Check It Out!

The fabulous Blaze author Lori Borrill is the Author of the Month at the Girls on Books in May! We have lots of fun planned, starting with an interview tomorrow. Oh, and rumor has it there might be a prize or two involved, so stop on by in May and show Lori some love!

(December...I'm talking to YOU here. LOL )

May NaNoWriMo

Word on the street is that May is the new November. Or rather...May is trying to copy November. Whatever. Point is...writers everywhere will be "BICHOK" for the entire month, plunking out gobs of wordage at ridiculous speed. Or at least in the range of roughly just under 1700ish works a day. Which isn't so ridiculous when you really think about it. :D Right? LOL

Anyhow, I've set a goal for myself--to finish a 50K rough draft on my current WIP by June 7th. So...I'm gonna take the May NaNoWriMo challenge and I'm gonna kick ass all over town.

Wish me luck! :)

Up and At 'Em Music

Needed a little Heart fix this morning. Thought I'd share. :D

Hmm...

I started writing again last night. I only managed 300 words before I was competely wiped out, which I know is partly because I'm sick, but I'm guessing it also has something to do with using parts of my brain that have collected dust and God knows what else over the past several months. Nonetheless, like a good workout after some time off, it felt good to stretch those muscles, too. :)

Only problem is...I resurrected a story I'd started awhile ago (albeit it very minimally...like ten pages worth) for a pitch contest, since, woohoo, the editors are running another contest in the upcoming months. But...after plotting and pinning down the conflict some, I'm not so sure that I have the voice for what these editors are looking for. I *could* write what they want, but it isn't natural to me. I write more...relaxed? More quirky? More playful? Not sure exactly what it is, but it's just different.

Now, that's not to say that I don't believe in writing beyond your boundaries or out of your comfort zone--hello, that's a given! I just done know that I can be authentic enough with the particular line to do the story(ies) justice. If that makes any sense...

Then again...I hate to pass up an opportunity to get a story (any story!) in front of an editor. So, at the moment, I'm kinda torn. Push myself toward something different that really stretches the scope of my writing or forget the contest and just write what feels good? I guess I know the answer already, but I'm not thrilled with the thought of letting a potential opportunity pass me by either. I mean, I'm just starting to write again. Why not up my game right from the get-go?

Hmm...

What do you think? Do you stick to your comfort zone? Or have you pushed yourself toward something else? Has it paid off for you?

*M, I already know your answer to this one, seeing as the evidence of your boundary pushing is in a cover at the top right of this post. :D*

ETA: I have to say that there is something about the line I'm contemplating that really fits some of my story ideas, too. So while my voice may need some tweaking, I think I'm on the right page with the plotting. Gah. So many things to weigh...

Funny Thing Happened Today...

I was taking a nap and got to dreaming about writing again. My heart started racing so hard I woke up. I had butterflies in my stomach that only fluttered harder when I remembered that, in a week, I'll finally be able to do it again. How flippin' crazy am I, huh? LOL

2 Weeks 'til Freedom!

Yep, that's right...only two weeks of school left for me. :P I so sick of it that I can barely bring myself to open a book, let alone actually do any homework right now. And now's really not the time to be slacking, you know? Gah. Oh, well. It'll come to an end just the same, but I can't promise my grades will be anything to brag about.

Unfortunately, I've also done some rescheduling of things, including my summer internship. While I'd love to go right to it and be done with school once and for all in August, a nonpaying summer job just isn't going to be feasible for my family and I, considering I'd have three kids in daycare to pay for. So...next fall it is. Two kidlets will be in school and I'll only have one to worry about. Also, my mother-in-law should be feeling better then and there's also a chance my mom will be living in the area...both or either of them I'm sure will be willing to take the littlest demon spawn off my hands, because for some reason, she's as sweet as pie for them.

So, back to this two weeks 'til freedom business... I've already decided that my plan is to sleep for the first few days. I've been so flippin' tired lately and I know you can't really "catch up", but I'm sure as heck gonna try. Then I'm gonna read a bit, because I feel like I haven't really had a chance to do so in months (gotta love those audiobooks!). Then I'm gonna write my epic novel. Because, really, all I have left for school is to complete my internship to get my required credits and that's not technically "school". No homework, etc. So...that means that in two weeks, I will no longer have any excuses not to write. You could say that the "rest of my life" begins in two weeks. And writing is what I want to do for the rest of my life. *happy sigh* More on that later...

Hope y'all had a great Easter...

Potpourri

I've got a hodgepodge of things to chat about today, so I'm just gonna blip them all, 'kay? :)

First, my son did not make the Little League team. Not sure what I think about it. I mean, he has a lot to learn and is just barely old enough. Most kids his age (around here anyhow) don't make the team on their first attempt. I'm perfectly cool with that. However, I am not cool with the fact that two boys who are related to the coach, from another district, and also only showed up to one of the two tryout days made the team over local kids who were there for both days. Also, even worse...the coach put a kid on the team who never even tried out, is from freaking Florida, and won't be here until the summer. He's apparently a cousin of another player. Tell me how that's fair, eh?

Second, Jeannie Ruesch is Author of the Month at the Girls on Books. You can check her out on Fridays for the next few weeks. Oh, and her website is beautiful. Go check it out.

If you haven't seen the new Blaze authors blog, you should. Of course, you might not be as tickled as I am, but it's pretty cool nonetheless. And they have a really awesome contest to kick things off. Books, books, and more books.

As I'm sure y'all know, Easter's this weekend and, grrrr, I'm really pissed at myself. I vowed to not get too carried away this year, because we just go too overboard on the whole bunny/baskets thing (as we pretty much do with every holiday). Well, suffice to say, I'll have to try again next year, because we spent a ridiculous amount of money on crap tonight. Yes, I could have said 'no' to a lot of the things the hubster threw into the cart, but alas I did not. Whatever happen to a package of jacks or a jumprope and a handful or two of candy? Gah.

We are now the proud owners of a new camper. Go us. Not so sure what I think of this either. Yep, I'm gonna love the convenience and, yep, I'm gonna love all the space (we upgraded from a tiny pop-up that the five of us fit into like sardines), but I'm not gonna love the monthly payment to the in-laws (we're buying it from them as they just bought a new one and my savings is pretty much frozen until all the house-buying shenanigans are over).

And I think that's all, folks. Nothing exciting for you, but lots of drama for me. I just love this time of the year... :D

Temporary Redirection

So much to say, so little time this week because of work, some minor home repairs, Little League tryouts, a mountain of homework, a wonky computer, a broken windshield, a lingering cold, etc. Sigh. Just go check out the Girls on Books this week instead, 'kay? We have a new reviewer (debuted yesterday) and I have a feeling she's gonna fit in swimmingly. :P

You Gotta See This!!

Here's my girl! Mark your calendars...May 5th!! Go buy Buckling Down!!!