Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Writers' Wednesday: A Winter Wednesday for Me!

"I read once that the ancient Egyptians had fifty words for sand & the Eskimos had a hundred words for snow. I wish I had a thousand words for love, but all that comes to mind is the way you move against me while you sleep & there are no words for that." ~Brian Andreas

Well, we missed the "Snowmageddon" that hit the south last week, but not today's storm. It's been snowing since last night before I went to bed, and it's supposed to continue at least through this evening. That means NO SCHOOL for me today (what a treat!), so I'm hoping to do some serious writing on my YA novel. I'm near the end but running into a few trouble spots. Namely, the climax isn't as intense as a scene that happens about 4 chapters earlier. Hmm. I'm trying to at least incorporate some of the original story of Lysistrata into the book, because that was part of my original idea AND because Chris Richman, an agent for Upstart Crow, just recently said "I’m generally a sucker for works that reinvent or reimagine classic works.I’d love to be able to pitch a project by saying, “It’s King Lear set on a farm in Iowa from the daughters’ perspectives” (Jane Smiley’s A Thousand Acres) or “It’s Beowulf…WITH MONKEYS!” Okay, maybe not that last one, but you get the point."

So that's my goal for today: churn out a couple of chapters and then go back and work on some of the problems. Maybe I should insert a zombie or two, or a Grim Reaper - from what I hear, those are going to be the next big things to replace the vampire craze. Huh. And all I have is a 16-year old who can talk to dead people. I'm doomed.......

Monday, February 08, 2010

Monday's Mentionables: Super Bowl and a Super Storm

"Some people think football is a matter of life and death. I assure you, it's much more serious than that.” ~Bill Shankly

I have been woefully neglecting this blog, with everything else going on in the rest of my life: work, grading papers, trying to write, trying to promote. Ahhh!!!

Anyway, who watched the Super Bowl? I'll admit, I wasn't totally engaged, didn't really care who won, though I suppose it was nice from a symbolic standpoint that New Orleans triumphed. We spent the evening at a friend's house - it's a tradition now in its 5th year - though with a 2-year old running around with pom poms it's a little different than it used to be!

Any favorite commercials? I liked the Budweiser - Clydesdale one near the end, and I also thought the "casual Fridays" one with everyone walking around in their underwear was pretty funny. There were a couple of "man" ones (one for Dove for Men soap, one for a car) that were kinda clever too.

Miracle of miracles, we were NOT hit by "Snowmageddon" last weekend - but boy, the South has been walloped this year! I have friends from high school who moved down to VA/MD and they spent the weekend digging out from under 3+ feet of snow. "Just like the good old days..." I told them on Facebook!

Update on my YA novel: I'm at 48K words and have roughly 2-3 chapters to go. It's getting a little sticky, and I know there are some major plot points that need work, but I'm determined to stick it through to the end. Let's hope that happens sometime this week!