Self-Aggrandizing Moi

I am a good woman.

I say this because I got Borat from the library for me and the Likes Uncomfortable Situation Comedy Way More Than I Do Spouse to watch. I am expecting I'll spend most the movie grimacing.

Writing is going well, I say guardedly (note: Stephen King said "The road to Hell is paved with adverbs.").

Reading is not going well. I tossed a book after two chapters because I just didn't care if these people got together or not. My TBR shelves are mocking me. I am not sure what to choose next.

AND CAN I SAY I AM SO TIRED OF WEARING MY WINTER COAT?!? IT'S APRIL, PEOPLE!
[I know. The weather is a) a boring topic b) not controllable and c) predictable in blogdom. But still.]

Bite of the Apple

So yesterday I was uploading music, continuing our quest to completely digitize our collection prior to moving.

We've gotten up to the "M"s, and I had put in Metallica's Mandatory Metallica, disc 2, and it totally jammed. Would not come out.

Does our Apple enjoy the metal music? It released Meat Beat Manifesto and the Meters just fine, although it had a hiccup around Thee Michelle Gun Elephant. Anyway, after 24 hours, it finally released the disc.

It felt like a small triumph, even though I had done nothing to get the disc to eject besides sigh and wonder if we'd have to traipse the machine in and get it removed. Plus I was wondering what the tech guy would think, if anything, when he saw the disc: "Hey, this older lady's still stuck in her leather-wearing youth, loving the Metallica. Loser. I wonder if she knows any new music?" to which the answer would be, sadly, no. And actually, in my youth, I did not like the metal. It was only later, and I still don't love Metallica, so the irony is that we will likely never listen to this particular disc.

In other news, I have no other news. I am trying to tackle the writing the Wise Writing Friend's way, it's going okay so far. My hero is tortured, but not as tortured as the heroine thinks he is. Heh, heh.

And I am totally jonesing for a pair of wedge sandals, even though I kinda hate the look of cork on heels.

Are you as all over the place as I am?

Megan

Jewelish Inquisition

So the Wise Writing Friend emailed me last night and asked me the questions I was too much of a wimp to ask myself:

Are you a plotter or a pantser?
And if you are a pantser, why are you trying to plot out the rest of the book?

Thank you, Wise Writing Friend. You are right. My gut is relieved I don't have to figure out the end (besides the HEA) right now.

Which just means I have to finish writing the rest of the book. Piece of cake.

Fat and Plotless

No, I'm not nearly as depressed as the title sounds, but the gist of it is true: After spending JUST THE WEEKEND at the in-laws' house, I am up three pounds. Darn that Easter candy.

And this week I am going to plot out the rest of Road To Passion (I almost wrote 'attempt to plot,' but that sounds like I'm already dooming myself to failure). I came up with a way to up the stakes for the hero, but not sure if it will work. We will see.

So this week: No candy, plenty o' plot. Even though I'm better at eating the former, and totally lame at the latter.

It Was A Good Day

Someone had two naps today.

And then someone bought a brand-new can opener, the kind that doesn't leave any jagged edges and has a lifetime guarantee!!

And then? Then I went to Pearl River Mart because I was in dire need of hoisin sauce and light soy sauce (I have plenty of dark, thanks). That store is the coolest. I couldn't resist stocking up on rice noodles, either (I cook a lot of Chinese food, this is my second bottle of hoisin sauce this year).

But the coup de grace was heading to Daffy's, where I bought a mooseload of much-needed socks.

Bliss is small errands done well.

And tonight, some editing and a lot of tea.

Megan

Things I Have Learned Today

I am very, very fond of gerunds [In linguistics, a gerund is a kind of verbal noun that exists in some languages. In English, for example, the gerund is identical in form to the present participle (ending in -ing) and can behave as a verb within a clause (so that, for example, it may be modified by an adverb or have an object), but the clause as a whole (sometimes consisting only of one word, the gerund) acts as a noun within the larger sentence. For example: Editing this article is very easy.
Within the clause "Editing this article," the word "Editing" behaves as a verb; in particular the phrase "this article" is the object of that verb. But the whole clause "Editing this article" acts as a noun within the sentence as a whole; it is the subject of the verb "is".]

I can work very quickly if there is no internet to distract me [the library is my friend].

I am able to change my heroine's eye color from stormy blue to deep, rich brown. Look ma, no contacts!

I make my plot overly complicated because I don't trust myself.

And my day can make for some dull blog posts.

Sorry.

Megan

Driving Blind On The Road To Passion

Did you know, even if you consume an entire (8+ cups) pot of coffee and two diet Cokes, if you are sleep-deprived enough you can still pass out at any moment?

I did.

I am editing Road To Passion, and am now worried because I like it so much already, unedited. Am I too enamoured of my story? Can I not see its essential suckiness because it's mine? I do have some themes to riff on, layering them more deeply into the story: The hero as devil, scars, a dead brother's watch, and of course the inherent problems a vicar's daughter will discover when she finds out she's a fount of passion.

Ah, the problems I have.

So the plan is to edit, then send to two of my faux critique partners. One of them is sure to let me know if my story is just plain Suck in an Empire Gown.

Megan

Me and My Super-Ego Are Fighting

Things That Have Been Done:

Updated synopsis for Lessons In Love written
Make-up worn every day for over five days
Freelance job done stupendously (IIDSSM)
Fantastic book, Poison Study, read
Offer made, and accepted, on real estate. Breath has been bated.
Up to Serge Gainsbourg in ripping discs into iMac.
Some random item of son's junk food eaten every day.

Things That Have Not Been Done:

Words written on Road To Passion
Anything but jeans worn
Someone in house not ill (currently, the Spouse has pneumonia; even more remarkable, he took a sick day).
Friend's sample pages read (sorry, EKM)
Weight lost (see last item on TTHBD).