Fun Camping Pictures!

A few of my favorite photos from our recent camping trip:

First day - dogs are still clean

View from the hammock

River after a night of thunder storms

 

 

Black Sabbath and Rascal Flats - yes, that's right

 

 

Beautiful blue skies of Idaho

 

 

Such a flattering picture of me ... not! But after a freezing cold night, we thought it would be best to stay in our warm beds and read awhile. Notice that Sabbath (the dog) is doing his part to keep my daughter warm.

 

Last day. Last fire. Sun is shining. Time to head home to a flushing toilet. :)

 

 

 

 

Gone Camping

Yup. I'll be sitting by the river reading a book for the next week. See ya when we return! :)

 

 

IWSG: When is it GOOD ENOUGH?

First Wednesday of the month = Insecure Writer's Support Group. Visit here for more info: http://alexjcavanaugh.blogspot.com/p/the-insecure-writers-support-group.html

So you've written a novel. When is it finished? When is it good enough?

Well, it's *probably* not quite there yet if:
1. You just finished writing the first draft.
2. You have only let your best friend and mother read it.
3. You relied on the computer for spell check and grammar check.
4. You have never read a book in the genre of your story.
5. You have never read a book on the craft of writing.
6. You've only revised the story once.

Maybe it's finished if:
1. You've revised the story a million times (or more but you lost count).
2. You've had several (or at least two) critique partners (who are skilled writers themselves) rip it apart.
3. You've had a beta reader (someone who doesn't know you personally and could care less if they hurt your feelings) read a polished version and give their feedback for improvement.
4. You've studied the craft of writing (by reading books on the topic or attending classes).
5. You've read a lot of books in the genre you're writing.
6. You've revised, edited, polished the story one more time.

It's a tough call, but the bottom line is: at some point, we have to say it is finished. As my CP said, "Stop picking at the wound, or it will never heal." Ick.

:)

How do you know when you're WIP is finished?

Children Leaving Home

Okay ... Now I'm feeling a bit weepy. While I am THRILLED that my mailbox today contained a letter from each of my boys ... the opening of my oldest boy's letter made me cry. I know he meant it as a funny little comment, but I'm a little "tender hearted" this last week.

Here's what he wrote:
"On the assumption that you shipped off Jacob, never to be seen again, how does it feel to get rid of another kid?"

Awful. It feels awful.
I know I'm supposed to be thrilled that they've chosen to spend the next two years of their lives serving others, but the idea of my children leaving home has hit me harder than I expected. I've really grown to love them so much. And I'm SURE you know people who rarely go back to visit their parents or family after leaving home, and I'm worried they won't come back to visit! :(

My daughter assures me that they will all come back to visit.

I hope so.

My daughter also told me (as she was giving me a hug) that I should be pleased that they're capable of leaving and going out to do good in the world.

Okay.

But I'm still a little sad today. So here are some pictures:

Mitchell is on the right (with the dark tie). - This was his first baptism.

Mitchell sent me a picture to show me that he's trying to eat healthy. :) I told him to add some vegetables and spinach.

 

Jacob with some friends from college. Jacob is the one with the pink tie.

 

Jacob - always happy.

 

Katie with her Prom date.

Katie and her Prom date.

 

Sparse Postings

Yes, my postings have been sparse this last month. Between the typical busy month of May and my computer crashing ... it's been a challenge to write blog posts.

But here's the good news:
1. My son is letting me use his computer until mine is fixed (if ever).
2. I sent my new manuscript off to my agent.

Now I can worry that she'll hate it wait patiently until I hear back from her.

Happy June.

I'm so glad May is over.

:)

A Book Review for Memorial Day

Great book to read on Memorial Day! (or any other time of year)

This is also a great gift book for Father's Day.

With the usual quality you'd expect from Reader's Digest, this book contains short stories about the heroics of our Soldiers. My favorite stories were the ones of the soldiers behind the scenes. The ones you don't normally hear about in the news.

I thought I would find some of the stories boring, but I was especially moved by "No Medals for Joe" by Mayo Simon. I don't usually enjoy military history, but these stories touched my heart. Well written and gripping.

Busy Month

Oh. It is a busy month. End of school year for my daughter. Transition from college to mission for my second son. Family coming to town. Friends coming over to visit. Weeds growing in the garden.

And I am working hard to finish my manuscript.

*sigh*

What are you busy with this month?

Stop Asking So Many Questions!

Blake Snyder writes, "The hero knows and others around him look to him for answers, not the other way around. if you see a lot of question marks in your hero's dialogue, there's a problem" (SAVE THE CAT, p. 146).

So ... "a lot of question marks" ... how many does that equal exactly?

I took the challenge. I use the find feature in Word and discovered my WIP had 900 (exactly) question marks. Now, granted, not all of those were used by my main character, but I took it further and went through the entire ms with a fine tooth comb.

Of those 900 question marks, 511 belonged to my MC. Yikes. That's probably what Snyder meant by "a lot."

HOWEVER, to my defense, not all of those question marks were in dialogue. A LOT were in her inner monologue. Is that better or worse?

Well, again, upon further examination, I discovered that most of those questions she asked silently to herself were completely unnecessary. I could delete them without changing the meaning of the paragraph, scene, chapter, or plot. *sigh*

I also discovered that many of the questions in her dialogue could be altered to be said as a statement rather than a question, which resulted in a much stronger voice coming from my MC.

After cleaning up the ms, I had eliminated 123 questions - all from my MC. Is that enough? I don't know, yet.

I'll make another pass through the ms and have another beta reader take a look.

What do you think? Does your MC ask a lot of questions? Do you think that's a bad thing?

HOLD ON to What You Believe

I know I've posted songs before, but I don't think I've posted this one. There are a few songs that just really nail the mood of my current WIP.

Beginning of ms: Phillip Phillips's HOME
Middle of ms: Kelly Clarkson's DARK SIDE
End of ms: Mumford & Sons' HOLD ON TO WHAT YOU BELIEVE

For your viewing and listening pleasure:

What songs are in the playlist of your manuscript? Do you have any? :)

Unpredictable Endings

"The secret to unpredictable endings ... is to allow ... your protagonist ... the possibility of failure" - Donald Maass (Writing the Breakout Novel, p.196).