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So I’m watching movies considered to be some of the most romantic movies for many decades. I’ve watched Gone With the Wind and An Affair to Remember more times than I’ve changed my clothes, almost, so I wanted to start with something new (to me). This is, technically, research for a character, who would’ve been watching these movies at a certain point in her life. But, I thought, if I’m watching some of the best romances ever, why not examine the GMC? Maybe I’ll learn something. Movie: Sabrina Hero: Linus Cold-blooded corporate raider GOAL MOTIVATION CONFLICT Internal To be compensated for the life his brotherRead More →

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This is not the sort of post you want someone reading over your shoulder, so I’m going to slip a fold in here.  You click it when you’ve got a few minutes of alone time.Read More →

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I mentioned on Saturday that the house planning book I bought didn’t live up to my expectations.  Here’s hoping this will: Home Quick Planner: Reusable, Peel & Stick Furniture & Architectural Symbols The Home Quick Planner includes 700 precut, reusable peel-and-stick, 1/4-inch scale furniture and architectural symbols, plus a 5,600 square-foot floor plan grid to help you design your own building, remodeling and decorating projects. (Also good for moving.) Symbols include everything you need from tables, chairs, couches, beds and pianos to every standard kitchen cabinet and appliance, an extensive assortment of bathroom fixtures and cabinets (for example, twelve sets of sink designs, six differentRead More →

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Which I am suffering.  But fear not, the wise Jennifer Crusie has listed some random thoughts on rewriting, which are awesome. My faves: After you’ve read something forty-two times, it all sounds like blahblahblah. If you don’t feel like writing a scene with sex in it, you don’t write a scene with sex it in. Kind of like real life. Playing computer Scrabble does not help you think your way through a plot knot. Crocheting does. Comic used with permission from Debbie Ridpath Ohi at Inkygirl.com.Read More →

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A section on writing tools is really incomplete without an article on the Alphasmart Neo.  Pros, as I understand them (I don’t have one): You can’t self-edit, because you only see “two through six lines of text”. It is very easy to transfer over to a word document, almost magically easy.  See the site for details. Includes spell check, for, you know, people who need those sort of things. It’s portable like crazy. The cons? Cost prohibitive, for some (like me), at the sale price of $219. As of 6.30.11, the price is $169. That is all.  Make up your own mind.  Feel free toRead More →

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But, I do believe in accountability. So I’m going searching for a widget. (I’m writing this Saturday–it may be in place by the time you read this.) And I’m holding myself accountable to you, my very dear and few readers. –-Me, Dec 10 The closest I could find was Twitter, which I will try to keep writing related, but I’m not making any promises.  Have a great day!Read More →

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These picture posts are becoming commonplace.  Next thing you know, I’ll be uploading illustrations I’ve made in photoshop, like how to connect your printer. Yes, that was an awesome segue, thank you.  For Material Girl Monday, I’m going to talk to you about some of the tools I use to make my brand of magic.  So, picture the first: That’s my big comfy chair.  I’ve been alternately drawing and describing homes and writing character sketches (the big binder on the bottom, with the sheet protectors, the legal pad, the top notebook, and for good measure GMC) and line editing (another black binder and old reliable,Read More →

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But I promised to discuss the work I’ve been doing on the new WIP and knowing the places in the work. I made a map of the town a month ago and it helped immensely. My heroine grew up in a house, moved into a house she called “the mausoleum” at eighteen when she got married, moved into a tiny apartment at 18 when she got divorced, and finally ended up living above a dance studio in a three bedroom apartment she renovated. Important things happened to her–turning points in her life, if not the story–in these places. I need to see them. I triedRead More →

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I got this brain flash last week.  Well, it was more of a brain shimmer, but you get my point.  Homes, and there are several in my current WIP (work in progress for those not in the know), are extremely important in this work.  They have symbolic meaning to nearly every character.  So, what they look like, knowing those places–pretty important.  I picked up some graph paper this weekend and started drawing… you know, I’m going into this on Wendesday, so I’ll leave it at that. But this Material Girl recommend is so highly recommended, I just bought it.  Like just now, when I wasRead More →

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Every year, I tell myself I’m going to do it. Write 50k words in a month. I believe I could do it, given the right motivation and circumstances. You know… probably. This year, it was family court throughout November and I was lucky to get a thing done. But I don’t think I’m going to set myself for NaNoWriMo guilt anymore. I mean, honestly, we all know we should be writing, every day, or at least on some sort of schedule. I think that’s the part of Na…okay, you know what I mean. NNWM. There. If NNWM works for you, that’s fabulous. But, for me,Read More →