Goalsetting

Kealie mentioned participating in NaNoWriMo, and I'm a HUGE fan of that particular writing challenge. Really, though, it's about setting writing goals, isn't it? It's exciting to participate in NaNo because there is a massive outpouring of support from the thousands of other folks who are involved in the insanity. And that is AWESOME.

But, what happens the other eleven months of the year? You know... when you don't have all that excitment and support?

Well... are you a writer? Then write.

Set goals and make yourself accountable. Tell other folks -- your family, crit partners, whomever you trust to keep you accountable. Say, "Crit Partner, I will write 500 words every day and I need you to keep my accountable."

Set realistic goals. But make them at least a little challenging. Don't just set writing goals, set submission goals.

The biggest thing, though, is to keep the momentum from NaNo... write every day... get it done.

That's my plan. What's yours?

Am I Crazy?

Y'all may think so, and some of you claim to know so... but really. Am I crazy? You wonder why I'm asking... well, probably not, but I'm gonna tell you anyway cuz it's MY turn to blog today. :-D

The real reason I ask this question: Am I crazy? Is because I signed myself up for something that I don't know if I'm ready for.

Next month I will be taking part in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). So, my already insanely busy life will become even more so. I believe Mysti and Jenni are doing it as well, so we'll see how wacko we sound in the coming month in regards to our posts. I have a feeling we'll become rather neurotic and odd in our "conversations" here. But, that's the price you pay when dealing with writers.

So, for right now, this is what I'll mostly be blogging about... and since I know that many of you will be doing this too you may not even be here to see just how wonky we can get. LOL

Maybe we'll give you some excerpts or some examples of the excercises...who knows. Anyway, I thought it would be interesting to give it a try. Well, we'll see y'all around. Hope you have a great week.

Promo Op: Guest Blogging!

We Wild Women will be hosting a guest blogger on this blog each Monday, beginning soon!

If you're interested in being a guest on our blog, please feel free to choose a couple of open dates (in case your first choice is taken) and send us an email with your dates and a subject, if you know one.

The only thing we ask is that the post is actually about something. It can be about nearly anything at all, we're not terrifically picky, but ... we'd like it to have a subject.

Thursday Thirteen ~ "Words" From the URBAN Dictionary

As a writer... I love words. This week's 13 is a list of "words" from the Urban Dictionary that for one reason or another caught my attention:

1. Mud Turkied: Supremely owned, embarrassingly schooled.

"I just totally Mud Turkied you at a game of pool." Which translates roughly in to, "I just beat you so bad at pool that your mother started crying and offered me her body so I would stop destroying you so madKorely".

*snicker* Good to know!

2. Labradoodle: A cross breed dog. Half poodle, half labrador, often used as guide dogs.

"Hey ur dog is really cute...uh what is it?"

"A labradoodle!"

Okay, yes, I've heard this one before... but it still cracks me up. The dogs are adorable... but say it out loud. Bet you can't do it without laughing.

3. Pash: Australian slang for a tongue kiss, like the English word snog.

Did you hear that Richard pashed Emma at the dance?

I have no idea if it's accurate or not... but we can always use more words for kiss!

4. Slackitude: The act of, or state of being a slacker. Describes the attitude typically associated with being a slacker.

Most appropriately applies to one with no responsibilities, one that gets by pretending to be hard at work, or the co-worker that is found hanging out near the coffee machine for most of the day.

I just can't tolerate that guy's slackitude! If I were his manager, I'd sack him, no doubt.

A phrase that can unfortunately describe WAY too many people these days.

5. Designated Texter: a passenger who reads and replies to any and all text messages recieved on the drivers phone, thus alowing the driver to focus on the road and not hit anything or get pulled over for reckless driving.

Guy 1: "Woah, I almost hit that telephone pole back there, Dude you should be my designated texter "

Guy 2: "Yeah no problem bro"

Hadn't heard this one before, but it sounds like a good idea to me!

6. Cuddle Call: a phone call (or a text) to arrange an immediate cuddle date. Not a booty call but similar in the call for satisfaction nature of the behavior.

"Hey Baby. What's going on?"

"Hi. Cuddle Call?"

"See you in ten minutes"

I swear I didn't make it up!

7. Requestion: requesting something indirectly by way of a question
note: this is distinguished from a regular question because the answer is usually obvious.

"are those peanut m&m's?" (requestion)

"yes, would you like some?"

"yeah"

Hey, my kids do this all the time!

8. Vanilla: n. The opposite of kinky. Not in any way involved with BDSM.

"He was a little more vanilla than I was used to, but we got along fine anyway."

Come on, y'all didn't think I'd leave this one out did ya?

9. Blackberry Jam: A people traffic jam that occurrs in subway tunnels and bus stations. Caused by inconsiderate workaholics walking too slow while their noses are glued to their Blackberry device.

I was late for work because there was a Blackberry Jam getting out of the A train.

It's rather ingenious.

10. Tag Hag: A person who is obsessed with name brand clothing. See label whore.

Nicole always flaunts the latest clothing.

She is such a tag hag.

I can only laugh at this one...

11. FNG: Military term, 'F***ing New Guy' usually someone just out of training or just transfered into the unit/AO, who either hasn't proved his worth or doesn't know how to operate properly due to lack of experiance.

"Damnit, nearly everyone here is an FNG, we'll be wiped out on the next op"

Umm... I come from a Military family... we love this "word".

12. Desk Rage: The peak of office employee stress levels which ultimately starts with the screaming of vulgar language within the workplace. It can often times lead to assaulting fellow employees, abusing office equipment and/or stealing of company property, abusing sick days and ultimately poor production at work. A possible side effect is that the employee continues to take out his or her rage at their residence in the form of kicking small animals and drinking heavily.

With my pending at work and the amount of people calling me each day I'm on the brink of desk rage and one day I'm going to break and take it out on that weird guy that sits next to me.

WOW, SO much worse than Road Rage.

13. Liptease: The act of putting on lipstick suggestively; The oral equivalent of a striptease.

Diane was giving me a liptease from across the room, so I went over and asked her out.

You ladies KNOW you've done this... and even some of the men! Don't deny it!

So, that is my 13 for today. I swear, none of these were made up by me... and you can go to the site and see how many people even agree with the definition. Heck, you can vote yourself! Hope y'all have a great Thursday!

Thus Quoth...

... Nope, not the Raven, but a whole bunch of other people! LOL... Today, I thought I'd share some of my favorite quotes. They're about persistence, creativity, motivation... all the things we need to keep on keeping on.

I hope you enjoy them.

"Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude."

— W. W. Ziege

"Desire is the key to motivation, but it's determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal - a commitment to excellence - that will enable you to attain the success you seek."

— Mario Andretti

"The best way to have a good idea is to have a lot of ideas."

— Dr. Linus Pauling

"Enthusiasm is one of the most powerful engines of success. When you do a thing, do it with all your might. Put your whole soul into it. Stamp it with your own personality. Be active, be energetic and faithful, and you will accomplish your object. Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm."

— Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Keep away from people who belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great."

— Mark Twain

"We are what we repeatedly do, excellence then is not an act, but a habit."

— Aristotle

Feel like writing now? I know I do!!!

Thanks... for .... everything

I have been very sick the past couple of days... when it rains it pours. Mysti and Jenny get a bit antsy when they can't reach me, but that's what is going on. I feel rather like when it rains it pours. This month has been overwhelming: Marital issues...I get sick... hubby gets hurt, BADLY, and we are dealing with recuperation...I get really sick again... and nothing is really moving through my brain at a very easy pace.

I did get a short finished and subbed to WC and they posted it to their site this last week... sorry I didn't give y'all more notice, but it's been rather... rough lately to do anything beyond the basics in getting through each day.

A friend of mine pointed out, since he is quite a bit like me in this regard, that my writing is what sustains me, what gets me through when I'm not sure I want to push through. When it feels like it would just be easier to give up. AJ reminded me that this is who we are. We are writers and we take in everything... good or bad... and we save it. Then when it doesn't hurt so much, when we can pull it out and look at it without wanting to scream, then we use it. We go back to it and lose ourselves in these worlds we create. I may not have really been accessing my laptop, but I have notebooks throughout the house with my favorite sharpie pens attatched to them so that I can write some stream of consciousness and maybe work past some issues.

So, right now, I feel disconnected, discombobulated all sorts of 'dis' feelings, but I'm still writing. I'm still working through my feelings of anger, frustration, loss of trust, and just plain being sick / a nursemaid / then sick again... so hang in there with me. Hopefully, I'll come out the other end of this sooner rather than later and amazing stories will be able to be told. Maybe I'll be able to use some of it for my NaNoWriMo challenge coming up next month. As another dear friend keeps reminding me... "Writers write. Period." Trying to keep that one going.

Thanks for being there, those of you who have held my hand, cried with me and threatened bodily harm to the person or persons who ruined some of my trust. Y'all keep me going when I just want to lie down and give up for awhile. Now that I've made myself cry it's time to totter off to bed and try to avoid puking again (yes, yes, TMI, deal with it). Your support means a great deal... so thanks.

Promo Op: Guest Blogging!

We Wild Women will be hosting a guest blogger on this blog each Monday, beginning soon!

If you're interested in being a guest on our blog, please feel free to choose a couple of open dates (in case your first choice is taken) and send us an email with your dates and a subject, if you know one.

The only thing we ask is that the post is actually about something. It can be about nearly anything at all, we're not terrifically picky, but ... we'd like it to have a subject.

Friday Fun

To make your own, visit this site

Thirteen Random Images for my Name

Talk about totally random! I used Google images with my name, and these are the first thirteen images that came up:

13.
12. 11.

10. 9.
8.
7.
6.
5.
4.
3.
2.
1.


I tried to be insulted or annoyed that most of the pictures were dogs... but seriously, they were all just so CUTE. Even the ultrasound picture of the puppies...

Awww.....

What comes up when you Google image YOUR name?

The Voices in my Head

I was walking with a friend yesterday and she asked how my writing was going. We chatted for a bit, and then she asked: Are your characters real to you?

Absolutely.

One of the ways I learn about them is to interview them. Yes, it's true, I talk to the voices in my head.

And they answer.

I'm frequently amazed at the answers they come up with -- shocked at their backgrounds, annoyed at their attitudes. They are their own people, I just write their stories down as they tell it to me.

Makes me mad sometimes, though. I'll have a great idea -- the story should go like this! It's incredible! Earth-shattering! The Next Big Thing.

And they'll shoot it down. No matter how hard I try, that particular idea will never come to fruition if the voices say "no".

What about you? Do you hear voices in your head?

Rough Times

Rough times... I was blog surfing, trying to find some inspiration for what to blog about today (as it IS my day and I am SOOOOOO behind). I was coming up blank, until I saw someone talking about having a hard time... and what she did to get at least partially through it.

Some of you may have seen it, or know me directly, but life has been rather... interesting in my world the past couple of weeks. I had no idea how to work my rough times into this blog as we tend to keep to the business end of things and less the personal end. If you want personal, you can see that on my MySpace page or blog, lol.

So, how do we as authors, move around, through or past the rough times in our lives? Well, heck... I use them. Want to torture my hero? Let's see... what crap am I going through right now that might just shoot him for a loop? Now, sometimes (okay, oftentimes) this doesn't work. Heck, my hero can't have his period, although... don't get me started on male mood swings. But, if my feelings, emotions whatever can help me to better explain what my characters are going through? Then why wouldn't I want to experience everything I could in my life. Whether it be good or bad, right or wrong, we can pull from those experiences what we need to maybe touch someone else through our writing. Yes, high hopes, but what's the use of low hopes?

So, rough times may knock me down, irritate me... heck, HURT me in more ways than I ever wanted to experience. BUT, that is half the fun of it. Getting through these things makes me stronger, makes me a better person and hopefully a better writer. Thanks for coming with me on the journey.

PROMO OP: Guest Blogging

We Wild Women will be hosting a guest blogger on this blog each Monday, beginning soon!

If you're interested in being a guest on our blog, please feel free to choose a couple of open dates (in case your first choice is taken) and send us an email with your dates and a subject, if you know one.

The only thing we ask is that the post is actually about something. It can be about nearly anything at all, we're not terrifically picky, but ... we'd like it to have a subject.

Procrastination Friday and new stuff too

To be honest, I'm not sure what the purpose of this is... but it is addicting... be warned!

Play Games at AddictingGames

I would also like to introduce you to a new feature on Friday's: The History of Erotica

Erotica and erotic romance is definitely nothing new. I would like to introduce you to some erotica artists.

Pietro Aretino (1492-1556) has been called the inventor of modern literate pornography. He wrote I Modi. or "The Ways." This is sometimes referred to as "16 Positions" as it combines sixteen sexually explicit sonnets with sixteen engravings.



I was unable to find any examples of the text online, but the book is available.

Thirteen Drinks You Could Find in an Erotic Romance

The last time I did Thursday Thirteen, I posted thirteen of my favorite drinks and recipes (courtesy of The Webtender. While I was searching for the recipes, I ran across some drinks with some....shall we say.... titallating names.

So, for your enjoyment and edification, I bring you "Thirteen Drinks You Could Find in an Erotic Romance" (unfortunately, there was not ready access to pictures for these...hmmmm... maybe I should just show the first picture I got when I googled each phrase...lol... or maybe not!!):

1. A Piece of Ass
Ingredients:
1 shot Amaretto
1 shot Southern Comfort
Ice cubes
Top off with Sour mix
Mixing instructions:
Put ice in glass. Pour in shots. Fill with Sour Mix.


2. Alien Nipple
Ingredients:
1/2 oz Butterscotch schnapps
1/4 oz Bailey's irish cream
1/4 oz Midori melon liqueur
Mixing instructions:
Add Butterscotch first, layer Irish cream on top, and pour in melon liqueur.

3. Angel's Tit
Ingredients:
1/4 oz white Creme de Cacao
1/4 oz Cherry liqueur
1/4 oz Half-and-half
Top with Cherry
Mixing instructions:
Pour ingredients into glass in order given, carefully so each layer floats on top of the previous one with mixing. Chill for 1/2 hour before serving.

4. Bald Pussy
Ingredients:
1 1/2 shot Melon liqueur
1 shot Lime vodka
1 shot Absolut Vodka
1 shot Triple sec
1 1/2 shot Blueberry schnapps
1 splash Lime juice
1 splash 7-Up
Mixing instructions:
Start at the top and venture your way to the bottom. Pour over ice and shake it on home! Pour in a highball glass and give 2 or 3 big gulps.

5. Between the Sheets
Ingredients:
1 oz Brandy
1 oz Light rum
1 oz Triple sec
1 oz Lemon juice
Mixing instructions:
In a shaker half-filled with ice cubes, combine all of the ingredients. Shake well. Strain into a cocktail glass.

6. Butch's Pink Panties
Ingredients:
2 oz Jim Beam
6 oz Mountain Dew
Blend with Ice
Mixing instructions:
Blend all ingredients thoroughly and consume. Put a pair of pink panties on and go out and mow the grass.

7. Butt Fucks
Ingredients:
4 oz Amaretto
4 oz Southern Comfort
2 oz Yukon Jack
2 oz Lime juice
Ice
Mixing instructions:
Mix all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake for approximately 1 minute, till really cold. Pour into shot glasses. Makes approximately 16 shots.

8. Blow Job
Ingredients:
1/2 oz Butterscotch schnapps
1/2 oz Irish cream (Bailey's)
Whipped cream
Mixing instructions:
Layer the butterscotch schnapps and Irish Cream by pouring the Irish Cream over the back of a spoon. Spray the Whipped cream on top, pile it about 1-2 inches high. This shot must be taken without using your hands. Pick up the shot glass between your lips and tilt back.

9. Cream in da Panties
Ingredients:
1/2 oz Frangelico
1/2 oz Bailey's irish cream
1/4 oz Creme de Cacao
1/4 oz Amaretto
1 splash Cream
Mixing instructions:
Pour all ingredients into a shaker half filled with ice, shake and then strain into shotglass

10. Cum in a Hot Tub
Ingredients:
2 parts Vodka
1 part White rum
Several drop Bailey's irish cream
Mixing instructions:
Pour the vodka and rum carefully but not too carefully into a glass. They have different consistencies and you want them to mix just a little. Now let several drops of Bailey's fall into the liquor.

11. Cunnilingus
Ingredients:
1/4 oz Bailey's irish cream
1/4 oz Peach schnapps
1/2 oz Pineapple juice
Top with Whipped cream
Mixing instructions:
Mix Bailey's, Peach Schnapps and pineapple juice with ice. Pour in shot glass Top with whipped cream

12. Foreplay
Ingredients:
1/2 oz Amaretto
1/2 oz Pineapple juice
Mixing instructions:
Mix both ingredients together in a tumbler with ice. Strain into a shot glass! Enjoy!


13. Kinky Orgasm
Ingredients:
2 cl Bailey's irish cream
2 cl Amaretto
2 cl Kahlua
Fill with Milk
Mixing instructions:
Just pour all into a higball glass. For the real funky look you can add some strawberries or even have some vanilla icecream in it

Books on Writing Fiction

I read a lot of books... I'm sure you can well imagine. I don't believe you can be a writer without being a reader.

I also enjoy books about HOW to write, and have read many. But my favorite -- by a mile -- is "On Writing" by Stephen King. I can't recommend this one enough for sheer inspiration.

The first part of the book is his writing journey. The second is some truly nuts-and-bolts advice. Stephen King doesn't mince words, he tells it like it is.

Want proof? Check this out:



And, if you haven't already... go read his book. In fact, I think I'm going to grab it and read it again.

A Top 10!

I am emotionally battered this week, so you won't get much of my wit or ... sarcasm today. I decided that since my brain wouldn't leave some things alone I needed to just do a simple blog. It started as a top ten that I took from another author's blog... and morphed. What she originally had on her blog is first and in italics and bold. What came after... that's me. So, here it is:

The Top Ten Ways You Know You're an Author

10. You narrate your own life. Your narrator sounds strangely like your critique partner/brainstorming friends/sibling.

9. You hear voices in your head and the only way to silence them is to tell their story. You not only hear the voices in your head, you speak to them as though they were standing right in front of you. Or, they can scare you half to death on the freeway when they jump up and say, "Hey, I drive one of those..." or "YES! THAT'S what I do for a living!" Sheesh, drive a girl off the road.

8. The best way to become your friend is to tell you they love your work. And that no one could possibly measure up.

7. The best way to become your enemy is to criticize your work. Even when we told you to be brutally honest. I never said we made sense, now did I? Or if you choose to snicker at the genre we choose to write.

6. You are rejected more now than you ever were in high school. At least when you finally get up the guts to finally submit.

5. Your daily mood directly correlates to your word count. And to how much you talk to yourself out loud where people other than your characters can hear you.

4. The blinking cursor has become your nemesis. If you had a way to kill it you would. And you'd make sure the death was as slow and excruciating a process as staring at that blinking cursor can be.

3. You spend more time with imaginary friends than real ones (and you're fine with that!). You can fix their lives when they make you make them go in the wrong direction... you can fix it.

2. If you're not writing you're wishing you were. Even when you are driving, cooking... sleeping.

And the number 1 reason: 1. For you, writing falls into the same category as breathing, eating and sleeping (those last two being optional). And completely unecessary in my book. LOL

So, I hope you enjoyed, I'm working on another list "You know you're a Published Author if.....

So, that's it for today. Will see y'all again, real soon I hope.

PROMO OP: Guest Blogging

We Wild Women will be hosting a guest blogger on this blog each Monday, beginning soon!

If you're interested in being a guest on our blog, please feel free to choose a couple of open dates (in case your first choice is taken) and send us an email with your dates and a subject, if you know one.

The only thing we ask is that the post is actually about something. It can be about nearly anything at all, we're not terrifically picky, but ... we'd like it to have a subject.

Friday Procratination

I am late late late. I'm on the coast and drunk on the smell of the ocean; caressed by the breeze coming onshore; enjoying myself entirely too much.

So..while y'all are being jealous, you can play this timewasting game. Have fun.

I'll be back next week with not only a new time waster, but some other interesting things :-)

I Love Writer's Prompts

I am frequently stymied in the middle of my WIP ... and there are times I can't just stop writing (I like to do writing challenges like BIAW or NaNoWriMo) and word count really matters, so I'll find prompts. Or, with NaNoWriMo, I'll visit their Plot Doctoring message board.

I've found prompts on Paperback Writer's blog.

Writer's Digest offers several.

Writing Fix has tons of different prompts.
And, in a pinch, I've gone to Wikipedia and clicked on random
article and then incorporated whatever comes up into my story in some way (this one can be really tough -- try it sometime!).

I really think prompts, especially outlandish ones, can get the juices flowing and make the brain start thinking outside the box, or at least outside the page.

What about you? Do YOU like using writing prompts?