Come On Over

I'm talking about favorite hooks along with other things at Southern Magic's blog. Come on over and comment. Click here.

All Work and No Play Makes A Writer

I haven't gotten much writing done lately. Been working on a synopsis and editing another finished book to get it ready to send out to agents. I wish I didn't have a day job. This would go so much faster, at the least on my part.

Southern Nicknames

On one of my contest entries, the judge said, "Smooth and Evil simply are not realistic names..." I couldn't help but laugh. Smooth was my husband's nickname for about twenty years where he works until he was promoted and then the guys changed it to Evil. LOL!

You're probably asking why do they use nicknames. Think about it. How many Steves, Toms, Jeremys and Matthews you know? Yeah. That's right. Bunches. So instead of saying, "No. The other one." They use nicknames and I can tell you, there are some doozies.

If you're wondering about the nicknames: 1) Smooth was from his time as a forklift driver. Now this forklift wasn't the little things you see at Home Depot or Lowe's. They can lift around 65,000 lbs. They're huge. Anyway, he was one of the best because he could lift and load trucks "smoothly" and quickly. 2) Evil is his current nickname because he loves to pull pranks and tease mercilessly.

Judges and Critique Partners

Something I've learned over the years about contest judges and critique partners is that you don't have to take their advice. I use to change everything the way they would tell me. But I've learned two people can feel two different ways about the same area in a manuscript. It has so much to do with their experiences and their personal perferences.

So when I read comments, I correct any typos, missing words, and areas where they said a sentence wasn't clear. Most of the other stuff I read and think how it would affect my story. If I can easily see where changing or deleting it would improve my story, then I do. If I can't see how it would really help, I ignore it and go on.

I figure if I make a wrong decision and it doesn't sell, then it's no one's fault but mine. If it sales as is, well, it proves I know what I'm doing when it comes to my work, my voice.

I'm Back!

I've been cheating the last few days. You probably noticed I had set up several days worth of posts by using YouTube. Hubby and I went to the mountains and enjoyed the beautiful scenery. Love it there! Plus I got lots of writing done. No internet. But would've done more, if not for blanking out and playing Spider Solitaire. Bad, bad, girl!

The Kindred

I'm so happy I have the whole DVD set. The show had a wonderful Romeo and Juliet storyline. Such a shame it was cancelled way back when. It always happens to vampire TV series. Wonder if it will happen to True Blood soon?



Happy Valentine's Day

Moonlight

With the success of True Blood, I wonder if they regret cancelling it?



I'm thankful I have two of my favorite episodes on my iPod.

Friends

Favorite scene from Friends. Can you tell I'm busy doing something else?

Fools Rush In

This is my week for YouTube clips. Love this scene. It's a little blurry but still funny.

Tombstone

Tombstone is my favorite western. The other day at lunch, some fellows at the table next to mine was testing each other with quotes. Loved it! Was hilarious!
My favorite scene is at 5 minutes and 55 seconds into this clip.