Tag, I'm It For A Personal Quiz

Dennie tagged me for this unbelievably looonnng quiz:

1. First name? Carolyn.
2. Were you named after anyone? From a character in a book. Ironic, huh?
3. Do you wish on stars? Yes, and without them
4. When did you cry last? Can't remember--probably watching the news reports of hurricane evacuees. I cry at movies, TV, Hallmark commerials, books--it's hard to keep up
5. Do you like your handwriting? It's okay.
6. What is your favorite lunch meat? Peanut butter with grape jelly or avocado with sliced tomato--see, it's a trick answer.
7. What is your birth date? Sept 16, Virgo
8. What is your most embarrassing CD? Don't be silly, I would never purchase a silly CD. Uh huh.
9. If you were another person, would YOU be friends with you? Maybe
10. Do you have a journal? What's this?
11. Do you use sarcasm a lot? A lot
12. Would you bungee jump? Not if I were conscious.
13 What happened here?
14. Do you untie your shoes when you take them off? If they have laces
15. Do you think that you are strong? Not physically, but otherwise
16 What is your favorite ice cream flavor? Chocolate almond frozen yogurt--okay, technically it's not ice cream, but I like it best. You can't get me on a technicality.
17. Shoe Size? 8 1/2
18. Red or pink? Depends on whether it's clothes or walls. Pink walls in my office, red clothes
19. What is your least favorite thing about yourself? Weight
20. Who do you miss most? My dad
21. Do you want everyone you send this to, to answer? What would be the point in sending it otherwise?
22. What color pants and shoes are you wearing? Black
23. What are you listening to right now? WRR classical radio station
24. Last thing you ate? Ham sandwich
25. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Periwinkle blue
26. What is the weather like right now? Cloudy
27. Last person you talked to on the phone? My mom
28. The first thing you notice about the opposite sex? Eyes--windows to the soul.
29. Do you like the person who sent this to you? Yes, even though she is insane.
30. Favorite Drink? Cherry vanilla Dr Pepper
31. Favorite sport? Are you kidding? Okay, if I have to choose, it's baseball.
32. Hair Color? Brown frosted blonde
33. Eye color? Blue to gray-depends on mood and clothes
34. Do you wear contacts? No
35. Favorite Food? Mexican
36. Last movie you watched? "Bounce" on video. Ugh.
37. Favorite day of the year? Dec 23
38. Scary Movies Or Happy Endings? Happy endings
39. Summer or Fall? Fall.
40. Hugs OR Kisses? Makes a difference from whom, doesn't it?
41. What Is Your Favorite Dessert? Carrot cake or chocolate pie--and anything I didn't have to make
42. Who Is Most Likely To Respond? Kevin
43. Who Is Least Likely To Respond? Jeanmarie ‘cause she’s new to blogging and busy with her contest final
44. What Books Are You Reading? A mystery by Isis Crawford
45. What’s on your mouse pad? Plain blue
46. What Did You Watch Last Night? Kidnapped on PBS then the last half of Gray's Anatomy
48. Favorite Sounds? laughter, birds singing, sappy stuff like that
47. Favorite Smell? hubby
50. Favorite animal. My cat, Delilah, even though she is anything but cuddly
51. What’s the farthest you’ve been from home? Germany
52. Do you have a special talent? Everyone does, but I'm never sure what mine is.

So now I've tagged Kevin and Jeanmarie

New Ventures, New Ideas

Tomorrow is the first day of the National Novel Writers Month challenge--to write the 50,000 word rough draft of a novel in one month. Most writers know the rough draft is only the bud from which a novel will flower. Opening the petals takes varying lengths of time, but having that completed first draft is an adrenaline rush! This will be my first time participating in the group effort to produce 50,000 words in one month--really only half or three-fourths the word count needed for a marketable manuscript. I'm one of those who edits constantly, so this is indeed a challenge for me. I've been a fan of Mark Twain, who said, "The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and lightning bug." So, for me, turning off the editor searching for the perfect word or phrase and concentrating on producing daily word count is a new venture which may prove difficult. For this event, I will concentrate on the rough draft for a new mystery, currently titled ARMSTRONG PARKWAY. This is another new venture, because a friend and I are working on it together and I've never co-authored a book. We've plotted it, driven around the setting, and worked up a detailed outline. Once I complete the rough draft, he'll add here and there, tweak, check pacing, and insert research details. Then we will each do a final edit. It's exciting to stretch oneself to incorporate new ideas and techniques into one's profession--in my case, writing mass market fiction. Here's hoping tomorrow is the start of a productive month and a marketable new venture!

Anyone interested in learning more about National Novel Writers Month can find details at www.nanowrimo.org Happy writing--or reading!

No More Rejections

Okay, it's just the title of a book, but it's a great book by Alice Orr. A very kind friend gave me a copy. Said kind friend heard Ms Orr speak at an RWA chapter conference earlier this month and was wowed. After reading the book, I understand why. Ms. Orr encourages writers to take back the power of our creativity. Yes, she stepped on my toes a few times, but I am inspired from reading this book. And it couldn't have come at a better time in my writing life.

Dale Carnegie said, "Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all." A rejection makes a writer feel as if there's no hope, but with any luck it's only for about a half hour before our desire to see our stories in print takes over and forces us to persevere. I will persevere and, thanks to a friend's gift, maybe I am closer to that next sale. Thanks, Ashley!

Triumph and Rejection

A friend received a rejection today, which was tempered by an editor's request for a full of the same manuscript after it finaled in a contest. Her experience has renewed my anxiety over those partials and fulls I have out with editors or agents. Writing is hard. Waiting is hard. Sometimes the mailbox delivers cruel mail--or no mail. Which is worse, to wonder or to learn the answer is no? As long as the rejection hasn't arrived, there's always the dream that instead of a letter, we'll receive that editor's phone call offering a contract. Samuel Becket said, "Try. Fail. Try again. Fail again. Fail better." All we can do is keep writing and hope. Hmm, it's hard to type with your fingers crossed.

Editing and research

It's a shame we can't count pages for editing. It's a necessary endeavor. Same with research. If you don't research properly, it shows. If you do, probably no one notices. No one says, "She sure got the weather right there," or "Wasn't that a great description of Memphis in the winter?" It all becomes background. I've been researching for the cozy mystery that's my WIP, and the protagonist manages her family's garden center and she's also a landscape designer. Fortunately, my critique partner Jeanmarie worked in her family's garden center for years and has been helpful. I also visit a wonderful family garden center in Fort Worth for inspiration. Research has even inspired me to plant wildflowers in my own yard. I spent hours making seedballs using 1 part wildflower seed, 3 parts humus, and 5 parts powdered clay. Using this recipe from a garden expert, I added enough water to make this mixture the consistency of cookie dough and then rolled it into pea-sized balls and set them to dry. Everywhere. In trays on the dining table and in the laundry room. Okay, so some of the last balls I made might be a little larger than pea-sized, they're still small. If I don't have traffic-stopping wildflowers at the front of my yard next spring, I'm suing somebody!

Life gets in the way of art.

I've signed up for the book-in-a-month for November's Novel Writer's Month. Now I'm wondering which of my prospective premises to use for the fast draft in a month. I hope to turn off my constant editor and just write. The other problem that might slow me is life--family demands, etc. I'm excited at the thought of trying something new to stretch my creativity. In the meantime, I'm editing a WIP--the cozy mystery about a young woman who manages her family's garden center. It's set in North Texas in a fictional town in place of the actual town of Van Alstyne. My father was born a few miles from there at Pilot Grove, and I've always wanted to set a story there.

A Writer's Life

What an exciting day! After spending the day at the State Fair of Texas, I finally get my blog up and ready. Oops, no writing today. But my sweet husband has reformatted my website, and I'm pleased with the new additions.