?
I don’t even know if I can answer this. I guess it would be my current YA novel, about a girl who’s parents died and she is thrown into a whole new world, living with family she doesn’t know, in a country she hasn’t visited since she was about 5. Her life takes all kinds of twists and turns, and while it is the most original plot, it has been the easiest to write (and the most fun to research!)

Coolest plot twist you’ve ever created?
This is in a WIP I did for NaNo several years ago. It is complete but needs MAJOR editing. The reason it wound up being so cool, is that the book was completely normal woman’s fiction – couple seems happy, husband cheats on wife, wife finds out, they divorce, she moves away to a secluded condo by a lake and begins to restore her life. It was supposed to just be that – a story about overcoming a messy situation and learning to live about it. I wanted to bring a little religion into it, putting her into a small community church where she is welcomed with open arms. This is not where the plot went. As she was going to bed one night, she was closing the curtains and she sees an image down by the lake. I won’t go into more details, but she begins having visions, seeing apparitions, etc. I had to go back and change some stuff in the original plot to make it all work together, but I did not see that going anywhere. Once she took that new direction, the story just flowed – that was definitely cool!

How often do you get writer’s block?
I don’t believe in writer’s block per say. Yes, I know I write about it. Mostly, I see it as a lack of inspiration, writing yourself into a corner, or just a bad day. We all have them. I have them occasionally – once a month or so.

How do you fix it?
When I am having a difficult time, I either pop open a different WIP and either write or revise, go for a walk, take my laptop outside or to the coffee house for a change of scenery, or do a non-stop free write – which is when you just start writing, and write everything that pops into your mind, no matter what. Helps to clear your mind, and you can get the things that you are thinking about down on paper, so you can go back and work on the piece you were stuck on.

Write fan fiction?
Not really, no. I mean, I guess I have borrowed a plot idea from somewhere before, or a character here and there, but I never really fall in love with the story that way. I don’t write actual fan fiction, no.

Ever written romance or angsty teen drama?
Yes. This seems to be where I am at right now. I have done a stint with mystery and crime, then I worked on general woman’s fiction and now I seem to just be caught up in teen drama (probably has nothing to do with the fact that I have 5 kids (11-16) haha. I am just getting interested in romance, but it hasn’t completely pulled me in just yet.

Do you type or write by hand?
I use my laptop(s) for all of my actual writing. Occasionally when inspiration strikes and I’m on the go, I am more apt to pull out my iPod now, rather than pen and paper. I do occasionally jot ideas down on index cards or in a mini-notebook I have with me. I rarely use these though.

Do you save everything you write?
Absolutely. There is no question. Every article, idea, essay, short story, poem, etc. I have since I was about 16.

Do you ever go back to an old idea long after you abandoned it?
I have before, resurrected a storyline, character or plot after they have been abandoned. I don’t do it very often, but I have borrowed dialogue from some abandoned projects and ideas.

What’s your favorite thing that you’ve written?
This is hard. I don’t know that I have a favorite. I love the non-fiction book I have written based on my adoption and search for my birth mother – Dancing with Fireflies. But I am not sure it is my favorite thing ever written. My favorite might be the one I referred to as the coolest plot twist. Or it could be, the one I am working now which takes my character to Ireland to live. I don’t know. I am more apt to love a certain chapter than a whole piece anyway.

What’s everyone else’s favorite thing that you’ve written?
I don’t show most of my work to anyone, unless I am revising and I am worried about a chapter or two flowing together or unless it is absolutely complete. I have a feeling that my current WIP will wind up being a favorite, since the couple of chapters I have passed around, have heard “I want to read more.” more times than not. Usually people’s favorite things are the short stories I wrote in college. I almost always hear “I want to read more about them”. I guess this is good, I am making my characters likable. Right?
I’ve tossed around the idea of taking a few of those short stories and telling the whole story.

What’s your favorite setting for your characters?
Seems to be nature. Lakeside, beach side, creek side, countryside, traveling to another country and visiting landmarks and seeing what nature has to offer. I don’t really know why. I have also noted a theme throughout every single fictional piece – small town. No idea why. I love writing local places into my novels as well.

What’s one genre you have never written, and probably never will?
I strongly believe in ‘Never Say Never’ however… Science Fiction and Fantasy are two genre’s I just don’t see myself delving into very far.

How many writing projects are you working on right now?
Just two fiction novels currently. But I have plenty of WIPs in reserve to finish or edit/revise. If you consider article writing a writing project (I do) then I have two that I devote some time to every week.

Do you want to write for a living?
Absolutely. In ways, I already am. I work at home and my main income is from article writing. I would really rather be devoting ALL time to novel writing, but that will come in time.

Have you ever written something for a magazine or newspaper?
Yes, several local small publications, news magazines and newspapers. I was asked by a national scrapbooking magazine to write a piece, and I turned it down about 5 years ago. I was in an unstable place and trust me, now I kick myself for it.

Have you ever won an award for your writing?
Well, sort of. I have worked for several websites, writing freelance articles. I have won several awards through those sites, based on my content.

Ever written something in script or play format?
I tried Script Frenzy. Wrote something that resembled a script, and realized that script writing is definitely not my thing. I will use the plot for a novel I write later.

What are your five favorite words?
obfuscate, serendipity, inevitable, Sesquipedalian, languor (I have dozens that come very close in competing with these, but these are definitely a few favorites)
I also have a fondness for fun to say location words: Mesopotamia, Guantanamo Bay, Bangladesh, Djibouti, you get the picture. (yes I know I am odd.)

What character that you’ve written most resembles yourself?
Emma Gallagher, who is a new friend of my female protagonist in my current YA WIP. She is probably most like me in her personality and mannerisms. We look nothing alike however. Another character, Claire Devlin from a completely different WIP for women, is by far the one that looks most like me but personality and mannerisms are different.

Where do you get ideas for your other characters?
Most of the time, they just develop over time in my mind. Sometimes I will hear someone say something funny/sarcastic/silly/sad/emotional/etc. and create a whole character based off the one comment and how they react to situations.

Do you ever write based on your dreams?
Not typically, but I have inserted a few storylines that were inspired by dreams.

Do you favor happy endings, sad endings, or cliff-hangers?
It depends on the novel. I have definitely written a few cliff hangers, hoping that the novel would be picked up as a series. However, I definitely tend to favor happy endings, or at least “lesson learned” / “life goes on” / “change is good”, type of endings. I don’t end in a sad ending ever. Save that for in between.

Are you concerned with spelling and grammar as you write?
Not at first, no. I am a bit of a perfectionist though, and when I see a spelling error, I cannot move forward until I fix it. This does save some time during revision though.

Does music help you write?
Always. I put together entire playlists for the WIP I am writing. I am also known to turn the music up so loud it is difficult to even think and write. I have written some amazing stuff that way. I only do that occasionally though.

Quote something you’ve written. The first thing to pop into your mind.
One of my favorite extremely short pieces I wrote completely on a whim, is here. I didn’t even use it in a story. I wrote it to get inside my characters head.

Please leave a link to your own. I am always interested in what others are doing.

This is Oreo. She is still alive and well, and very much the favorite. Can I tell you how happy that she is not the one that went. She is my favorite muse too. But shhh... don't tell the other mice.

The bad news – my muse died. The good news – I have three more.

What am I talking about? Okay, so you can’t say I’m weird (even though I am quite aware that I am, I just don’t want to hear it).

So about 4 months ago, my son caught a wild mouse. Worried about disease, biting and other wild animal ailments, I told him there was no way we were keeping it. He let it go willingly, obviously knowing that I was right. I promised him I would consider buying a mouse, that it might be a good pet. So I researched and it seemed that a pet mouse would be perfect for our family.

The next day, I went to the pet store with my one daughter that was off school for break already, and found the mice. There were three little mice running around in there, and we chose two immediately. Feeling slightly guilty about leaving one in there by herself, we decided to take her too. So the guy scooped all three out of there, and popped them into a box for us. As we were turning to walk away, there was one last little nose poking out of a hideout, and we realized that there was one more in there. Worried about how much work it would be to care for four mice, let alone three mice – I asked the guy what his take was on how they would do together in the cage, would they get along, would it be harder to clean the cage, etc. So fast forward. We brought all four mice home with the reassurance that they would do okay together and that since they were girls they were less territorial. Good.

We’ve had the mice for about four months now, and when we put them in their huge aquarium, we wound up putting it on my writing desk (because there was no other surface). So immediately, I dubbed the little gals, my muses. I would talk to them sometimes when I was writing at the desk and twice I actually wrote them into a piece I was working on. They were quickly acclimated to the noises of a house with five kids and four yappy dogs and loved to be handled – Oreo (pictured above) will crawl right into your hand. Honestly, they have been easy pets, sweet and wonderful and I did not ever think I would own mice as pets – but they really aren’t that hard to care for. I don’t know that I would get four again, but they have been enjoyable.

So this morning, I decided it was cage clean out day. I have been in Spring Cleaning mode for the past couple of days and this just seemed like another thing I needed to do now, and not wait for the weekend. I would imagine you can see where this is going.

We have two aquariums, that we switch between when cleaning the other one. When it’s time to clean the cage, I get the other one ready, soak and then wash off all their toys, fresh food, fresh water in fresh bowls and voila – a brand new home. This way, while I’m busy cleaning their other house, they are busy getting the new clean one all in order (mice are very domestic I tell ‘ya). Call it a vacation home. I don’t know. It just works.

One of the things we do is give them toilet paper rolls, small boxes and other items to create little homes in. This was the advice the pet guy gave us – give them as many separate places to hide, so they don’t feel cramped. Apparently it is to keep any territorial issues at bay. Gotcha. The funny thing is, they typically choose to nestle all together in one place, but still I continue to collect small boxes, toilet paper rolls, paper towel tubes and cleaned out cans and yogurt containers for them to hide in.

This morning, after scooping two of the mice that were happily munching on some food and easy to scoop at that moment and placing them happily in their clean vacation home, I lifted one of the boxes. There, next to a slightly startled mouse (she was sleeping and I wound up waking her up), was a dead mouse.

Ugh!

She hadn’t been dead too long, I won’t go into gory details, but regardless, she was clearly not alive.

I still had one kid at home and not on the bus as I made my discovery. I didn’t want to alarm her, or make her think about it all day, so I simply grabbed an old check book box and placed the “sleeping” mouse inside (after finding something to scoop her out with because I’m not touching her).

I taped it all up, and set it outside on the patio. I even made a little index card ‘plaque’ with her name. Latte. It is waiting for them to all return home at the end of the day, because I know my kids and they will want to bury her. Yes, even my two 15 year olds will feel strongly about that. So I am assuming this afternoon, my muse will have a proper funeral. At least I know my 12 year old will say a prayer and possibly even quote a bible verse (she’s done it for more tadpoles, frogs, and dead birds that I can count since she was about 4). I have strange kids, but they have good hearts.

So alas, one of my muses has died. Is this a sign I’m supposed to read into? And now I am worried about why she died. Did she have a disease that the rest of them could catch? Did she die of natural causes? I have no idea. But to play it safe, I put them in the new cage with ALL new stuff  and will be cleaning everything in bleach water from the old cage. One of the other muses seems a little off, but the other two seem fine. Do mice mourne? Maybe she is just sad?

At any rate, it’s sort of a sad day. I’m kinda of glad we found our baby turtle the other day. That might be our only saving grace from hours of tears tonight. Yes, all over a mouse. And a muse.