Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Dude, face it. There will be no second date for you.

(repost from January 2, 2010)

Many agent and publisher blogs comment that a writer must write a million words (good or bad) before they really become publishable.

Well, whether it is a fact or not, I've started counting.

Okay. Not really. That'd be crazy.

However, it did occur to me while flipping through my first (seriously) copy of Writer's Digest Magazine that I should take advantage of the writing prompts. At first I thought writing prompts were crazy. We are not in school anymore. But, then (because sometimes it takes me awhile to get the point) I realized, "AH! If I want to be physically fit, I must exercise. So, if I want to be a great writer, I should exercise my writing ability." Duh!

I thought it would be fun to share those writing exercises here - - and invite you to share your results as well.

Here was the basic challenge from Writer's Digest, page 11 from the January 2010 issue:

A Date Derailed; start the story with "No matter what I do..."; include the phrase "A penny saved is a penny earned" somewhere in the story; take ten minutes to write the story.

Now - before you read MINE - go write yours. Then read mine and share yours in the comment section.

Mine took:
11minutes 45seconds

“No matter what I do, she won’t return my phone calls,” Jason moaned. His head sagged to his chest.

“Dude, lighten up. It’s just one girl. Move on,” Hunter said and shoved Jason hard. So, hard, Jason lost his balance and fell off his stool.

“Unnecessary,” Jason got up off the diner’s floor and brushed himself off. Jason slid back onto his stool and fingered his French Fries. With two fries in his mouth and one in his hand, Jason wrote Julie’s name in ketchup on his barren plate.

“Dude, you are messed up,” Hunter said eyeing Jason’s plate.

“Shut up.” The waitress stopped in front of them, totaled their bill, and slipped it on to the counter. Jason pushed the bill towards Hunter. “Your turn.”

“Nuh-uh.” Hunter pushed the bill back towards Jason. Jason tried to push it back but Hunter kept his hand in place.

Jason said, “Man, you have to get the bill this time. I’m broke. My date Friday night with Julie wiped me clean. She refused to pay for anything.”

“She wasn’t supposed to pay, dork. It was a date. You asked her out. You were supposed to pay for everything. Did you seriously ask her to pay for stuff on the date?”

“Yah,” Jason said pausing to consider Hunter’s advice. “I figured a penny saved is a penny earned.”

“No wonder she won’t return your phone calls. You’re a cheap skate! And a lousy date,” Hunter said as he grabbed the bill.

“I figured if I saved money on the date, I could afford to go out with her on a second date.”

“Dude, face it. There will be no second date for you.”

____________

Now post your 10 minute writing exercise in the comments.

Everyone who posts their writing exercise will win a virtual cupcake!! uh. YUM!!

(Cupcakes will be awarded after I return from the Alaskan cruise!)

Monday, May 30, 2011

BOOK REVIEW: The Story Book by David Baboulene

For my regular followers, you *KNOW* I am a freak when it comes to spouting great advice from Donald Maass' book THE FIRE IN FICTION.

I've made it a goal to read as many books on the craft of writing as possible (within reason of course - I have to read two books (at least) of fiction for every one book on the craft). And, frankly, these other books have been a disappointment after reading Maass' book.

UNTIL NOW.

Oh. My.



You know that over-used phrase, "You had me at hello." ??



Don't get me wrong ... I'm not in love with David Baboulene ... (I am happily married, thank you very much!) ... BUT ...

I AM IN LOVE WITH HIS BOOK! And, it had me from "hello!"



Not very many books on the craft of writing can grip the reader from the beginning pages! Seriously ... what is there to grip us? There's no inciting event like you'd find in fiction. There's no character conflict. There's no horror.

There is simply great writing with great concepts and great tools to actually spark your brain and motivate you to write ... and write BETTER.

While reading, I actually had to set the book down carry the book with me to my laptop and implement techniques into my WIP that I'd just read about in the book. It was THAT motivating.

If you missed it, here's the blog post where I explained one of these moments: CLICK HERE! :)

This book has been not only inspiring and educational to me as a writer, but it has also been a guidebook. It has provided me with useful tools to improve my writing.

I highly recommend THE STORY BOOK by David Baboulene to anyone interested in the craft of writing.

To learn more about David, visit his blog: http://thescienceofstory.blogspot.com/
And visit his virtual book tour page: Virtual Book Tour

Have you read this book yet?

Saturday, May 28, 2011

Cruising to Alaska


As you are reading this, we are probably getting ready to board the Holland America cruise ship heading for Alaska. YAY!

My husband and I will be joining his parents to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary.

I may or may not have internet access. So, I've pre-scheduled some *very* interesting posts (right?!) while I'm gone. If I have internet access, I will post some pictures from the cruise.

Have a GREAT weekend, and I'll see you back here on Monday! :)

Friday, May 27, 2011

Top 10 Tips for Stories that Grip!

Today, I'm honored to have a guest post by David Baboulene!

David Baboulene is a published author of two humorous books, two children’s books and The Story Book - an academic work on story theory. He also has three film production deals, two in Hollywood and one in the UK.

He works as a story consultant with training and development organizations, aspiring and established writers and producers. He is also working at Brighton University on his Ph.D. on the critical importance of subtext to a story’s power. David writes extensively on his subject, including his monthly column in Writing Magazine and Writers' News.



The Top Ten Tips for Stories that Grip!

In my work I have been fortunate to have conversations with famous people who have made their money from stories, including:

• Bob Gale (scriptwriter of Back to the Future);
• Lee Child (16 million Jack Reacher Novels sold);
• John Sullivan (TV comedy writer of Only Fools and Horses; Just Good friends; Citizen Smith…);
• Mark Williams (Actor in The Harry Potter films; Shakespeare in Love; 101 Dalmations...);
• Willy Russell (Theatre supremo and writer of Educating Rita; Blood Brothers; Shirley Valentine…)
to name but a few. So, from the insights from these fine gentlemen, from my own experiences getting published and writing The Story Book, my work as a story consultant, from working on films and from undertaking my PhD in Story Theory, here are my top ten tips for writers.

1) If you want to be a writer, read a thousand books.

2) Write every day. Make it a priority, build it into your schedule and discipline yourself to it. Yes, being a writer is glamorous to talk about and a romantic place for dreamers, but the ones who make it work very hard, are professional and productive.

3) Don't try to learn 'how to write'. No course or method or rule book or guru can tell you how to write. There's only one person who can tell your story your way, and that's you. Those who make it have self-confidence in writing what THEY think is great. Yes, learn about STORY - where story power comes from, how stories work, why they exist, how they resonate, what factors are present in all great stories - then use that understanding to take responsibility and write your story YOUR way.

4) Yes, understand story structure, but structure is NOT a starting point for story development, so don't let it drive you. Let your creative brilliance run wild and free and write from the heart in creating your story; then later, use your understanding of structure in problem-solving and optimizing your story.

5) Most of all, understand SUBTEXT. And understand the creative behaviours that embed subtext. Subtext is the substance of story. If you have no subtext you have no story. The more subtext there is, the higher a story is rated by the audience. Fact.

6) Stories are about Character Behaviours. Don't think about 'plot' and 'character' as separate things. What a character does when he takes action will define his true character, and what a character does when he takes action will also provide the action. Character behaviours meld plot and character into a single entity (story). Get this right, and your story telling will be tight, cohesive and greater than the sum of its parts.

7) All the greatest stories show us a character learning and changing and growing through the experiences of the story events (or failing to learn and grow, but the lessons are still evident to us as readers/viewer). Try to ensure that at least one character is offered the opportunity to climb the ladder of life. You will find that this is actually your real story, and this is what resonates with your readers and elevates your story. Latest example – The King’s Speech. There is nothing to this story except the character growth, but that was enough to take it to the Oscars.

8) True character comes only from putting your players under pressure to make difficult decisions. For Luke Skywalker to kill another dozen bad-guy stormtroopers is not great story. But if one of them he must kill is… his father… that is a story. This is called ‘conflict triangulation’ and it’s the most powerful tool in the box. Sit your characters on the horns of a dilemma wrapped in a choice of evils and sandwiched between rocks and hard places and your readers will be gripped...

9) It's really important to learn to handle rejection (there WILL be rejection...) otherwise you will never send anything off. I know many, many writers who develop their stories... then develop and develop some more... because they are so scared of the Judgment Day that comes the moment they admit it’s finished. There's no easy way. You have to grasp the nettle and get on with it or give up now. Put your ego to one side (the vast majority of rejections are nothing to do with your ability or the literary merit of your story); dig deep, be strong, and put it out there. When I asked John Sullivan for his advice for aspiring writers he gave me this series of steps that should define a writer’s life:

A) Write the best stuff you can.
B) Send it off.
C) Go to A.

It ain't rocket science! But you do need to be brave, or else you won't get anywhere. As soon as your material is good enough, you WILL be recognised... and you WILL get a deal! And I promise you - once you’ve had 10 rejections, the 11th doesn’t hurt so bad!

10) If you would like more detailed information on any of the above, get in touch with me and I will send you a free chapter from The Story Book on any topic you like, or I can blog on the subject if it is of general interest.

Very best of luck with your work. Oh, before I go, I think there might be just one more tip we could all benefit from...

11) Get off the internet and go do some writing!

...
You can visit David at his blog: http://thescienceofstory.blogspot.com/

Also, check back here on May 30th (that's MONDAY!), for my full review of David's book.

Thanks David for the great information.

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Awards!

YAY! Awards! Thanks people.

I've received:



from: Deirdra


from: Madeleine




I would like to pass the following award on to some very worthy blogs:

(and if you've already received this award, feel free to claim one of the other awards above!)

Check out these fantastic blogs:

To accept this award, simply do two things:
1. Post the award on your blog, and link it back to my blog. (thanks!)
2. Give the award away to at least five other worthy bloggers.

Thanks peeps.

AND, check back tomorrow for a guest post by David Baboulene, author of:


Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Work? What work?

How am I supposed to get any work done with this going on ...

We decided on the name Rascal for the little puppy.


Rascal looking for milk. Uh, Sabbath is a male. No milk!


Rascal pulling a big wad of Sabbath's hair. Sabbath has been so patient with this little Rascal!


Rascal cuddling up for a nap.

Work? What work.
I have a puppy distracting me.


Tuesday, May 24, 2011

VOTE for your favorite NAME!

So ... we got a new puppy last night!


He's REALLY little!

Especially if you compare him to our giant dog (part Newfoundland, part Golden Retriever) named Black Sabbath (the animal shelter named him, fyi).



Sabbath's head is way bigger than the little puppy's entire body!

So, we're having trouble agreeing on a name for the new puppy (part Maltese and part Beagle).  We'd like the name to be the opposite of big black Sabbath.  We Googled the "opposite" and one of the answers was Bon Jovi. Ha. Ha. Ha. Now, I'm a fan of Bon Jovi, but that was funny. But along those terms, if you're looking at it in a music sort of way, wouldn't Rascal Flatts be the opposite? We could call the puppy Rascal. Right? Well, wrong, because we don't all agree on the name.

Help us out and vote for your favorite name for the puppy:

1. Little Foot
2. Milky Way
3. Rascal
4. Runt
5. ... your suggestion? ...



And, this little puppy is not even afraid of Sabbath. This morning, he chewed on Sabbath's paw. Sabbath just stared at him, and then nudged him with his nose.

Vote, please.

Monday, May 23, 2011

Tagged



Madeleine  tagged me and I'm delighted to play along. I must answer the following questions and "tag" three other bloggers.

1. If you could go back in time and re-live a moment, what would it be?
Any of the moments I saw JOY in my children's eyes ... If I can pick only one moment: watching my children ride carnival rides for the first time.

2. If you could go back in time and change one thing, what would it be?
I would try out for Drum Major in high school.

3. What movie/TV character do you most resemble in personality?
In personality ... huh ... that's a hard one, but I'm pretty sure I resemble the movie character in SALT played by Angelina Jolie. *shut up* I DO TOO!!


4: If you could push one person off a cliff and get away with it, who would it be?
Any pedophile would do ... all of them, preferrably.

5. Name one habit that you want to change in yourself?
Over-eating and being over-weight

6. Describe yourself in one word.
Bold

7. Describe the person who named you in this meme in one word.
Movitating

8. Why do you blog? Answer in one sentence.
I love blogging, the comments, the friendships/support and being able to have my say and present my posts and writing creatively and finding others who share my interests who inspire, inform, amuse and entertain me.
(I totally stole this answer from Madeleine's post.)

9. Name three people to send this meme to and inform them.

Jessica Lawson
Lindz Pagel
Shallee McArthur

p.s. What does meme mean? Yeah, yeah, I could Google it - - but please, just tell me. Sheesh.

Saturday, May 21, 2011

CRAFT: Revising

Well .. OKAY!

I recently mentioned that I'm struggling with the revision of a specific WIP chapter. I even considered cutting the whole thing ... but I didn't, because it contains important information for character development, scene setting, and foreshadowing.

My usual editing, revising, and writing bible is THE FIRE IN FICTION by Maass ... but it wasn't helping me this time.

Yesterday, I posted about this new book I'm reading: THE STORY BOOK by Baboulene. I wrote that you'd have to wait for the review (you still do) ... HOWEVER ...

I just have to tell you: YAY! Problem solved!! Thanks Baboulene!

Now, this may seem totally obvious to the rest of you, but here's what helped me (from Baboulene's book). Regarding my specific problem chapter, I asked and answered the following questions:

1. Who is the protagonist?
2. Who is the antagonist (or what is the antagonism)?
3. What is the protagonist's scene aim?
4. What is the antagonist's aim (should be in direct opposition to the aim of the protagonist)?
5. What is the inciting incident of the scene?
6. How does the conflict play out?
7. How does the protagonist's emotional value switch to the positive, showing growth by the end?

(roughly taken (not directly quoted) from page 49 of THE STORY BOOK by David Baboulene)

Give it a try on a scene or chapter in your work-in-progress and see what happens.

Do you think your protagonist should experience conflict in every scene?

Friday, May 20, 2011

The Story Book by David Baboulene


Okay ... I've started reading a new book on the craft of writing ... and so far, I LOVE IT! (but I'm only on something like page 19 ... ha.)

So, sit on the edge of your seats and wait for my honest opinion of the book.

Or,

Check back on Monday, May 30th for the complete review.

Learn more about the author, CLICK HERE!

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

CRAFT: Revising

I recently visited Cally Jackson's Blog where she wrote about her editing process.

I left the following comment there:

You’d be surprise what you can actually cut out of the ms to tighten it up. My first ms was about 110,000 words, and when I started getting a gazillion rejections and realized my word count was too high – - I did a revision with the singular goal of cutting words.

Every chapter, every scene, every sentence, every word needs to move the plot along. If it doesn’t – consider cutting it. Ask yourself, will this paragraph even be missed if I cut it?

And, you can cut a ton of words by fixing all of these: “was thinking” to “thought” … “was watching” to “watched" ... and so on.

...
After that post, I thought harder about my current revisions. Am I staying true to the advice I gave Cally? Yesterday, I almost cut an entire chapter because of it. However, I decided there were some important plot points in that chapter. So, I kept the meat and eliminated over 300 words of fat (from an already short chapter).

Do you try to delete the words readers skip?

Monday, May 16, 2011

Debate & Speech Awards


As many of you know, I have had a blast this school year judging high school speech and debate competitions. I can't remember if I told you or not, but my son (a junior) qualified for state competition (but was eliminated there after a couple of rounds), and my daughter (a freshman) was first alternate for the state competition. She traveled there with the team hoping (don't judge!) that someone would get sick and drop out so that she could compete. Well, sadly (seriously, don't judge!) no one got food poisoning, and she did not get to compete. BUMMER! But, still cool that a freshman came so close when competing against mostly juniors and seniors.

Anyhow, our high school had an awards night for the speech and debate team. Both my kids earned a Varsity letter (I didn't even know they could do that!!), and my son was voted #1 novice by his peers.



Now, being voted #1 by his peers is much huger than it appears at face value. This is my child that I had to pull out of public school because he was coming home with massive headaches every day. He was shutting down. The public school system was not working for him. There was just too much sensory input on a daily basis. So, I've home-schooled him since the third grade. Last Fall, he decided to take a couple of classes at the public high school: debate and choir. It went so well, and he was so well received by the other students and the teachers, he decided to transfer over completely this semester. So, first to see him step out of his box and take the two classes last semester was huge. Then to see him jump feet first into the deep end, as a junior (he's age-appropriate for sophomore) was even huger. So, when his name was called for that award ... his peers voted him #1 novice ... I nearly cried.

He has come so far.

I love my kids, and I love the people who reach out and touch their lives in a positive way.



What's one way someone else has positively influenced your life or the life of your child?

Friday, May 13, 2011

Pull Yourself Up by the Boot-Straps

Who knew I was so addicted to my blog? ACK! When blogger had technical issues for awhile ... I could only think about the update I wanted to post NOW regarding yesterday's post. But, since blogger removed yesterday's post (will it ever come back?), an update seems dumb.

And yet, I MUST!

I wanted to let you all know that I've pulled myself up by my boot-strings ... or is it boot-straps? I tried to google the origin of the phrase, but I typed in boot-strings and smiled at the results:



I suppose, I could use *those* boots to lift my spirits. YIKES!

So, then, I googled boot-straps, and had much better success for my intended purpose!



Well, okay, I might not ever be seen wearing pink cowboy boots ... but I would definitely be seen wearing hiking boots:


I might even own that pair of hiking shoes, with the "boot-strap" on the back heel. Hmm. And you thought that strap was just to help you pull your shoe on!! Nope.

Now, the origin of the phrase is debateable ... but the point of the phrase is to empower yourself to do something that seems utterly impossible.

If you'd like to know more about the history of the phrase "pulling yourself up by your boot-straps" check out this great post I found:
History of the Phrase

Otherwise, simply know that I've recovered! And to toy with another phrase ... what are you supposed to do if you fall off a horse/bicycle/swing? Get right back on!!  So, I've already sent out over ten new query letters to agents.

Thanks for all of your support and all of the virtual chocolate. I ate it all and didn't even gain a pound. Nice. Too bad computers don't have a "scratch-n-sniff" application! Wait ... maybe that's a good thing.

Do you own any shoes with boot-straps?

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

REJECTED: please send chocolate

Get out the red ink pad and stamp that manuscript: REJECTED! REJECTED! REJECTED!

(Can you tell I've gone two whole days with NO chocolate of any kind?)

Does one kind of rejection feel differently than another kind?

Yes.

I know, rejection is rejection. But, frankly, while receiving a rejection based solely off a query letter is disappointing ... it is no big deal compared to receiving a rejection based off a full manuscript request.

And, I promised myself from day one, that if I ever had a full ms rejected, I would pay attention to the feedback of the agent and make appropriate changes. And, I have done this. But, how do I know what to do with a response that says:

"...while I enjoyed what I read, in today's highly competitive marketplace I can only take on projects I am passionate about--and unfortunately, I just didn’t feel the level of engagement here that I would need in order to represent you..."

I know, I *should* think, "YAY! I'm getting so much closer to getting an agent!" But no. Instead I think (and understand this entire rant could possibly be due to lack of freaking chocolate), "I suck. This is taking forever. I'm so frustrated."

But, I will tell you ... the only thing more frustrating than this type of rejection is receiving NO RESPONSE at all. I would chose the disappointment of a rejection any day over no response at all.

So, a big thank you to all of the agents who take the time to actually respond to writers.

I will not quit. I will keep sending query letters. I will find the right agent for me.
I will. I will. I will.

Please send chocolate as soon as possible.


Book Review: THE SCORCH TRIALS by James Dashner

The Scorch Trials (Maze Runner, #2)The Scorch Trials by James Dashner


My rating: 3 of 5 stars


YIKES.




I finished this book some time ago ... but I couldn't write a review right away. Why? Two reasons: 1) Because it has zombies in it and 2) Because it ends with a freaking cliff hanger. So, if I had written a review right after finishing it ... I may have given it only one star simply for those reasons.


However, after taking a "cooling off" period, I think I'll give the book three stars. The writing was great. The plot and pacing were great. The premise was interesting, and it kept me guessing.


But, still ... I have a disliking for zombies, and I don't want to read about them. Sure, sure, Dashner calls them CRANKS, not zombies, but give me a break ... they were still zombies.


And the ending ... true, I kind of expected it after having a cliff hanger at the end of book one ... but really? It feels like such a marketing ploy when books end that way. STOP IT!


Good news? I "only" have to wait five months for the next book, AND it's labeled a trilogy - - so maybe the third book will actually have a satisfying ending and not a cliff hanger!!


Dashner - - can you feel my love for you?




View all my reviews

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Book Review: CITY OF FALLEN ANGELS by Cassandra Clare

City of Fallen Angels (The Mortal Instruments, #4)City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare


My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Wasn't this supposed to be a trilogy? And yet, here is book four - - well - - five if you count Clockwork Angel (a prequel).


I love series, but I get frustrated when the books are promoted as a trilogy and then out comes book four - - "Just kidding!" says the publisher!


And frankly, after book one, I wasn't sure I wanted to keep reading the series (because of a certain plot element that makes me squeemish - - I wouldn't want to spoil it for you) ... but Clare is such a good writer and the plot was so interesting, I had to finish the "trilogy." And, luckily that icky plot element was resolved for me in book three - - which I KNEW it would be, but I still didn't want to read about it.


So, I figured, BRING ON BOOK 4 (City of Fallen Angels). Previous icky plot element resolved, I can just read and enjoy, right?! WELL ... right! Except for four things that reduced it from five stars to four stars:


1) Silly cliff hanger ending - - - really? I was gonna read the next one anyway. You didn't have to torture me at the end.


2) Darker elements in this book - - - really? I never "knew" Adam (of biblical Adam and Eve fame) had a first wife ... my whole image of him is so shattered now (kidding, just kidding, I get that this is a fictional book!)


3) Writing elements. Supposedly, there are "rules" - - at least that's what I've been told. Clare breaks a few, and the repetitive ones drove me nutso.


4) Plotline was pretty predictable. No amazing twists or turns.


And yet, I love the series.



And, one final note, I was concerned that I might not understand some things in this book, because I had not read CLOCKWORK ANGEL (the prequel to this series) but it was no problem.

View all my reviews

Monday, May 9, 2011

Freaking Cliff Hangers

Guess what?!

I love to read.

Furthermore, I love reading series ... I feel like I'm catching up with old friends. I enjoy finding out what type of adventures my familiar characters are going to get into this time.



HOWEVER, I hate when a book ends on a cliff hanger! HATE IT.

Not just because I'm impatient and I want to find out what's going to happen - - but more importantly because I feel like it is a marketing ploy to get you to buy and read the next book in the series.

I truly believe that if the writing and plot are great, the reader is going to feel compelled to read the next book in the series simply because they love the writing. My favorite series are the ones that each book feels like a stand-alone book. The plot is complete. At the end of the book, I can set it down and favorably reflect on the writing.



Books that end with a freaking cliff hanger tick me off to the point where I want to chuck it across the room! Some series, I've stopped reading because this happens with every book. Now, granted, I will probably go back and read the series again later - - but not until a ton of books are already out or the series is complete.



That's what I did with Hunger Games. I had heard from so many people that there were cliff hangers at the ends of books one and two ... I figured I would just wait until it was all available.  And granted, we were told that was a trilogy. So, I was totally fine waiting until the third book came out. But endless series that have a cliff hanger at the end of every book - - - it drives me crazy!

What do you think? Am I over reacting?

How do you feel about cliff hangers at the END of a book?

Friday, May 6, 2011

Win BIG MONEY in the Writing Lottery!

Have you ever wondered how much MONEY you can actually earn as a published author?

Here's a great post from agent Mandy Hubbard with the breakdown: SCRATCH HERE (to see if you win the million $$ writing lottery!)

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Teenagers! ACK - - I love them!!


My 17-yr-old son is in Washington DC this week. I miss him! I *think* he is having a good time. He is a man of few words. He texted twice on Monday after I dropped him off curbside at the airport.


First text read: Minneapolis
Second text read: DC BABY!!!

My husband said, "Hey - at least you know where he is!"

Tuesday morning my son texted at 6:15am (Idaho time) and said his body clock was messed up. We texted back and forth for a couple of minutes, and then no texts from him since then. I was REALLY hoping he'd text me a picture of him standing in front of a monument. Nope.

I asked my husband, “Do you think he’s still alive?” Can you imagine my husband’s response to me?

Last night I received a voice mail from my son saying, “Dad said I had to call you and let you know that I might still be alive. Love you.”

At least, I think it said “love you” at the end … my daughter thought it sounded like “gotta go” … Dang. Who knew I could love a teenager so much?

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Does Killing Someone Lift Your Spirit?

On yesterday's post, Duncan commented, "You must be the first American I've come across in the last 24 hours who DIDN'T rejoice at the death of bin Laden! Refreshing!"

Yikes.

While I am not saddened by his death, I must say I had conversations with my teenagers yesterday about how odd it felt to me that everyone was celebrating the fact that we (the U.S.) killed someone. I know I'm usually the odd-man-out and a wishful-thinker, but anger and hatred and revenge do nothing to lift my spirit.

What does lift my spirit?



The fact that my neighbor didn't simply stop and put his mower away when he finished cutting his grass Monday night. Instead, he mowed the grass in our front yard as well. He didn't need to do that. But he wanted to be kind.

What lifts your spirit?

Monday, May 2, 2011

Osama Bin Laden


Today, I'm sending my oldest child (17-yr-old son) to Washington D.C. - - - the day after the U.S. killed Osama Bin Laden.

This morning's news shows large celebratory crowds outside of the White House.

My son has tickets to tour the White House tomorrow.

Nearly ten years ago, on 9/11/01, I was so freaked and tramatized by the towers falling and the Pentagon burning and airplanes crashing, that I went straight to my children's elementary school and pulled them out of class. I thought the world was coming to an end (or at least the U.S. was being invaded), and I wanted my young children within my grasp. Only a handful of parents reacted the way I did. Oh well.

Now, instead of keeping my son within my grasp, I will be driving him to the airport so that he can travel to the heart of our nation. It makes my stomach knot just a bit.

A-Z Challenge

Crap. Made it all the way to Y on April 29th, and then I was SO BUSY on Saturday, April 30th, I completely forgot to do a post for Z.

Clearly, I ZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzz (dozed) right through it.

Oh well. Life's rough. If that's the worst thing that happened to me all weekend ... my life is blessed.

I'm so glad the A-Z Challenge is over. I am burned out on blogfests for a while now.

Back to regular posting.