Thursday, April 28, 2005
Elizabeth Bevarly Comes Between Brad and Angelina. “She’s my ideal!” Crows Pitt.
What can I say? He just won't stop following me around. Alas, I don't even care for blondes.
Sorry. Eloisa's en route to the RT convention, and I wanted her to have something to read when she checks in later. (Not to mention I was just getting tired of seeing Christina's cover at the top there.)
Sorry. Eloisa's en route to the RT convention, and I wanted her to have something to read when she checks in later. (Not to mention I was just getting tired of seeing Christina's cover at the top there.)
Wednesday, April 27, 2005
Christina Dodd tunes up her fellow Squawkers!
CTY-full
Originally uploaded by Christina Dodd.
Look! I figured out how to post the cover of CLOSE TO YOU on the blog!
I wouldn't have gone to all that bother except
CLOSE TO YOU IS #32 ON THE NYT!!! THAT'S FIVE WEEKS, PEOPLE!!!!
Christiina Dodd goes back on topic! But not about Bigfoot …
I'm finishing a book right now and what happens is, I pour out so many words on the page I'm no longer able to vocalize. Enough writers have this that it has a name -- Writer's Ephasia. (Hope I spelled that right!)
For instance, when I'm cooking dinner and my kids are helping, I'll say, "Get the thingie out of the thingie." And the sad part? They get the right thingie out of thingie. They get the grater or the collander (hope I spelled that right, too) or the syrup. Whatever. THEY KNOW WHAT I MEAN!
Poor kids.
BTW, the spelling fails, too.
For instance, when I'm cooking dinner and my kids are helping, I'll say, "Get the thingie out of the thingie." And the sad part? They get the right thingie out of thingie. They get the grater or the collander (hope I spelled that right, too) or the syrup. Whatever. THEY KNOW WHAT I MEAN!
Poor kids.
BTW, the spelling fails, too.
Christina Dodd goes off topic!!
I debated about posting this because it's so silly. Then I thought -- hey, it's my blog, too! Who's going to stop me? Muhahahahaha!
Monday A.M.
My Dearest: Please sleep late. Everything under control. Lunches packed. Kids off to school. Menu for dinner planned. Your lunch is on a tray in refrigerator: finger-sandwiches and fruit cup. Thermos of hot tea by
bedside. See you around 6:00. Hope you're feeling better.
Tuesday A.M.
Honey: Sorry about the egg rack in the refrigerator. I tried to catch it. Hope you got back to sleep. Did the kids tell you about the Coke I put in their Thermos bottles? Apparently not a good idea. The school might call you on this. Dinner may be a little late. I'm doing your door-to-door canvas for liver research. Your lunch is inrefrigerator. Hope you like leftover chili.
Wednesday A.M.
Dear Doris: Why in the name of all that is sane would you put soap powder in the flour canister! If you have time, could you please come up with a likely place to find Chris's missing shoes? We've checked the clothes
hamper, garage, back seat of the car and wood box. Did you know the school has a ruling on bedroom slippers?
There's some cold pizza for you on a napkin in the frig. Am trying to find out what smells in the kitchen. Will be late tonight. Driving eight Girl Scouts to tour meat packing house.
Thursday A.M
Doris: Don't panic over water in hallway. It crested last night at 9 P.M. Will finish laundry tonight. Please pencil in answers to following:
1. How do you turn on the garbage disposal? I thought it was automatic..
Guess not.
2. Why would that rotten kid leave his shoes in his boots?
3. How do you remove a Confederate flag inked on the palm of a small boy's hand?
4. What do you do with leftovers when they begin to snap at you when you open the door?
I don't know what you're having for lunch! Surprise me!
Friday A.M.
Hey: Don't drink from pitcher by the sink! Am trying to restore pink dress shirt to original white. Take heart. Tonight, the ironing will be folded, the house cleaned and the dinner on time. I called your sister.
Monday A.M.
My Dearest: Please sleep late. Everything under control. Lunches packed. Kids off to school. Menu for dinner planned. Your lunch is on a tray in refrigerator: finger-sandwiches and fruit cup. Thermos of hot tea by
bedside. See you around 6:00. Hope you're feeling better.
Tuesday A.M.
Honey: Sorry about the egg rack in the refrigerator. I tried to catch it. Hope you got back to sleep. Did the kids tell you about the Coke I put in their Thermos bottles? Apparently not a good idea. The school might call you on this. Dinner may be a little late. I'm doing your door-to-door canvas for liver research. Your lunch is inrefrigerator. Hope you like leftover chili.
Wednesday A.M.
Dear Doris: Why in the name of all that is sane would you put soap powder in the flour canister! If you have time, could you please come up with a likely place to find Chris's missing shoes? We've checked the clothes
hamper, garage, back seat of the car and wood box. Did you know the school has a ruling on bedroom slippers?
There's some cold pizza for you on a napkin in the frig. Am trying to find out what smells in the kitchen. Will be late tonight. Driving eight Girl Scouts to tour meat packing house.
Thursday A.M
Doris: Don't panic over water in hallway. It crested last night at 9 P.M. Will finish laundry tonight. Please pencil in answers to following:
1. How do you turn on the garbage disposal? I thought it was automatic..
Guess not.
2. Why would that rotten kid leave his shoes in his boots?
3. How do you remove a Confederate flag inked on the palm of a small boy's hand?
4. What do you do with leftovers when they begin to snap at you when you open the door?
I don't know what you're having for lunch! Surprise me!
Friday A.M.
Hey: Don't drink from pitcher by the sink! Am trying to restore pink dress shirt to original white. Take heart. Tonight, the ironing will be folded, the house cleaned and the dinner on time. I called your sister.
Elizabeth on Secondary Resources (and Marrying Bigfoot)
I'm trying, Eloisa, but yours wasn't the most compelling blog title, either.
I'm opposite you. When I'm in Deep Write, I'm too distracted to read anything else, because my mind is so focused on my own story that it can't get into anyone else's. That's when I start looking at magazines, which provide 90% of my research materials. I subscribe to tons, many of them men's interest to get the male POV on stuff (Esquire is a particular fave). The stack in my office right now is--and I just now measured--waist high. (Obviously I'm not having trouble with the writing at the moment, except for not wanting to do it because we're finally having a beautiful day, and I'd rather be outside walking in the woods before it gets too buggy.) So I'll start flipping through the mags, reading articles that look interesting or which might provide story ideas or some kind of character trait. I'll clip pictures of rooms or outfits that look like ones I want to use, or pull pages with artwork or advertisements that might inspire a good cover. Ultimately, during times like those, I think I'm absorbing stuff that will go into the NEXT book, not the one I'm working on at the moment, because I already absorbed the stuff for my work-in-progress when I was flipping through magazines during the LAST book while I was distracted.
And when I'm not in deep write, but still writing a book, I find that I read less romance and more my other favorite genre--mystery. Or memoirs. I've developed quite a taste for those. Or if I do read romance when I'm writing, it'll be historical or paranormal or a traditional Regency. I don't read the type of books I write until after I'm done with a book. Then I'll take a coupla three weeks and devour all kinds of contemp.
Elizabeth
I'm opposite you. When I'm in Deep Write, I'm too distracted to read anything else, because my mind is so focused on my own story that it can't get into anyone else's. That's when I start looking at magazines, which provide 90% of my research materials. I subscribe to tons, many of them men's interest to get the male POV on stuff (Esquire is a particular fave). The stack in my office right now is--and I just now measured--waist high. (Obviously I'm not having trouble with the writing at the moment, except for not wanting to do it because we're finally having a beautiful day, and I'd rather be outside walking in the woods before it gets too buggy.) So I'll start flipping through the mags, reading articles that look interesting or which might provide story ideas or some kind of character trait. I'll clip pictures of rooms or outfits that look like ones I want to use, or pull pages with artwork or advertisements that might inspire a good cover. Ultimately, during times like those, I think I'm absorbing stuff that will go into the NEXT book, not the one I'm working on at the moment, because I already absorbed the stuff for my work-in-progress when I was flipping through magazines during the LAST book while I was distracted.
And when I'm not in deep write, but still writing a book, I find that I read less romance and more my other favorite genre--mystery. Or memoirs. I've developed quite a taste for those. Or if I do read romance when I'm writing, it'll be historical or paranormal or a traditional Regency. I don't read the type of books I write until after I'm done with a book. Then I'll take a coupla three weeks and devour all kinds of contemp.
Elizabeth
ELOISA: question about using other books while writing
My current manuscript is one of those ones that's like pulling huge rocks out of a field...I work and work and at the end of the day I have two puny pages. So I find myself surrounded by a wall of books, because when I absolutely can't figure out what to do next, I open up Wilkie Collins's The Moonstone (my current favorite) and look at how he constructed a sentence. I looked at Lord of Scoundrels yesterday to see how Loretta Chase did male interior monologue (which she does better than anyone else). A scholarship book called English Professional Theater 1530-1660, because my characters are putting on a play. Also the index is brilliant for coming up with names.
How about the rest of you? Am I the only one who desperately thrashes around in other people's prose when I'm stuck for my own sentences? I don't plagiarize--I just look for inspiration.... if that makes sense!
Eloisa
How about the rest of you? Am I the only one who desperately thrashes around in other people's prose when I'm stuck for my own sentences? I don't plagiarize--I just look for inspiration.... if that makes sense!
Eloisa