Have you ever met the book

That you wish you’d written, but you’re so grateful someone else did… You’re also so scared the ending won’t live up to it, to the homage? The call back?

I just did.

I make no bones of being inspired by Willie Wonka and his Chocolate Factory. Specifically, Gene Wilder’s version of the candy man. It caught my imagination, burrowed in and still can be found there to this day.

I had no idea what was in store for me when I picked up “The Wishing Game” by Meg Shaffer. Should have maybe inferred it, but there’s nothing blatant about the homage on the OUTSIDE of the book. On that fateful bookstore birthday shopping spree I didn’t check the inside. I never do, unless I’m checking out the writing style. If I had read the praise, or even the dedication, well…

I would have squealed, loudly and proudly.

This book has taken me a few days to read, not because it was slow, or dense or anything else. But because I was scared. Even though I had already flipped to the back of the book. And yes, I’m also the person who cringes hard and looks away (or pauses) when watching TV or a movie when the characters were being cringey, or being embarrassed by others.

I had a lot emotionally invested in this book, even with never having read a lick of it. I hoped for the characters. I wished upon stars with them. And I celebrated with them too.

It does not contain a candy garden, or a chocolate factory. Sorry. No Oompa Loompas, either. But there is a family found and bound with love, and forgiveness and understanding and hope.

It was unexpectedly the book I really needed right at that moment.

Oh! And it contains the poem– the one Gene Wilder says in the boat. Or at least the first stanza. But Shaffer also gives credit (cites the sources as Jack would say): ODE, BY ARTHUR O’SHAUGHNESSY.

How wondrous to buy a book and have it echo so many of your own imagination’s quirkiness.

Goals check up

Well, apparently I had no need to worry about the blip of only a few books in January that were read. Because I read an obscene amount in March. Ripped through several author’s entire back list too!

I’ve been blogging more regularly this year, too. Looks like I’m hitting 3 times per month every month. Not great, but so much better than the years previously that I’ll take it.

I’ve been writing more, too. Sometimes I’ll start and stop. Or play here and there. Flash and poetry are what I’m currently completing on a regular basis. But I am writing. And submitting.

One of the best things for my writing was showing up  for a writing date with Rie. It isn’t about being held accountable. It’s about having someone you can shoot a text to really quick– hey, a short female name that doesn’t start with an M or is Lily?? And get a response. It’s not being or feeling so alone in the process. Forwarding opportunities that might fit the other one’s story, feedback, heck just being “there.” We are states away, but technology is a wonderful thing. Just knowing someone is there for an hour a day, Monday through Friday with me… It’s a beautiful thing.

Now, I’m off to go write more in my silly little story. I’m calling it that because right now I’m writing it just for me. It makes me happy to write it. 

And that is enough.

For today, making myself giggle is enough.

Cheers!

The DNF Dance

At what point do you put a book down and not finish it because of poor editing? I’m not talking about a story that doesn’t click for you, is outside your realm of interest or anything to do with taste

I’m speaking of straight up poor editing. Even down to the sentence level.

I believe I mentioned I’ve been on a reading tear. For this month I am at 15 books completed, not counting the 3 books I reread. (All by Zapata, I really really like her books!) Not all the authors I like are on KU which is where I’m getting most of the books I’m reading. And with 35 books under my belt for February and March, I had to branch out. Found some thru TikTok, and some through recommendations on Amazon.

I’m going to put a few caveats here. 1. I know, I KNOW my writing here could use a good editing or even proofreading. I come here to get things off my chest. When I send things out for “Submission” it has been proofread & sent to my writing partner (Hi Sis!) for editing help. 2. I will not name this author here. She has done something not everyone can do– completed and published not one but 3 books (in the series). 3. To whomever left the Amazon review of how she could get her money back from her editor… I howled. Also felt bad, but snickered too. BUT there is a possibility she didn’t have the funds for an editor, or resources. However, some of the problems could have been spotted with a set of beta readers.

The first hiccup I encountered was the tense. Writing in present tense is hard on the reader, but I could roll with it. Not my first rodeo lol. I don’t generally like the pacing, but the book was under 300 pages so thought I could handle it.

Then there was the missing word. It bothered me enough that I  went back a few times just to see that Yup ! Really missing a word there.

Chapter four rolls around. We, the reader, are still with the couple on the first meeting. It’s been going back and forth between male and female character for point of view, but I’m chapter four we get.. Past tense.

No. Just no.

I know that fore personally, if I continue reading it I will be doing so in order to find more hiccups. But there’s no reason for me to do this. I am not in a class, needing to give feedback. I am not her editor. I am not a beta reader.

And at 15% in, I’m not that invested in the characters. Which wouldn’t be a problem (taste) but I figured it was short. I could rip through it. Maybe it gets better. But when that chapter bounced the tenses, I hard bounced out.

So my lovelies, at what point do you DNF a book due to technical errors?

If you write and self publish, please know that there are people rooting for you and willing to be beta readers for you.

Writerly Wonderings

So I’ve started reading voraciously lately and with that comes grooving on an author’s work. KU makes it nice because you can rip through a series without the financial impact.

But today I want to talk about writing tics. That word or phrase a writer uses, or something that they do repeatedly. Some people hate it when the author does not use the word “said”. Some writers over-use ellipsis.. And that writer is me, in case you were wondering.

I was involved (according to Kindle about 30% worth) in the second book of the series when I started to wonder: What would a shoulder pop look like? It bounced me a bit out of the story as I tried different variations of the motions.

But then it kept happening. These shoulders were popping so much I started to wonder how no one dislocated a shoulder. It also bounced me out of the story, just a bit.

As writers, it’s imperative that we have readers. Beta readers are such a needed resource. Other writers can help as well if you can get over the nerves. Nerves about how another writer will treat your writing, treat you as the author. Some are worried that others will steal their words. Their ideas. Their heart and soul.

I’ve been lucky in the people I’ve met along the way. I dip in and out of Writers Village University (not an accredited school, but more of an online resource for writers to learn and make connections). I don’t go on there often, but I’ve met some great writers there.

And one of those people I met so very long ago. She has edited my work. Cheered me on. And currently we write together every day from miles away (thanks to technology. You should go check out her work– Rie Sheridan Rose.

She has called me out on my ellipsis and the lack of the word said in a story. I hope I’ve helped her as well. And when you find the right writing partner/ beta reader, sharing your story doesn’t send you into a panic attack.

Promise.

Now onto book 3 to see if all these characters are still popping their shoulders!

Ta my Lovelies!

New Year- New Intentions

Happy New Year, my lovelies! I hope you had a fun, safe New Year’s Eve and are having a great start to 2024.

Last year, I went whole hog. I set goals for reading and a trifecta of types of writing: fiction, letters and this here blog. I wrote them down, had a “Word of the Year” and shared my goals.

Then my year went to Hell in a hand basket. I didn’t know where to turn, and I pretty much had a break down. The good news is I listened to the right people and ended up exactly where I needed to be. I’m starting to remember who I am.

I’m starting to want to write again.

I’m also kinda gun shy about those goals now. So instead of quantifying my resolutions, I’m setting intentions.

I normally run 2 planners, and I use them mostly as. Creative outlet. In addition to keeping track of things, I also throw quotes in there, poems, stuff about the books I was reading. I still have 2, but I created a third out of a notebook. A reading & writing planner. Just for me.

I had made a 2 page book review document for Fantasy books– and it worked really well! I did Bookshops & Bonedust by Travis Baldree on it, and I have enough to do a review (forthcoming, I promise!). I also made my own book bingo page and ways to keep track of what I’ve read for the year.

For my wiring, I have a section where I work on what I like to write, what makes me love a story I’m telling. Added to that a stat tracker (word count beginning and end of month ), blog posts (this one is my first to go in! Whee!), and also submission tracking. I had started doing that, but lost the book in the move. I am crossing my fingers tightly that I don’t resub to same markets).

So. I have intentions. Not resolutions. I think doing these things with intention, paying attention to how it goes and what works and what doesn’t, I think that will make all the difference!

At least I hope so!

Here’s to a New Year! May 2024 be kind to all of us.

Pacing & HEA in Romance

I recently read a “Rom-Com” that clocked in at almost 600 pages. It was pretty good— I blazed through the first half, then got to what I thought was the HEA… But I still had hundreds of pages to go through.

I’m not going to name names or give titles. But there were at least 3 points where the HEA could have been achieved and the reader be completely satisfied. Meanwhile, the actual ending… Left a lot to be desired. Definitely NOT a situation I want to ever be in with a SO. Nope. Not even a little.

Does everything need to be tied up with a big red bow? Not really. But what I was given at the end of this book was 2 characters sicker than dogs and about to go (albeit temporarily) long distance. In a romance.

Now, if your readers have stuck with you for that many pages… I don’t know. Maybe give the a firework ending. Or give us the epilogue where they are reunited.

Because this hot mess that we were given? Whelp. Any of those other premature HEA endings would have been better.

As a writer I am taking from this to make DANG SURE that the payoff is worth the slog.

How’s you’re reading going?

That Weird Writer Friend

I am that weird writer friend, the one who sends out cards (and will even to people they don’t know!). Recently, I leveled up my game.

In my defense., I’d been thinking about it for a minute or two. And I did message her before doing it. Essentially, I created a character to write a letter… to a character that entrances and bedevils my sister from another mother. If you’d like to see what they’re up to, Rie posted about it on her blog which you can find here:

If you’d like to learn more about Jo and her companions, you can find them on Amazon and Barnes and Noble, to name a few (I originally had links but spaced and lost them! Oh no! Look up Rie Sheridan Rose, you’ll thank me? She has lots of different types of stories, including Jo’s escapades. Want poetry? She writes it. Horror? Yup. Fantasy? She has you covered!)

If I had a nickle for every card I wrote, it’d be a lot of Nickles! This one was different– Ive written poems in cards, or short short stories for kids. But creating a character to write to another character was a new one for me. Not sure what made me do it, bit I’m glad I did.

And extra happy that I have writer friends who roll with it!

Poem A Day

Is not going well
I’m sorry to say

The pen dried up
The paper burned
in an imaginary fire
My chisel for the tablet
Cracked in half

Or maybe

My imagination failed
I didn’t get the memo
The kid ate my poem
(The dog turned up it’s nose)

Or maybe

New habits take time
A little grace extended
To self is rare indeed
And it’s time to

Begin again

January 2021

So January was a good one for the writing. Maybe — Maybe not.

I have a story being held for consideration (fingers crossed and good vibes). Which in terms of goals means that I am actually submitting my work.

My writing sister from another mother (hi Rie!) Challenged me to a poem a day for the year. I am missing few days, but I have been doing it. Which is funny because I don’t identify as a poet but….

But when I was pigtails young, I did. I wrote a little chapbook for the school book project. At some point I stopped– lack of confidence, one too many insults? No clue. But I did, and now I am flexing those creaking poetry muscles and it feels good.

And then the cards! I did another batch on cards for the retirement home, which is still on lockdown. 70 this time. I was only able to do it because my bff Linda came over and we cracked them off. AT the beginning of the pandemic lots of people did lots of things for those that were shut in. We need to remember them. So I did– we did.

Happy New Year-ish

So i have made lots of goals for 2021. Not resolutions, just a nod to things I want to do differently. I started most of them in December, at the very end. I just couldn’t wait.

One thing I’m trying to do is submit my work, my writing more. I enjoy writing, and I have several stories that need homes. I wrote 4 or 5 last year and while not a huge amount– it is still an accomplishment I am proud of. I’ve sent 2 stories out, hopefully to find a home.

I’ve started journalling creatively for 10 minutes before going to bed. It helps with story generation, and also working things out. A fire kitten may be making an appearance in a story soon.

One of my dear friends, my sister from another mother, challenged me to a poem a day writing challenge for the year. I don’t consider myself a poet, but it doesnt say anything about GOOD poetry LOL.

I bought an undated planner and am using it to tey and work out a story I am working on. The story has a lot going on and will probably be longer than most of my writing. I tend to do short and sweet, this needs room to breathe.

So that’s what I’m getting into for 2021. How about you? Any wild crazy plans? Or slow and steady wins the race?