Bloom like an Artist

I first saw this link on the http://www.jetreidliterary.blogspot.com/ blog and I love it!

http://www.nettserier.no/jellyvampire/1304892000/

Anon,

Nancy

New Year's Resolution

Last year, I only read about two or three books the entire year. Granted, I work two jobs and I did a lot of writing, but that's still pretty dismal. This year, my New Year's Resolution is to read 25 books--a little more than two books a month. Of the 25 books, I plan to focus on reading novels. This includes classics I never read in high school or college; young adult and middle grade books; and books that come highly recommended by friends. I'll blog about each book and what I learned from it. Afterall, books should teach us something right? Stay tuned. First up is a young adult book called The Alchemyst by Michael Scott.

Anon,

Nancy

Having What it Takes

One writer suggests that the two qualities a writer needs are determination and denial. You can read more about it here. Happy NANOWRIMO!

the picture is from this awesome site.

The Bear Cub and the Cougar

Today, I watched this video and it dawned on me that in less than four minutes, it successfully creates a beginning, middle and an end to a very exciting story.

I’ll start with the beginning; you have a young bear cub (our Protaganist), hanging out in his world- just rubbing his backside on the grass. It’s like any other day.

Then enter the Cougar- our Antagonist, hungry for a meal. The Cougar spots the young bear cub before the Bear Cub spots the Cougar. The Cougar, smacks his chops and slowly makes his way toward the Bear Cub- now his prey ( The Inciting Incident). When you think the Bear Cub is in serious peril, he stands up sees the Cougar and tears off running. But he’s small-- his legs aren’t as long and he’s not as fast as the Cougar. He looks back and sees the Cougar gaining on him. He climbs onto a branch that has fallen and is wedged between two cliffs. For a few seconds, the Bear Cub, you think, is going to be okay.

 The Bear Cub gets to the end of the branch and has no way to get to the other side. Meanwhile, the Cougar is heading toward him. The Cougar climbs on the branch just as the branch snaps, the Bear Cub plunges into the water. (Just when you think the Bear Cub is safe, he finds more trouble- the stakes get higher). He escapes the Cougar but now he struggles to keep his head above the water. The Bear Cub grasps part of the branch. He clings to the branch as he’s pulled downstream by the current.

(Thus giving the Bear Cub and you the viewer a false sense that he’s going to be safe). But as he goes downstream with the current, the Cougar follows his path along the river’s edge. The Bear Cub gets to shallow water. As he does, so too does the Cougar. The current carries the Bear Cub to where the Cougar is waiting for him, the Bear Cub swims away with the Cougar close behind.

(The Climax) The Bear Cub climbs up on to jutted rock. The Cougar climbs to one next to him. The Cougar strikes out with his claws and bloodies the Bear Cub’s snout. The Bear Cub roars and you see the Cougar back down and walk away.

(The Denouement)What you don’t see until after the Cougar is out of the frame is that Mama Bear is standing behind the Bear Cub. She’s on her hind legs and is ready to take out the Cougar if necessary- it isn’t. Instead, Mama Bear calls her cub to her. The Bear Cub goes over to his Mama, nestles close to her and she licks his wounds. Exciting stuff.

You can check it out here:
The Bear

Anon,

Nancy

Grammar Lesson

On her awesome blog, Editor Cheryl Klein reviews the proper usage of the semicolon and the comma.
Useful stuff!

Also since this month is Adopt-Shelter-Cat  Month be sure to check out the Itty Bitty Kitty Committee website to see some adorable kittens. While you're there why not donate to a worthy cause?

Anon,

Nancy

Creatures of Habit

Every morning after my shower I find my cat Bailey sitting  at attention on my bed. She’ll let me pet her on the head two times and then she lets out a meow and leaps from her perch and scampers toward the kitchen. This is my cue to feed her breakfast. It happens every morning. On weekends, she does the same thing but she’s come to realize that if I sleep in, there may not be a morning shower to delay her breakfast. She’s a creature of habit that’s for sure.


I’ve realized that I’m a creature of habit when it comes to writing. When I begin a story, I don’t write it down right away, I like to think it through before I put pen to paper. I think about the major plot points to make sure that I have a clear direction and to ensure that I have a beginning, middle and an end to a piece. Once I think it through, I write the story longhand and then type the pages into the computer. I find I edit myself as I type to it gives me an extra revision.

What about you? Anybody out there a creature of habit like Bailey and me?

Anon, (yep another habit I’ve formed)

Nancy

Cats and Writers...

Cats and writers. The two go together like margaritas and tortilla chips on a Friday night. While you certainly don’t need to have a cat to be a writer, it does make the journey less boring. Lots of famous writers obviously agreed because many of them kept cats as companions.

Raymond Chandler referred to his black Persian cat, Taki, as his secretary and even read his work aloud to her. I wonder how she critiqued his work.

While in Key West, Ernest Hemingway apparently made the acquaintance of a ship captain who had a six-toed cat. It’s said that Hemingway became so enamored of the cat that when the captain was to go back out to sea, he gave Hemingway the cat. The result, a generation of 6-toed cats inhabits the grounds of the Hemingway House in Key West, Florida.

Charles Dicken’s cat sat in his study as he wrote and when she wanted his attention, she would snuff out the candle he used to write by.

When Author/Artist Edward Lear moved to Italy, he constructed an identical house to the one he resided in so that he would not traumatize his beloved cat, Foss.

As for me, I can't imagine writing without my feline friends by my side, or by my computer.

Authors like cats because they are such quiet, lovable, wise creatures, and cats like authors for the same reasons. ~ Robertson Davies

"A catless writer is almost inconceivable. It's a perverse taste, really, since it would be easier to write with a herd of buffalo in the room than even one cat; they make nests in the notes and bite the end of the pen and walk on the typewriter keys.” author Barbara Holland

Anon,

Nancy

Every writer should read this..

Last week on the Editorial Ass blog, moonrat posted a great article written by Anthony Chee, author of Edinburgh, about the time he spent studying under the tuteledge of Annie Dillard. She sounds like a tough teacher but she also gave her students some amazing tools to improve their writing. The link to the editorial ass blog is here. http://www.editorialass.blogspot.com/

Go now and read it!

Anon,

Nancy

Setting Goals

I swam competitively for 15 years. I started when I was seven years old and stopped when I completed my last year of eligibility in college. During that time, I spent many early mornings crawling out of bed at the crack of daylight - sometimes before, to head off to the pool for morning practice. All this in the months of December, January and February. The water seems colder that early in the morning. I doubt I could have gotten myself up to the pool on those cold mornings if I hadn't set goals for myself.

At the beginning of every season, I'd figure out what I wanted to achieve for that season and what it would take to get me there. I'd plaster my goal times all over my bedroom and doodle my times in the margins of my notebooks in class. No doubt it was a commitment to those goals that got me out of bed and to the pool when I'd rather be fast asleep dreaming of sandy beaches and young men with margaritas in their hands.

With writing, I now do the same thing. While it's a bit harder to determine the timeline of my goals these days, I still write down my goals and focus my attention on achieving them. Sometimes this means working on the craft of writing; other times it means improving my research techniques. Whatever form they may come in, my goals are still important to my success. They keep me going when I'd rather be doing something else. I know one day they will pay off in the ultimate goal of landing a publishing contract.

Anon,

Nancy

Picture from http://www.wittenberg.edu/ Wittenberg Tigers website

New Blogs

There are a few blogs that I discovered that I think deserve a second look.

Two of the blogs do serve up a healthy dose of snark, so be warned. They are:

http://internspills.blogspot.com/
http://www.therejectionist.com/

Another blog, http://pimpmynovel.blogspot.com/is done by a man by the name of Eric who works in the Sales Department of a major publisher, his blog focuses on what happens after your book is acquired. The blog includes very useful information on the publishing biz. A look inside this mysterious world...

Casey McCormick has been blogging for a while but I only recently discovered her blog, http://www.caseylmccormick.blogspot.com/. On her blog, Literary Rambles, she includes a feature calledAgent Spotlights. The feature includes interviews the agent has given, buzz about the agent and feedback from writers about the agents.

So check them out!

Anon,

Nancy

I'm Not the Lorax...But I speak for the trees

One Friday about a month or so ago, I decided to take the day off of work to write. I was pounding away at my keyboard feverishly working on my manuscript when I heard a whomp, whomp, whomp sound. I didn't think much about it as my neighbors tend to be a bit noisy. Well when the noise continued I looked up from my computer and saw the tree in front of my window shaking side to side. I got up from my chair to get a closer look and saw my downstairs neighbor whacking at the tree with a machete. He gave the tree one more whack and then dragged the tree into his apartment.

Intrigued, I took a closer look at the stump he left behind. It was pretty small and wasn't very wide and didn't seem to be diseased in any way. I wondered what would possess my neighbor to cut down a perfectly good tree and why would he drag it into his apartment? Then I did something that I don't normally do. I ratted him out to the management staff of the apartment complex. I figured they owned the tree afterall- my neighbor was really just renting the darn thing, they should know happened to it.

The apartment manager thanked me for calling (like you would thank a stranger you suspect might be a bit of a loon) and said they would talk to my neighbor. I don't know if anything came of my complaint but none of the other trees surrounding our building have been harmed.

"Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not."
-The Lorax,
Dr. Seuss