Tuesday, June 29, 2010
FINALLY!
My rough draft of my first novel is officially done. Now I'm taking a week off. Maybe I'll write some fan-fiction or something.
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Thoughts on my blog and my daughter
I had been thinking about doing an awesome blog post but I can't. I'm still working on my boot camp novel (four days left) and so all my thoughts and energy have been going into that. I thought it was kind of cool (library vs. bookstores) and luckily I did at least save what I had written. I even did some actually research on it too. Maybe it can actually get it up in time for the fourth of July.
In other news, my daughter starts high school in a few months and already there is drama between her classmate and some psycho ex-boyfriend. It made me wonder why the girl hadn't confided in her parents and when my daughter revealed that she didn't get along with them (the girl's father said he just knew she would get pregnant in high school) it made me curious about her other classmates relationships with their parents.
Apparently we parents are getting a bad rap. My daughter feels like she and I have a good relationship and she feels like she can talk to me about almost anything. Of course, she didn't feel that way when a classmate was calling her names on Facebook and spreading rumors at school but now she knows she can come to me. I have worked hard to make sure I'm up to speed with how many boyfriends one friend has had (well in the teens at last count), which one got a girl pregnant (high schoolers) and who has been cutting themselves (apparently she didn't like her father that much).
I try to remain optimistic that I will continue to have a good relationship with my daughter as she continues through high school. I can only hope that she will come to me when she decides to have sex. I want her to feel comfortable to tell me when she's being bullied or harassed. I listen to her when she tells me things and offer advice that I think will help. Will she take it? For the most part, I hope yes. Will she always? Probably not.
She is growing into her own person and she will want to make her own decisions and mistakes. I hope that she remembers that I'm here for her, through thick and thin and that when push comes to shove, I do I have access to a baseball bat and several bricks.
I may not be the "coolest" mom, but I sure can break my foot off when necessary.
In other news, my daughter starts high school in a few months and already there is drama between her classmate and some psycho ex-boyfriend. It made me wonder why the girl hadn't confided in her parents and when my daughter revealed that she didn't get along with them (the girl's father said he just knew she would get pregnant in high school) it made me curious about her other classmates relationships with their parents.
Apparently we parents are getting a bad rap. My daughter feels like she and I have a good relationship and she feels like she can talk to me about almost anything. Of course, she didn't feel that way when a classmate was calling her names on Facebook and spreading rumors at school but now she knows she can come to me. I have worked hard to make sure I'm up to speed with how many boyfriends one friend has had (well in the teens at last count), which one got a girl pregnant (high schoolers) and who has been cutting themselves (apparently she didn't like her father that much).
I try to remain optimistic that I will continue to have a good relationship with my daughter as she continues through high school. I can only hope that she will come to me when she decides to have sex. I want her to feel comfortable to tell me when she's being bullied or harassed. I listen to her when she tells me things and offer advice that I think will help. Will she take it? For the most part, I hope yes. Will she always? Probably not.
She is growing into her own person and she will want to make her own decisions and mistakes. I hope that she remembers that I'm here for her, through thick and thin and that when push comes to shove, I do I have access to a baseball bat and several bricks.
I may not be the "coolest" mom, but I sure can break my foot off when necessary.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Just reached the halfway mark...
I finally reached the halfway mark of my novel...kinda sorta. In a way, I feel like it's going to go through a huge number of edits before it's all said and done. At this point, I have finally written a chapter summary that I'm happy with although I'm still working out the kinks of my three main characters (I actually changed the names of my two male leads). I now have a villain that I can't wait to do a back story on (and yes, his name has changed as well).
It's my heroine that I'm most proud of. She's gone through the most changes from bitter, to scared, to just downright tired. Now she's decided to come out of hiding and just be herself, well if she can. There's still the matter of her psycho ex-boyfriend to consider. She hasn't found any record of him via web searches but no news is good news right? Not really. Especially not when she runs into his mom who knows what her son really did (and that our girl is innocent) and she's looking to make things right. At least, that's the thought for now.
I have to admit that this is a lot harder than I initially thought. I can see why people give up the idea of becoming a writer. I probably would have quit on Sunday but I have a contest that I'm still in and nothing else to do. I'm working part-time and other than the weekly visits to the library, I can't say that there is much else going on. I guess if I weren't so lazy I would start looking for a second job but writing is as much a full time job as anything else, except you really don't get paid for it.
Well, I'm going to give myself a pat on the back anyway. Even though I've written about 40,000 words of craptastic fiction, I'm sure that there is a diamond in that pile, just waiting to be polished, over and over and over again.
Man, if think it's hard now, I'm not sure how I will find the strength to edit.
It's my heroine that I'm most proud of. She's gone through the most changes from bitter, to scared, to just downright tired. Now she's decided to come out of hiding and just be herself, well if she can. There's still the matter of her psycho ex-boyfriend to consider. She hasn't found any record of him via web searches but no news is good news right? Not really. Especially not when she runs into his mom who knows what her son really did (and that our girl is innocent) and she's looking to make things right. At least, that's the thought for now.
I have to admit that this is a lot harder than I initially thought. I can see why people give up the idea of becoming a writer. I probably would have quit on Sunday but I have a contest that I'm still in and nothing else to do. I'm working part-time and other than the weekly visits to the library, I can't say that there is much else going on. I guess if I weren't so lazy I would start looking for a second job but writing is as much a full time job as anything else, except you really don't get paid for it.
Well, I'm going to give myself a pat on the back anyway. Even though I've written about 40,000 words of craptastic fiction, I'm sure that there is a diamond in that pile, just waiting to be polished, over and over and over again.
Man, if think it's hard now, I'm not sure how I will find the strength to edit.
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Vacation was fun, glad to be home
So three days in Chicago did nothing for my word count. Good thing we enjoyed ourselves. I came back with lots of pictures, a few videos and sore muscles. Never did find a pizza place but we did finally go down the Magnificent Mile, although our walk was much shorter. I think I'll get around to posting my pics on Facebook sometime this weekend.
In the meantime it's back to the grindstone. I have realized something about this boot camp thing I'm in. I really do need something like this for the long term. I haven't quite figured out how to find something similar, although keep your fingers crossed that I have an option that kinda fell into my lap last week. Still, how does one find a group of people who are willing to kick each others butts to stay on target with our writing goals? How do these people find one another? I thought about doing some web searching but I can't even think of where to begin.
In other news I think my EDJ is looking for a way to redo the Saturday schedule which could spell disaster for my attempts to finally attend an MoRWA meeting. I've been trying to get to one since last month and the first one that I'm available to attend is in August. Maybe they will have some ideas on finding writer groups. I can only hope.
Well, I really don't have much else to say. I've been checking out the All Things Urban Fantasy website lately. It's actually been very helpful in finding out about new authors and books. I look forward to the daily posts. I had no idea there were so many authors in this genre. Makes me even more thrilled that I'm writing for it.
Well, I'm off to up my word count for the week. These last few days have been horrible. I'm just glad I'm not behind in my goal for the month. That would just make me feel worse.
In the meantime it's back to the grindstone. I have realized something about this boot camp thing I'm in. I really do need something like this for the long term. I haven't quite figured out how to find something similar, although keep your fingers crossed that I have an option that kinda fell into my lap last week. Still, how does one find a group of people who are willing to kick each others butts to stay on target with our writing goals? How do these people find one another? I thought about doing some web searching but I can't even think of where to begin.
In other news I think my EDJ is looking for a way to redo the Saturday schedule which could spell disaster for my attempts to finally attend an MoRWA meeting. I've been trying to get to one since last month and the first one that I'm available to attend is in August. Maybe they will have some ideas on finding writer groups. I can only hope.
Well, I really don't have much else to say. I've been checking out the All Things Urban Fantasy website lately. It's actually been very helpful in finding out about new authors and books. I look forward to the daily posts. I had no idea there were so many authors in this genre. Makes me even more thrilled that I'm writing for it.
Well, I'm off to up my word count for the week. These last few days have been horrible. I'm just glad I'm not behind in my goal for the month. That would just make me feel worse.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Yes it has been a while
...and yes, it has totally been my fault. From trying to plan my inexpensive trip to Chicago to signing up and prepping for SavvyAuthor.com's June Boot Camp, I have been overly swamped and horribly stressed. I have no one to blame but myself for this and yet, if I had to do it over again, I probably wouldn't change much.
Well, that's not true. If I did have to change something I would change my Chicago trip. Even as the date draws near (today is Sunday and we leave on Tuesday), I find myself regretting the choice I made for lodgings. I'm sure that I'm just over-reacting, being my usual pessimistic self, but I can't help but wonder if the hotel we're staying at is going to be the high or low part of our trip.
We are staying at the Hyatt Regency on Wacker Drive. It's not that far from Grant Park and while the location seems to be ideal, I'm not sure about the services that the hotel offers. I almost feel like I'm going to be cheated at some point during my stay there just because I got such a great deal on the room ($50 a night is awesome!). So anyway, I was planning for my trip when I realized that I was missing some information and luckily I was able to get a hold of someone for answers. I am really not pleased at this point. Did you know...
They charge $14 per day for wi-fi services? This is just terrible, considering the number of places outside of the hotel that offer free internet access (Like the McDonald's around the corner for crying out loud).
Breakfast options?-I stayed at the Drury Inn Chesterfield in mid-April and received a HOT free breakfast everyday. Did you get that? FREE, HOT BREAKFAST!!! EVERYDAY!!! I would have thought that the Hyatt would at the very least provide bagels and cream cheese. Nope.
Refrigerator? Not unless you want to pay for it. Oh, but I do have access to a pressure sensitive minibar. WTF??!!
These may seem like small matters not to concern myself with but unfortunately I do have to be careful. Will I be charged for watching TV? What about the coffee maker? I plan on bringing my own, since I don't the "regular" stuff but do I need to bring my own cup too? I found out that there is a Walgreens near where we are staying (actually, they seem to be on every block). Will I get charged for bringing in my own water instead of using the ones conveniently located in the minibar? There's an iron in the room, so will I be charged to using up the electricity to iron out some wrinkles?
The other thing is the additional $150 I have to shell over for "in cases". Like, in case I use the internet, in case I use the phone, in case I use the minibar. I'm not that pleased with that option either and I can only hope that this doesn't cut too far into the budget that I have already set up for myself.
Even now, I'm trying to find restaurants and cafes near our various destinations since I refuse to eat in the hotel's restaurant. Nothing personal but I don't want to spend $50 on steak when I can get a burger and fries (our favorite thing) for no more than $15 total.
If all else fails, we can always hit up Micky-Ds.
OK, enough whining. I had intended to talk a little about my boot camp experience so far, but that's a totally different post topic. Maybe I can get that one out tomorrow or something. In any event, I'm determined to make this a great birthday for my daughter, even if I have to scrimp and buy microwaveable Ramen. Yes, there is a microwave, unfortunately, it's in the hotel lobby.
I'll be sure to post an update (with pictures) when we get back. Until then, laterz!
Well, that's not true. If I did have to change something I would change my Chicago trip. Even as the date draws near (today is Sunday and we leave on Tuesday), I find myself regretting the choice I made for lodgings. I'm sure that I'm just over-reacting, being my usual pessimistic self, but I can't help but wonder if the hotel we're staying at is going to be the high or low part of our trip.
We are staying at the Hyatt Regency on Wacker Drive. It's not that far from Grant Park and while the location seems to be ideal, I'm not sure about the services that the hotel offers. I almost feel like I'm going to be cheated at some point during my stay there just because I got such a great deal on the room ($50 a night is awesome!). So anyway, I was planning for my trip when I realized that I was missing some information and luckily I was able to get a hold of someone for answers. I am really not pleased at this point. Did you know...
They charge $14 per day for wi-fi services? This is just terrible, considering the number of places outside of the hotel that offer free internet access (Like the McDonald's around the corner for crying out loud).
Breakfast options?-I stayed at the Drury Inn Chesterfield in mid-April and received a HOT free breakfast everyday. Did you get that? FREE, HOT BREAKFAST!!! EVERYDAY!!! I would have thought that the Hyatt would at the very least provide bagels and cream cheese. Nope.
Refrigerator? Not unless you want to pay for it. Oh, but I do have access to a pressure sensitive minibar. WTF??!!
These may seem like small matters not to concern myself with but unfortunately I do have to be careful. Will I be charged for watching TV? What about the coffee maker? I plan on bringing my own, since I don't the "regular" stuff but do I need to bring my own cup too? I found out that there is a Walgreens near where we are staying (actually, they seem to be on every block). Will I get charged for bringing in my own water instead of using the ones conveniently located in the minibar? There's an iron in the room, so will I be charged to using up the electricity to iron out some wrinkles?
The other thing is the additional $150 I have to shell over for "in cases". Like, in case I use the internet, in case I use the phone, in case I use the minibar. I'm not that pleased with that option either and I can only hope that this doesn't cut too far into the budget that I have already set up for myself.
Even now, I'm trying to find restaurants and cafes near our various destinations since I refuse to eat in the hotel's restaurant. Nothing personal but I don't want to spend $50 on steak when I can get a burger and fries (our favorite thing) for no more than $15 total.
If all else fails, we can always hit up Micky-Ds.
OK, enough whining. I had intended to talk a little about my boot camp experience so far, but that's a totally different post topic. Maybe I can get that one out tomorrow or something. In any event, I'm determined to make this a great birthday for my daughter, even if I have to scrimp and buy microwaveable Ramen. Yes, there is a microwave, unfortunately, it's in the hotel lobby.
I'll be sure to post an update (with pictures) when we get back. Until then, laterz!
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