Newton's Third Law of...Writing?

My brain goes in some of the weirdest directions sometimes.  I've been thinking this week about all the lovely and shiny ideas I've had for stories over the last year, and how many of them tanked within the first 1,000 words on the page.

I've come to a conclusion:  For every good idea, there is an equal and opposite bad idea.

Looks familiar, doesn't it?  It should.  It's Newton's Third Law of Motion, which I've thoroughly corrupted for my own purposes.

I'm a nerd, I know.  I embrace that side of myself fully.

But it's true, not every idea can be a good one.  Not every idea can have a stellar concept, a breathtaking plot, and three-dimensional characters.  Can you imagine if they did?  I'd never leave my computer again!

Letting ideas or characters or whatever shiny bit of story it was that sprung to mind go can be sad-making.  I've still got one idea from a while back I'm clinging desperately to, hoping I'll be able to find a plot to fit it at some point.  But at some point you have to allow yourself to step back and say, "This idea isn't as great as I first thought, and that's okay.  It's time to move on."

Because some ideas turn out to be a brassy copper instead of that shiny gold color we were looking for.  Newton said that's how it had to be.  Blame him.  ;)

Amusing, but pointless

Okay, so I was going to write this whole long thoughtful post this morning.  Then I was running late, and traffic was doing weird stuff, and Super Spawn decided he didn't want to go to school.  Then I got to work (finally) and have been having computer issues all morning.

*Is not amused with this Monday*

Guess that'll teach me to pre-schedule my posts from now on, huh?

Probably not. 

Anyway, since it's already late and I have really got to do some *cough* real work *cough*, let's chalk this one up to experience, and I'll leave you with a funny picture.  Hope your Monday is great!

My Brain Hurts

My head is full to the point of bursting this morning.  You ever have those days?  So many thoughts swirl around up there at the same time, you're surprised they don't leak out your ears. 

Yeah.  That's me today.

Just a warning -- this is nothing about writing this morning.  It's purely mommy pride. 

Along with the revisions I've been working on, I've also been trying to figure out what kind of music lessons Super Spawn should start for a while now.

My gut reaction was piano, but kiddo has other ideas.

We've been watching lots of videos (thank you YouTube) of kids playing instruments and getting lessons to give him an idea of what it's like.  Well, something clicked.  We were watching a little girl play piano when Super Spawn points to the side of the screen and says, "WHAT is that?"

I click the video and explain to him that it's a little boy playing a violin.  It was a five-year-old playing in a huge concert hall.  So Super Spawn announces, "I'm going to play that.  I want a violin.  That's going to be me."  Then he shoved a t-shirt under his chin and held his little hands out and pretended to play.

And he has asked me every other minute since if I've bought him a violin yet.  lol

I played piano when I was a kid, so I'm not too sure what to expect from a violin, but I'm going to let him try.  :)  I'm excited that he's so enthusiastic.  Any words of wisdom for me out there?

Very Unscientific Statistics

I am no statistician.  I'll be the first to admit that.  I *hated* statistics in college, and I'm actually really good at math.  Just not statistics.  So, I thought about doing percentages and making charts for you, but...well, no.  Just no.  Sorry.  ;)

 

Anyway, on to the point.

Via my Facebook page (which is personal, not for writing stuff) I posed a question to my friends:

"Facebook friends, I want answers. What makes you buy a book (or check it out from the Library)? Is it the cover? The blurb on the back? The publisher? Something totally different?  I want to know."

The #1 answer:  COVER.

Coming in a close #2:  Title.

#3 answer: Familiar author.

#4:  Blurb on the back.

and last, but not least #5:  Recommendation from a friend.

What do you think about those answers?  Do you agree with them?  I have to say, I do get a lot of books on recommendation, but if I'm browsing blindly, the cover is definitely the first thing that pulls me in.

Lets have some fun...

So...  I thought it might be fun to do something different today.  I've been considering changing the title of my WIP. (Why I'm so worried about it, I don't know. I know if I get an agent or publisher it may change, but whatever.  Just humor me.)

If you don't know, here's what my WIP is about:

Sixteen-year-old Kate is trapped in a fairy tale, and if she doesn’t escape soon, she’ll lose all her memories. Or worse, she’ll get killed.

Without further ado, I give you options!  Cast your vote, and if you have any brilliant suggestions, leave them in the comments. 





Thanks for playing along, lovelies. Have a great weekend!

The First Novel

Inspired by my sister's creation on her blog, I've written you a little Christmas tune of my own.  Enjoy...

The First Novel

The first Novel the author did say
Was to certain poor betas in computers they say;
In computers they read, critiquing their peeps,
On a cold winter's night that was so deep.
Novel, Novel, Novel, Novel,
Born is the next J.K. Rowling.
 
The apostrophes are ragged and weak
Slow down the pacing, and show me, don't tell.
Your prose is slight, try beefing it up.
And don't let me see you slacking, I'll beat you up.
Novel, Novel, Novel, Novel,
Born is the next Stephanie Meyer.

You've busted your butt, sing your praises out loud;
You sure have made your crit partner proud,
And with this manuscript you'll land that deal
With it will come the most awesome squeal.
Novel, Novel, Novel, Novel,
Born is the next Suzanne Collins.

Insanity

As promised, the insanity that is me when I get excited about something - captured on video.  Yes, I speak of my trip to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part one.  Along for the ride were my sister and brother-in-law, who are just as crazy as me...which makes for lots of fun when you're sitting in line for over three hours.

We went to the 10:45pm showing on Friday night and the crowds were still insane. The line went all the way down the theater hallway, wrapped back around and went out into the atrium area.  In the end they had to make our line about four rows deep.  Nuts.

So, want proof of my randomness and propensity to giggle at everything?  Here it is...

And then I thought I'd try to interview Super BIL...

Gotta love the awesome people you meet at these kind of shows...

And of course, with any making of a movie you're going to have some bloopers...

There were a lot more videos made, but you get the idea.

Doesn't that make you want to go to a movie with me?  lol  My sister calls me her personal entertainment system.  :)  I hope you all enjoyed a dose of my insanity.  We had a crazy good time, and the movie was awesome.

And Emma Watson?  OMG  She rocked this movie, let me tell ya.

I hope you all had wonderful holidays.  Much more insanity ensued on black Friday for the fearsome duo of my sister and me.  Unfortunately (or perhaps more fortunately) no videos were taken.  :)

Have a great Monday!

It's a *headdesk* kind of day

I was planning a picture post for you guys.  Then everything went haywire.  So I have no pictures.

Fail.


In their place I give you.... VIDEO CUTENESS!!  After I made the vlog for you guys last week, the only thing Super Spawn wants to do is record himself.  So, here are a couple doses of cuteness for you today...

On a sorta side note -- is anyone else out there dealing with food allergies?  I believe I've mentioned before that Super Spawn is allergic to nuts.  Well, I was worried that with Halloween he'd feel a bit upset when I removed all the unsafe candy from his bucket. 

Boy was I surprised when that only turned out to be a handful worth!  Most of the candy he got was totally safe for him to eat.  YAY for a safe Halloween!!

Maybe a little random

**Edited to add:  You must go over to Susan's blog today for her Big Announcement!  Plus, she's giving away lots of cool prizes!!**

Okay, so if you've been following this blog for a while you know I get random sometimes.  Welcome to another episode of Holly Randomized!

On my drive down to the conference I heard this song as I was breezing through radio stations, and it caught my attention.  First because of the happy, bouncy music, but then the words grabbed me.

Lyrics:
...
How did we stay so long together?
When everybody, everybody said we never would
And just when I, I start to think they're right
That love has died...

There you go making my heart beat again,
Heart beat again,
Heart beat again
There you go making me feel like a kid
Won't you do it and do it one time?
There you go pulling me right back in,
Right back in,
Right back in
And I know-oo I'm never letting this go-ooo

I'm stuck on you
Whutooo whutooo
Stuck like glue
You and me baby we're stuck like glue
Whutooo whutooo
Stuck like glue
You and me baby we're stuck like glue

Some days I don't feel like trying
Some days you know I wanna just give up
When it doesn't matter who's right, fight about it all night
Had enough
You give me that look
"I'm sorry baby let's make up"
You do that thing that makes me laugh
And just like that...

There you go making my heart beat again,
Heart beat again,
Heart beat again
There you go making me feel like a kid
Won't you do it and do it one time
There you go pulling me right back in,
Right back in,
Right back in
And I know-oo I'm never letting this go-ooo
...



So what does this have to do with anything?  Leave it to me to think of the most abstract meaning.  It totally reminds me of my relationship with writing!  When I start to feel down, feel like my writing is the worst it could possibly be, something happens that makes my heart beat again.  It reminds me how much I LOVE writing.  I remember how great it makes me feel, and it's all better again.


Some days you want to just give up, then you have this great idea -- maybe a really stellar paragraph or a shiny new idea -- and your heart pitter-patters again with that excitement, that love.


I'm right, aren't I?  :D


Here's the music video, the band is Sugarland and the song's title is "Stuck Like Glue."

Slacker Blogger Alert

Warning: You have entered the slacker blogger zone. The slacker blogger can be vicious if provoked.

Ways to identify the slacker blogger:

1. The blog schedule begins to topple to the way side.
2. You get completely random posts that make no sense.
3. Drool may be dripping from his/her mouth.
4. There is an excess of candy wrappers laying about.
5. You see something like this:
   
   

Friday Afternoon Randomness

Sitting at my desk after lunch sucking on a jolly rancher (which I keep in my candy jar for daily use) inspiration struck.

Sing this to the Toys-R-Us tune. I promise it will brighten your day immensely.

I don't wanna grow up, I'm a Harry Potter kid.
There's a million toys in HP World that I can play with.
From pygmy puffs to secret sensors, it’s the best magic store there is!
I don’t wanna grow up because if I did, I wouldn’t be a Harry Potter kid!

*Takes a bow*

You're welcome. It'll be stuck in my head for the next century.

Tipsy Tuesday- Exhaustion

You know that saying, “She can squeeze a penny so hard a dime pops out.”

I wish I could do that to minutes. Squeeze a minute so hard an hour pops out.

Ha, that sounds kinda funny.

I’ll confess to not having read a new book this week for the book review on Thursday. What I’m planning to do is review a book I’ve read in the past. I fell back on an old friend for reading this week…I guess I needed the comfort. Hogwarts is great for that. It feels as familiar as my own home.

So on Thursday you'll get an in-depth review of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. I just needed a break from the new reading. Next week will be critiques, so that should give me long enough to get a couple new ones read for future reviews.

This week was all about the tipsy and not so much about the tips, sorry. Haha. I had THE BEST margarita over the weekend. It was made with Cabo Wabo. I'd never had it before, but OMG it was so good! You should try one for sure.


Don't forget about the Community Critique Party! Send your one page submissions to Holly (at) hddodson (dot) com with Community Critique Party in the subject line! You have until Friday at 5pm EST to get them in.

We LOVE Wednesday- Literary Crush Style

The ladies over at YAHighway are taking a break from Road Trip Wednesday this week to offer some fabulous prizes! They are celebrating their one year blogiversary! Make sure to visit them!

So, I thought I'd throw my own question out there. Feel free to answer it on your blog or in the comments! If you post it on your blog, let me know and I'll link you in my post.

Who is your literary crush?

Can be fictional character, Author, Poet...anyone! (Or several if you're like me and can't choose just one.)

I could never choose just one, so here are the people I love and why (in no particular order):

1. Suzanne Collins - The Hunger Games, need I say more?
2. JK Rowling- Yeah, Harry Potter, again- need I say more?
3. David- From Aprilynne Pike's Wings and Spells- He is the sweetest, most adorable fictional boyfriend, like, ever.
   
4. Peeta- Because he'll go to any end to save you should you ever wind up in, oh ya know -- a situation where everyone is out to kill you.
5. Juliette Marillier- Have you read her Sevenwaters books? Run-now-read. (The first is the best, but the others are great as well.) The way she writes is just...amazing...I really don't know how else to put it. Her books wrap you in a spell and don't let go. Ever.
   
6. Po- From Graceling- He's another really great good-guy love interest who would do anything to save you if you ever found yourself say -- being chased by a psycho king bent on controlling you with his words.
   

What about you?

Blue Lipstick Samurai says, "A Sprig of Ginger".

Tipsy Tuesday

Okay, so maybe not that kind of tipsy. Unless you've got a chilled moscato hanging out over there. Then it's game ON! I jest, I jest. Or do I?

Enough circles. On this Tipsy Tuesday I bring you tips for query submissions I have gathered across the array of agent blogs I follow.

1. Personalize the letter. No, Ms. Agent Lady doesn't enjoy being addressed as Dear Sir. Be sure to use the agent's name, spelled correctly.
2. Never ever, ever, ever, ever CC a gajillion agents on a single query email. They know. It's really an insult--like saying they're not worth your time.
3. No matter how great the urge-- do NOT send gifts along with a paper query. It's creepy.
4. Do your research. Sending an agent a query for a genre they don't represent is wasting both your time. Most agents list things they represent on their website and/or on sites like query tracker and publishers marketplace.
5. Don't send attachments to emails, unless the agent specifically asks for it! It will be deleted for fear of viruses.

Now, some not so serious mommy tips.

1. Never let Super-Spawn nap until nearly 5pm, he will never go to sleep at night.
2. Of course cake is a healthy food! Grandma says so!
3. Repeating Mama over and over and over and over is a tactic to make you cave. DO NOT GIVE IN!
   
4. Puppy dog eyes and pouty lips work, even if you don't want them to.
5. They really are cute when they sleep, it's the waking hours you have to worry about.

Ba-dum-cha!