(Aside, Blondie Jr. got tooth numero uno today! Is it weird to be so proud of something that our kiddo has no real say in? I guess part of the excitement is the general unhappiness and incessant slobber the past few days has paid off, anywho…..) Happy Leap Year Day! One of my favorite things to do with books and medias is to pick them apart after finishing them. It drives my hubby nuts, but I can’t help trying to dissect why I love or hate something. I think it’s fun, and I honestly think it’s important to always be trying to learn. Some of the things I think about are below. Gut reactions: What exactly did I like/dislike? Did I believe it, why or why not? What would I have done differently? Does it all flow? Specifically: (What did I think of the following) Characters Dialogue Setting Plotline Relationships Theme Style More Specifically to Books: What happens in the first few words, paragraphs, pages to hook me? Does it take long? What/whom exactly is being introduced and how? Is it fast (action right away) or slower (back story/dialogue)? How does it look on the page visually, blank space and dialogue tags? Is what I’m hearing from the character’s perspective actually what is going on in the story? (Is the narrator reliable?) If I remove this (sentence, paragraph, word) how does that change what I think? Do you have any other reading tips? <heart> Kate
Monthly Archives: February 2012
Artist Supply Preferences
- 20
- Feb
I am often curious to see how other people do what they do or why they choose to do what they do. Thats why I like sites like the Guardian’s Writer’s Rooms, so we can see how other authors do they’re thang. I am especially interested in what types of products artists use to create their beauties. On the one side you have people who are trying to be as economical as possible – whether for budgetary reasons or just so they can afford more variety, who knows – people like Ms. Alisa Burke. Then you have people like Ms. Pam Garrison who writes that she is doing something she loves why not invest and get the best? Good question and certainly if you have it figured out what works best for you – go for it! Even better when people make their supply lists into artworks like Ms. Gennine! So… I really really enjoyed stumbling across this blog, The Tools Artists Use! Common, admit it, you like to see this stuff, too! Any comments? <heart> Kate
Dear Work-In-Progess:
- 06
- Feb
Dear WIP, I thought I knew you. Why did you have to do a complete 180 on me? Don’t tell me you just want to be friends, we had a real relationship going here? Please come back. We can work this out. Again. This doesn’t have to be like last time when I dumped thousands of words down the drain, does it? I don’t like it when you make me act like this. Ok, Ok, I need to take some ownership in this situation. I should have listened to you when you started whining about losing my attention, but we really started drifting apart after you met that guy. I suppose I should have taken you more seriously when you told me you didn’t like where this was going. Please come back, we’ll talk.~K For those interested, we are making progress. We are still talking about said guy, but we are working things out. We had a little hitch but things are going much more smoothly now. Miscommunication always causes chinks in relationships, especially written ones. Have you ever found yourself trying to make a square peg fig in a round hole in you writing and you just have to backtrack? *sigh* Kate
Are you a Success?
- 04
- Feb
I found this link somewhere on a blog hop, not sure where exactly, but I believe it describes my life well. I have succeeded in my life, because I thought I could succeed. I have seen others fail simply due to the opposite mindset. I do not say this pridefully, I really do think everyone can succeed with the right attitude. Successful people believe that they have the internal capacity to make desirable things happen. This is perhaps the most central belief shown to drive individual success. People who believe they can succeed see opportunities where others see threats. This comfort with ambiguity leads people to take greater risks and achieve greater returns. Successful people tend to not feel like victims of fate. They believe that they have the motivation and ability to change their world. They see success for themselves and others as largely a function of motivation and ability, not luck, random chance or external factors. YET sometimes in those weak moments when I get frustrated and down, my hubby will say something like “well you can’t make it work with that attitude” and I inevitably get riled and stubborn and then insist on that crappy attitude. I fuss and mull and then tell myself “I’ll show him, I’ll succeed even with my crappy attitude.” The irony makes me laugh. That is exactly what he meant. (Shh… don’t tell). Successful people believe that they are doing what they choose to do, because they choose to do it. Successful people have a high need for self-determination. The more successful a person is, the more likely this is to be true. Successful people have a unique distaste for feeling controlled or manipulated. In my work, I have learned that I cannot force executives to change. I can only help them get better at what they choose to change. The ultimate motivation for change has to come from the person being coached – not the coach. And then I read things like the above that seem to vindicate both my seeming arrogance and crappy attitudes, and I can’t help but giggle. Ok, there is a little pride. See, I’m not weird, I’m not alone. I have proof. That being said, I am going to succeed at finishing my WIP. Are you Successful? I hope so. <heart> Kate
How to Waste Time
- 03
- Feb
This post is going to kick my behind. Because. I realized that I do a lot of *cough* writerly things that are actually just related time-wasters. Like… reading author blogs, reading how-tos, watching process videos, finding out how authors prepare for book signings… these are all things that I really don’t need to be doing right now. This is one of my free 40 minutes that I should be using for writing and what am I doing? I am blogging. Yes, blogging is a good thing, keeps the readers up to date, but hey if I don’t have something to read, why does it matter…. so without further ado, I am going to go. Write. Write my Work-In-Progress, because writing my WIP is what matters right now. Peace <heart> Kate
