philolaughical stuff

Maybe I'm just feeling deep and philosophical lately, or maybe it's because I was inspired by a comment by a friend on Monday's post, or that I like to make myself giggle or maybe I'm just excited that I learned how to prepare and upload something to youtube. Either way, here's something I put together--it's just the deep thoughts that keep me up at night. The unknown unponderables. I hope it won't make your brain hurt too bad.

The Dysfunctional reader, I Love'em 'n Leave'em: Book Nook Tuesday

Dear Dr. Bookworm,

It seems that I've had a very difficult time lately sticking with one book. True. I usually have three books going at a time. One for waiting rooms/car pool lines etc, one on CD and one before going to bed.

But I can't seem to stick with any books lately! I've taken several back to the library w/o finishing them. It's not that I thought the books were bad, I just either lost interest or just wanted to move onto something else. I think I've done that with at least four books this month. Why can't I commit? Do I need book therapy?

P.S. I just started "The Never Ending Story" and I think I may be able to stick with it! Ironic, isn't it?

Sincerely,

The Dysfunctional Reader

A moment, sparkling like a star in our hand melting like a snowflake

. . . and other inspirational thoughts to start off the week. Enjoy!

Stories from a 4 year old author

Yesterday my 4 year old daughter wanted to write some stories of her own. She told me the words and I wrote them down as she dictated. I tried to be as accurate as possible. Watch out J.K. Rowling. Here comes Abby.

I think the best part is that at the times when we became sidetracked, she would turn from her mini etch-a-sketch (what she was using as her computer) and would say to me, "Let's get back to business!"

The hungry dinosaur was hungry and he wanted to eat people. First he ate a square and a triangle. Then he ate some grass. He ate a people that was an old man. The dinosaur sucked some holes in the old mans head and ears and then cooked him. He ate him. The End.
Mothers note: Should this story concern me?

Note to reader: The charactres in this story are trains.
It was a long day for Thomas and his day of working. And he decided to go and meet his friends and he saw his cousin Murray. They went to see his new friends and visit friends for a couple of days. They did the plays of goodness. They went to finish their adventures and then see their friends. They bumped into someone that was Laura. She couldn’t get out. They were all stuck together. Their wheels bumped into gum and stuck together. The boss saw them stuck together. It was the boss’s gum. The End.


Me and my friend Nemo. It was a long day that Abby and her friend Nemo played in the ocean. Abby and her pet Nemo played ball then there was a new friend coming called Zachary. He was nice and he had a pet dolphin and then they played together. Then they had to go. Then they sleeped and then it was morning time and the rooster said “Cock-a-doodle-doo.” Then Zachary and his friend Abby and their pets went out to play. The End.

My e-mail is now ready for all you agents and editors who are ready to sign her up! ;0)

Pick of the Week Thursday: Pachydermcasso

Work In Progress Wednesday/Learning the business of writing: Ten Things that has helped me so far

It's been a little less than a year since I started my first YA novel and I'm nearly done with the 2nd draft. I hope to have the full 2nd draft done by April 18th. This has been a true learning experience. In retrospect, these are the top 10 things that have helped me so far. (This list is in no way a reflection of how I think all novels should be written. Everyone does things differently. This is just a list of things that have been helpful to me.):

Writing the First Novel

1. A rough skeletal book outline. Specific enough to give me direction, but flexible enough to make changes.

2. When writing the first draft, just write. don't worry about grammar, punctuation. Just get the story out. Don't let your creativity be hindered by worrying about anything else than just getting it all on paper

3. It's nice to have a person to give you insights along the way. I have a critique buddy that is very helpful. When I get stuck along the way or need some advice, a writing buddy can help get you unstuck or can be a great source of encouragement.

4. Read. Last year I made it a goal to read a minimum of 4 books a month. When I began this discipline, I noticed a dramatic improvement in my writing skills.

5. When it's time to rewrite after you do #2, (just getting the idea on paper), I have to rewrite in very small segments at a time or else it gets too overwhelming. Only a sentence or one paragraph at a time is usually all I can handle.

6. It's good to have books on hand that are similar to your voice and style to reference when you get stuck. I often refer to several books when I come across a section that I'm not sure how to "fix" (description, dialogue, emotion, etc.) Books I have often referred to on this project are "Crispin and the Cross of Lead" "Goose Girl" "A Wizard of Earthsea" "Princess Academy" "Bitterwood" "The Merlin Trilogy by Jane Yolen" and "The Princess Bride"

7. If one section has you stumped, it's OK to skip it for a while and work on the next section or chapter. Sometimes it helps to just come back to it later.

8. However, sometimes if you're stuck, you just may need to sit down and force yourself to write. Sometimes getting yourself unstuck doesn't turn out to be as difficult as you thought it would be. Don't be afraid to just tackle it. There's been a couple times that I've avoided rewriting a certain section, because the task seemed so daunting, but then when I finally did it it ended up not being as hard as I thought it would be.

9. Don't feel like you have to rewrite everything perfectly the first time. It's OK to do multiple rewrites. don't feel like you have to get it perfect right away.

10. Attend conferences or retreats, make contacts and have your work critiqued professionally or get involved in a group. The opinions of others are crucial. They represent your readers, so listen to what they have to say.

Book Nook Tuesday: The Alchemyst (The Secrets of the Imortal Nicholas Flamel)

This is a highly entertaining and clever book. What I like best about this book is that the main character is based on a real person by the name of Nicholas Flamel.

The real life facts: Nicholas Flamel's home still stands in Paris today. When the author (Michael Scott) came across Nicholas Flamel's house (which is now used as a restuarant) the idea for this book started to take shape.


Nicholas Flamel was born in 1330 in Paris. Even today he is considered the greatest alchemyst of his day and legend says that he discovered the secret of imortal life. Records show that Nicholas died in 1413. However, his tomb is empty.

Now, to the book: Michael Scott has great fun with the true-to-life mystery of Nicholas Flamel by supposing that Mr. Flamel really did discover the secret to imortal life and still lives in current day San Diego where evil forces seek him out so they can steal his secrets. Michael Scott also weaves in threads of mysticism, mythology and and other historical facts and binds them together to create this fantastical tale.