I've been tagged...again

My writing partner in crime, Bronwyn Storm, has tagged me with the following question: "What is the most common grammar error you make?"

I'm hard pressed to pick just one so here goes:

1. Using commas where I should use semi colons and using too many of both.

2. Using the words 'then' and 'that' too often

3. Mixing up 'who's' and 'whose'

4. Run on sentences

5. Incomplete sentences

and I think I'll stop there =)

I'll tag Elle, Kristen & Anna

Thursday Thirteen # 8

Thirteen Things I love about Little Kids 1….Unconditional Love 2....Pure laughter that shows glimpses of their souls 3....Unapologetic honesty 4....Mount Everest sized imaginations 5....Innocense 6....Their whole world is so small and they are perfectly content with that. 7....They don't understand why the dishes need to be washed and why mommys and daddys can't play all day like they do. 8....The idea of school is so exciting and they can't wait to go 9....Helping clean up is fun 10....They don't know that mommy can't sing. 11....Dogs are supposed to be green in a coloring book. 12....Everything is a mysterious and exciting adventure 13....They are so angelic when they sleep.

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

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Setting is everything...

A story I'm working on has been taking the life out of me lately.

The rough draft is due and I've been procrastinating on even looking at it. Two days ago I figured out why.

The setting was off.

I had the story set in France and I just wasn't loving it. It wasn't working for me so I put it aside and stopped working on it. The ideas refused to come.

So now I've decided to move the setting to a totally different place and the ideas are rolling in faster than I can write them down. It's all about the setting so if you're working on something and it's refusing to move, maybe the setting is all wrong and literally needs to be moved.

Maybe your story is set in a tropical hide away and maybe it needs to be set in a desert instead. A city might need to be in the country, a mountain setting might work better in a valley.

Thirteen of my favorite foods 1…. Sushi- I love sushi, all kinds- California rolls, tuna, shrimp, salmon, eel…it’s all so tasty 2....Steak, but only if it’s really tender and still a touch pink in the middle 3....Roast chicken with garlic…lots and lots of garlic 4....Tossed salad with romaine lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, avocado, real bacon bits, cheese and either ranch dressing or Asian sesame. 5....Homemade mac-n-cheese 6....Chicken & Dumplings, that’s comfort food for sure. 7....Teriyaki chicken with my mom’s special recipe teriyaki sauce 8....Bulgogi- for anyone who is unfamiliar with this dish, it’s strips of beef- I use London Broil- marinated in a mixture of soy sauce, brown sugar, fresh ground ginger, fresh crushed garlic and sesame oil. BBQ to desired doneness and serve with rice…So very yummy. 9....Fresh fruit- All kinds, apples, oranges, peaches, plums, melons, grapes… I love fruit. 10....Dark Chocolate as long as there are no walnuts in it. Other nuts are fine, just not walnuts 11....Crab- We live on an island and go crabbing in the summer. It’s delicious and I could sit and crack crab for days and never get tired of eating it. 12....Lasagna without ricotta cheese 13....Authentic German Brats with sauerkraut Get the Thursday Thirteen code here! The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted! View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Follow Me...

I'm blogging over at Princesses Of The Pen tomorrow where we're talking about Key Scenes this week. Come get the perspective of the five princesses and their evil step mother as we make our way through the publishing world.

http://www.princessesofthepen.blogspot.com

Fairy Tales & Reality

I'm supposed to be working on a story, one that's due like right now but here's the reality of it...I'm not. I'm here, updating my blog, reading the news, playing games, helping my children make their first email addresses...anything but writing what I'm supposed to be writing.

The fairytale would have me doing final edits by now; final edits on a perfectly penned work of art. Something that people would be reading generations from now; something wonderful enough to win some kind of award.

So why can't the fairytale and reality be one and the same? Why is it that I'm having such a hard time focusing on this one story? Maybe I'm afraid that my writing won't measure up. Maybe I'm reluctant to hear someone say, "This isn't what I was hoping for."

And now that I've done my whining for the day, I'll get off of here and get back to writing.

Do any of you fellow writers have days like this? How do you get passed it?

Thursday Thirteen #6

Thirteen Interesting Things In The United States My 13 favorite books/Series: 1. The Mark of The Lion Series by Francine Rivers 2. Hollywood Husband, Contract Wife by Jane Porter 3. The Earth Children Series by Jean M Auel 4. Odd Mom Out by Jane Porter 5. The Diamond of The Rockies Series by Kirsten Heitzmann 6. Make Believe Mom by Elaine Grant 7. Roots by Alex Haley 8. Chateau of Flowers: Lily Of The Valley by Margaret Rome 9. Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell 10. Scarlett by Alexandria Ripley 11. The Left Behind Series by Tim LaHaye & Jerry Jenkins 12. The Redemption Series by Karen Kingsbury & Gary Smalley 13. The Firstborn Series by Karen Kingsbury I chose the books I did based on their personal merits and how they affected me when I read them. Each of these books/series is on my to keep forever shelf and I read them over and over when I can’t seem to make myself read something new. They’re like old friends and I know I can lose myself in them as easily the tenth time as I did the first.

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Come visit me...

I'm blogging over at Princesses of The Pen today so come see what the mischevious prinesses have to say about Back Story this week. Part of my message today was also a memorial for September 11 because today's the day. Come check it out. Just click on the title of this post and it'll send you shooting through cyber space to the wacky world of the five princesses and their evil stepmother.

Thursday Thirteen #5

Thirteen Interesting Things In The United States 1…. 1,525,000,000 miles of phone wire is currently strung across this country. 2....166,875,000,000 pieces of mail are delivered each year in the U.S. 3....315 entries in Webster’s Dictionary are misspelled 4....A ten gallon hat barely holds six pints 5....Toothpicks are the object most often choked on by Americans 6....About 70% of Americans who go to college do it just to make more money. [The rest of us are avoiding reality for four more years.] 7....All 50 states are listed across the top of the Lincoln Memorial on the back of the $5 bill. 8....Almost a quarter of the land area of Los Angeles is taken up by automobiles. 9....Barbie's measurements if she were life size: 39-23-33 10....David Prowse was the guy in the Darth Vader suit in Star Wars. He spoke all of Vader's lines, and didn't know that he was going to be dubbed over by James Earl Jones until he saw the screening of the movie. 11....Fortune cookies were actually invented in America, in 1918, by Charles Jung. 12....In 75% of American households, women manage the money and pay the bills. 13....In every episode of "Seinfeld" there is a Superman somewhere.

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Princesses Of The Pen

I'm blogging over at Princesses Of The Pen today. We've been talking about Catalyst vs Black Moment this week so come over and join us.

www.princessesofthepen.blogspot.com

I am married to a real life Prince Charming

So, okay, I know this might come across as bragging but...my husband is the very best and most wonderful sweetie in the world! He sat me down today and asked me if I was really serious about writing for publication...to which I replied, "Absolutely."

I'd mentioned recently that I'd like to have a laptop computer and he asked me today, why. I gave him three reasons:

1. Because the laptop wouldn't be hooked up to the net and for me that's really distracting- it's too easy to mess around online when I should be writing.
2. If I'm not on the computer, the kids can use it more.
3. Mobility. On the ferry, waiting for the kids to finish up at misc activities, etc.

Well, apparently those were good enough reasons for him because he got online tonight and ordered me up a brand spankin' new HP Pavillion laptop computer while I was off at the mall with my daughters!! What a guy!

I knew before today that my husband was wonderful, today simply reenforces how much he loves me and wants me to pursue my dreams. He's such a love.