Omens and Superstitions

So, do you believe in omens and superstitions? When they suit me, I do.

Today I was reading through the directory of an RWA chapter I just joined, checking to see if they had my name and address correct. The first time I skimmed, it looked right so I didn’t think much of it. Later, I was checking to see who else was a member and I noticed an asterisk beside certain names, denoting that they were published in book-length fiction.

Curiously, there’s also a star by my name. Huh. Didn’t realize I was published in book length fiction, but who am I to argue? Clearly this is an omen. I am going to sell a book in 2006.

Because, by golly, I sure as heck am not going to email the membership chair to make that correction. I’m going to be positive about this. I need to prove them right, don’t I? That champagne is just waiting to be opened…:drunk:

Anyway, back to omens and superstitions….there have been times in my life when I had a sixth sense that something was going to happen. Once, it was right before they announced my name for a scholarship. I broke out in chills, and I just knew they were going to call my name. I don’t know what it was, but when they did, it was a very strange moment.

I’m almost embarrassed to admit that the scholarship was the equivalent of Miss Congeniality in the Virginia Young Woman of the Year pageant (formerly called Young Miss Pageant). Doh! I relate a little better to the Sandra Bullock character in the movie of that same name. It still makes me laugh to think of it. But hey, it paid for some college books, so I don’t care.

So have you ever had a sixth sense moment that resulted in something positive for you?

Enjoying Good Writing

When I was in high school, I mistakenly believed that I wanted to go to film school to become a movie producer. I worked on the high school news show, applied and was accepted to USC, went to visit, and saw a nice dose of reality while I was there. The entry level jobs in the movie/tv industry were barely minimum wage. A good education didn’t mean much–it was the contacts you made and the people you knew. I met a girl while I was there and she commented, “I can’t watch movies any more. All I can see is the sloppy editing. I just can’t enjoy them.”

Somewhere in my second year at Notre Dame, I realized that it wasn’t the movies I wanted to make–it was the stories. I loved watching characters and plots come alive, but a part of that girl stuck with me. Many writers claim the same thing–that they can’t enjoy books in the same way any more because they see through the poor motivation, sloppy writing, etc. etc. I disagree. You’re always going to run into writers whose books you may or may not enjoy. But being a writer makes me appreciate the good authors even more.

I was watching “LOST” the other night, and the episode was very well-written. When it was finished, I had this stupid grin on my face because I caught several nuances. The show title was Psalm 23. For those of you who haven’t seen it, I won’t go into too much detail, but the writers set up so many references to the psalm, once you caught onto it, you felt like you were privileged with an insider’s view. The main character Eko was set up as a man who made some terrible choices to save his younger brother, and the younger brother ultimately becomes a priest. During the episode, we see Eko as a character who looks into the face of a smoke monster–we don’t know what this thing is, but it sure looks evil, and he faces it down– (Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil). In the smoke, there are images and visions; a woman’s face is one of them. Eko carries a staff which he’s carved Biblical inscriptions on (Thy rod and they staff, they comfort me). One of the kickers, for me, was a phrase lightly dropped in the backstory where a character accused Eko of having no soul. At the end of the show, he takes back the cross his brother carried with him, takes the path of priesthood himself, and you get the hidden message (He restoreth my soul).

I love it when a writer takes the time to add subtleties like that. JK Rowling does it in the Harry Potter books. Little things that, on the surface seem trivial, but in reality have deeper meaning.

So, what did you think of “LOST” this week? Or, if you don’t watch it, have you read any books or authors who have mastered subtle writing?

Victorian Parlor Games

My Dot Moms column is up, if anyone is interested.

Thanks to all for the suggestions on birthday plates. I may try the dollar store and see what I find. Since it’s for his daycare party, there may be around 24 kids there. Last year the plates were a big deal when I splurged and got him the Lion King set. Why oh why did I set myself up with that?

And! And, and! I was writing last night and thought I’d look at some primary sources to see if I could find some plot solutions. Although I didn’t, reading some stories from Harper’s Magazine in 1858 really gave me some good ideas. I found references to old parlor games like “Clap In, Clap Out” and “Copenhagen.” So, of course, I had to look those up. “Clap In, Clap Out” sounds like a chaste version of Post Office. There is a circle of chairs and the men stand behind a chair. The women leave the room. Then one of the men sends a message for a particular woman to come in. She has to guess who sent for her by sitting down in the chair in front of that man. If she guesses right, then they pair off and go stand in the corner. If she guesses wrong, he claps his hands together above her head, and she has to leave the room (humiliated). You can bet I’m going to work that one into a book.

The other game, Copenhagen, was much tougher to track down. Apparently the players hold onto a string and form a circle. Someone stands in the middle and the person who is “It” has to try and slap the hands of one of the players holding the string. The players try to jerk their hands away and move past, without getting their hands slapped, and they can’t let go of the string. If they are tagged, then they stand in the center. Sounds like a fun one.

Anyway, just thought I’d share those. One game I found references too, but I’m not certain if I tracked down the right one. It’s called “Puss in the Corner” and it sounds as if it’s a version of Freecell solitaire. Anyone ever heard of it or played it?

Let it Snow

I need a snow day really badly. One where I can take the day off and just write my little brain out. I have a good start on the contemporary paranormal (almost a chapter) and that helped to clear out the historical cobwebs. It’s amazing how switching genres can help you see flaws easier. I went back to an older novel Wedded to the Enemy (Okay, older in the sense that I finished it this past August) and was looking at the proposal. I realized that I was guilty of over-editing. I edited the plot and voice right out of it. :loser: When I went back to a raw, rougher version, the heart was still there. So I decided to keep the rough version and lose the polished one. Interesting. Never thought I’d do that, but there you go.

I keep struggling with this book for several reasons. One, I absolutely adore the voice. It’s me, 100%. When I wrote this story, I poured my heart into it, and I truly want this book to sell. It’s incredibly special to me. The problem is, I took a wrong turn at the midpoint, and the book started unraveling. I forced myself to write through it, deciding I’d figure it out later. Problem is, I finished the book and never really solved the problem.

I’m taking some time to write out all the character goals, the plot threads, etc. etc. to see if I can find out where I went off course. I don’t think it will require major surgery or transplants; but I do think the book will need a bit of an overhaul. I know I can do the revisions, but it’s very much like picking out the threads of a cross stitch sampler when you miscounted.

This is not helping me in my goal to pick up speed with the writing. I need to get it right the first time. I thrive under pressure, especially deadlines. On the day I promised myself I would not get up from the chair until I finished writing the book, I wrote 26 pages.

I think this may be my problem. I need to impose a deadline with a consequence, either positive or negative. Of course, if a certain publisher wanted to impose a deadline, that would be fine, too.

So do you thrive under pressure, or do you prefer working at your own speed?

The Lion King

Today I’m taking my son to see “The Lion King” broadway musical. This is the first time I’ve ever taken him to a public performance and I’m hoping he’ll do well. He’s almost four and whenever we watch movies at home, he’s completely silent and mesmerized. Here’s hoping he does well! It should be a fun mother-son day for us.

**Update: If “The Lion King” is playing near you, go see it! It was amazing! There were two additional songs that just blew me away. I had no idea there were new songs. Go here and listen to “They Live in You” and “Shadowland.” Wow. Just wow. I already ordered the soundtrack.**

He survived his first swimming lesson, although there was great trepidation on his part. He sat about two feet away from the edge of the pool and I finally had to intervene and tell the instructor to just pull him into the water with her. Once he realized that A) he was not going to be thrown into the water and B) the water was actually pretty warm, he did fine. He had a big goofy grin on his face because there was a cute three-year-old blonde sitting next to him. I predict the next lesson will be a good one.

On the writing front, I’m working on some new stuff to clear my brain. This one is my paranormal contemporary. I still have a bit of a fear factor on writing contemporaries because they’re not my usual reading fare, but I do love Susan Elizabeth Phillips and some of Nora Roberts’ books. On the bright side, it’s easier on the dialogue because I’m not constantly checking myself to see–is this a word they would have used back then?

Anyway, I’m gearing up for my son’s birthday at the beginning of February and trying to decide how not to spend a fortune on paper products. He loved the Lion King plates and napkins I did for him last year at his daycare party. I’d like to do a theme of some sort, but I have to buy paper products for 24 kids. Yikes! At $3.99 for a pack of 8 plates, that’s a fortune. Hate that. You’re literally throwing money away. I might see if Oriental Trading Company has any options. Anyone have ideas for inexpensive but fun paper/party products?

Second Guessing Myself

I’m struggling with a new proposal I’d like to mail out soon. It’s a revised one, and really it’s my first book remade. It is such a Frankenstein at the moment. I *thought* I was rewriting it and basically doing a new book with old character names. Not so much. My heroine’s motivations are still uneven, and I know my critique partners nailed the flaws. Man.

I’m toying around with ways to steady the heroine, to make her come across as believable and sympathetic, but her emotions are very erratic. I’m starting to turn into Soap Opera Queen. Imagine the brainstorming, if you will:

“Hey! I know. I could make her pregnant with another man’s child. And the hero marries her without knowing it, and she’ll lose the baby, and then they’ll eventually fall in love and live happily ever after.” Oy. Sometimes my bad ideas amaze even me.

One of the worst storylines I ever saw was on “Days of Our Lives” when they actually made one of the heroines possessed by the devil. Okay, at least I haven’t stooped to that. But I do need a way to make her come across better. I’ve ruled out Secret Baby and Possession. That’s progress, isn’t it? My method is to rule out all the bad ideas before the good ones come out.

In other news, my daughter still hasn’t forgiven me for sending her back to daycare. She started in the new room, the one where they begin potty-training the kids. There was major backsliding the first day, which I expected. Today was better–only one accident. But the teacher asked my opinion of Pull-Ups. I told her a resounding, “NO!” If you have a kid who has successfully been trained for going on two weeks, with only minor accidents here and there, you can’t go back like that. Not going to happen. I told her, if I have to do laundry, I’ll just do laundry. Not a problem. But I will not revert back to diapers. (Insert primal scream here) Good Lord, the kid has only been there two days! Cut her a break.

I did have one exciting moment tonight. My son made some major progress on learning to read. He started remembering his sight words, and it went SO MUCH FASTER. Though I love him dearly, hearing him sound out the word R-E-D and D-O-G for the fifteen millionth time made me want to scream. He would read the word on one page. Then the next page, it would be there again, and he’d sound it out again. By the fifth page of seeing the same word, I was about ready to yell, “It’s the word THE! It hasn’t changed since you read it the last time! Gaaaahhh!” But I restrained myself. Tonight when he started to show some recall memory, there was major cheering and screaming and high-fiving. Poor kid didn’t have a clue why Mommy had lost it. But oh, it was so exciting to see him start to recognize sight words and read them without having to sound them out. What a major step. So cool.

Okay, I’ll sign off to try and find another reason why my medieval heroine would not want marriage, but would want the power of being able to control estates. Maybe she wants to be like Anna Nicole :loser: and marry an old geezer. Major ick factor there.

Back to the Grind

Tomorrow I have to go back to teaching. Sigh. The vacation was great while it lasted. My husband is off for the national holiday and will have the joy of caring for both children since the daycare center (government sponsored) is also closed. Cue the laughter. Poor man. Whenever the baby has had an accident, grabbing her pants and saying, “YUCK!” his response has been, “Honey? She’s calling for you.”

All I can say is, tomorrow it’s all you, babe. Have fun with the kidlets while I’m teaching.

Seriously, though, he’s a great father. Never once do I panic when he’s home with the kids. Laugh, maybe, but I don’t worry about them not being fed, put down for naps, etc. He’s great about that.

When it comes to bedtime stories, they could use a little work. He likes to tell “Dad’s Story.” He’ll lean in, smile and say, “Once upon a time….The End!” and kiss the unsuspecting child on the cheek. Now my wise three-year-old will glare and say, “I don’t want Dad’s story. Read this one!” and shove a book at him.

Today we were driving home from furniture shopping (They had New Year’s Sale ads in the paper and both shops we wanted to visit were closed. :duh:). My son overheard us remarking on the unintelligent shopkeepers who happened to publish false information and said, “They’re bad drivers, aren’t they?”
“Who?” I asked him.
“The morons. Dad says they’re bad drivers.”
I shot my beloved A Look and asked, “How would you like to handle this one, honey?”
He grinned. “We’ll pretend we didn’t hear him.”
If this is an indicator of the next ten years, my darling husband will need a hearing aid fairly soon.