I Never Could Get the Hang of Thursdays

Dear wonderful, loyal readers of this blog,

I found out this week that I have too much going on. Usually, that’s not a problem as I can juggle things with rare talent, but if I am under the weather and moving at a slower speed, things fall by the wayside. That is exactly what happened with today’s blog: it hit the floor at about 9:15 last night.

Weight Loss and Clothes

You have been a good writer for the past few months. You have sat at your computer/laptop/word processor/paper and pen/inkwell and quill for several hours every day, but also you have taken breaks every hour. You have stretched, relaxed your eyes, and just in general taken good care of your body. You have found healthy snacks, even if those are harder to find at the supermarket, and have been drinking so much water you thought about moving your desk into the bathroom.

Healthy Ways to Gather

I completely understand the need to get together with friends. My writing/critique group is totally having withdrawal symptoms from lack of contact with each other. And it’s not just the time to write, though it is that in some ways. It’s not just the feedback on our stories, though that’s a decent size chunk. We are missing the hugs, the laughter, the silly jokes, and the fashion show. Honestly, for beginning authors, we have some sharp dressers in the group.

Deep Point of View and How to Write It

The score sheets from the contest I entered have been amazingly helpful as I edit my story. I am willing to try all their suggestions if it will make the story better. One of them suggested that I learn Deep Point of View and write that way. I’m slowly evolving in that direction on my own and run into certain problems with my critiquers.

Killing Off Your Darlings

This advice comes from a very famous writer. Actually, it has been attributed to almost a dozen V.F.A.s but in actuality the first usage was from Arthur Quiller – Couch in a compilation of his Cambridge Lectures. What it boils down to is if you are too pleased by a turn of phrase in your writing, you are better off without it. Honestly.

Character Development

My characters, Adam and Valerie, have been in my life for a long time now. You would think I should know everything about them. I thought I did. Then judges in a contest I entered suggested I work to make them more layered. This isn’t the first time I have been told this. But I see that when the excitement of the plot gets going, I forget to make Valerie self conscious about her weight, or pinpoint Adam’s need to clear his name. Like when you ride in a car going 80mph, it’s hard to pick up details at the side of the highway, or that’s what they tell me. Ahem. But going 15mph, all the details are clearly visible. My task now is to keep the speed up but keep the details in mind.

Stay Uncluttered

Let’s assume, unlike me, that you have finished uncluttering your house and yard and garage. The next task is to keep it that way. If you are a hoarder, this will have been a monumental task and keeping it clean will also be huge. If you are a normal, busy person with too many activities going on, you may need to call on some outside help. But if you don’t have that kind of friends or family, then here are some tips to go it alone (Note: these tips will not work for hoarders. Get some professional help and get the dead animals out of the freezer).

RWA Update, Kind Of

In spite of the resignations from the governing board and a new interim president appointed, Romance Writers of America continues to experience a flood of resignations. More local chapters are getting to the point where they have too few members to create a board and conduct business. The board and volunteers of the New York City Chapter submitted resignations effective March 2020. Las Vegas chapter dissolved early in the controversy.

My Disease

I’ve lost a lot of friends and loved ones over the last decade or so. Cancer has been the big villain in these losses. My mother-in-law, a bunch of coworkers, friends, and my darling dog, Tilda. After Tilda died of cancer of the spleen, which 1 in 3 dogs in the United States will have, I had the most difficulty recovering. Every ache or pain had me asking, is this my cancer? Even though cancer doesn’t run in my family I thought my time would be up soon.

The last picture I took of Tilda

Lost in the Publishing

Stephen King is quoted as saying his first published work went into a fanzine (my experiences with fanzines were in the Star Trek universe). The publisher gave it a title, In a Half-World of Terror, but Mr. King preferred the title he gave it; I Was a Teen-Age Graverobber. To quote the author, Super duper! Pow!