"Too quiet"

"Too quiet" am I says Tristi. And she's right- I've totally neglected this blog and it needs some TLC.

Candace Salima gave me some homework for my 'writing time'. I am to read a few books and answer a 100 questionnaire for my main characters in order to get to know them personally. So- though I am busy doing that these days- including the diversion of reading Stephenie Meyer's new novel- The Host- I really should still be keeping up with this blog. Sorry.

If you haven't read on my Queen of Chaos blog {which I give more TLC too...and I know I really shouldn't play favorites...but in this case I think it's OK? Maybe not.}
Anyway- my hubby is in Utah training for a job for at least 3 months- possibly longer- and will be coming home to see us about every 3 weeks or so. We have 5 children ages 11 to 2 and I know I don't need to write it for the world to see... but it will make me feel better...

I am busy as a bee doing it ALL!! Taxi service, Nurse, Homework, Cook, Cleaner, Laundress, Drill Sergent...and the list goes on and on. I did all these things before Warren was gone so I'm not training on anything listed above but I am doing it alone. It does make a difference when an extra set of burly, loving and handsome hands aren't helping me out.

So that's what's been going on... but I will try being a better blog care- giver and blog visitor!

Tagged

I was tagged by my new friend, Kim, and thought I'd do as she wished- but MY style. Here's about ME:

Journaling reads:

As a mother of five I am plain busy. But as for just me, Autumn, and what I'm up to in 2008:
I am writing my first novel, blogging, scrapbooking both with paper and digitally, always making things for my home and other crafts. I bake my own whole wheat bread, hold a Book of Mormon study group in my home once a week, teach the 7/8 year old kids at church - my daughter, Emmalese, is in my class. I love to go on dates with my husband, Warren, and have fun family nights with my kids. I love going to the movie, attending the temple, playing games and getting together with friends. I work out off and on- but I get lazy sometimes. I love the color PINK and my favorite number is 5. I am addicted to Dr. Pepper and I am trying to wean my 2 yr old from nursing.
********************************************************************
Born: September 28, 1975 in Provo, Utah
Baptized: Age 8- July 4, 1983
Married: Age 18- August 22, 1994 to Warren Paul Weber
Became a mother: Age 22- May 31, 1997 to Conner Paul Weber
Became a mother four more times to: Parker Kimble Weber, Emmalese Jayne Weber,
Spencer Reed Weber and Tucker Miles Weber.

Introducing...

Frank Cole!

I met Frank at the LDS Storymakers conference last month. When I talked to him about the book he's writing -'The Adventures of Hashbrown Winters' - I laughed and laughed! I think it's GOLD. I bugged him way too many times at the conference about getting this book published! {Sorry, Frank. I can be pushy and annoying and...well we won't continue on.}
He has other books he's written and preparing for submission, as well. I really enjoy his writing style and great sense of humor.

Frank has just started his blog...so let's all go on over and get a dose of the hilarious and fun FRANK COLE, you won't be sorry.

So what is she writing about?

I decided to post what my novel is about since I've had several people ask. I'm currently half way through with it but it's still a rough draft so who knows...I could end up changing it all during one of my bazillion edits. Writing ain't easy that's for sure!

Here's the real kicker: Candace, my awesome mentor, wants this novel done, finished, complete, in ONE year. By the next LDS Storymakers Conference I will attend next Spring- I need this novel ready to be pitched to publishers! Talk about panic mode. One year may seem like a long time to write a novel...but I really pray I can accomplish this goal. This isn't easy stuff.

Below isn't a 'synopsis' at all. In fact- I loath the day I have to write a real synopsis because it is very difficult. But since I am still a young writer- humor me as I try to explain what my novel is about.

'As We Greet With A Kiss' begins in the premortal life with a young woman named Emily who has a twin brother named Jacobi. These twins are very close and have mutual friends. The war in heaven is on the verge of exploding and the lives of many will change. Jacobi has been cautiously visiting Lucifer and his followers in their secret meetings knowing full well he is defying Fathers wishes. Jacobi ends up being cast out of heaven with out a physical body to roam the earth and universe along with Lucifer and his minions. This crushes Emily, and many others, to the core, to watch 1/3 of their siblings cast away on their own free will.

The novel then fast forwards to when Emily is a teenage girl on earth. She is faced with decisions and consequences like all human beings but she has an extra hard time mentally, physically and emotionally with some of these issues because her unseen twin, Jacobi, is trying his all to sabotage her.

Emily is the oldest child in her family and has to share a bedroom with her younger sister, Rebekah, who she has major sibling rivalry issues with.

Emily has a couple of close girlfriends she relies on. Ruby who is a true friend through and through and also Felicia, who betrays her. Jacobi has a lot to do with working through Felicia in betrayals.

Emily has an awesome boyfriend on earth, Brock. But she doesn't know that her premortal love, Tucker, will soon be in her mortal life. Emily will have to make one of the hardest choices in her life.

On Emily's sixteenth birthday she receives a letter from her once close paternal grandmother, Emily, her namesake, who passed away eight years earlier. It's a secret letter kept from her knowledge, by her parents, upon the request of Grandmother Emily. The letter contains some intimate words and reassurances that Emily needs. Later that night Emily has a dream, but in reality it's more then a dream. Emily has the rare privilege of getting to pass through the veil to meet, talk and spend time with her Grandmother Emily. These 'dreams' happen many times where Emily is able to leave earth as a spirit to greet her grandmother with a kiss.

I need a name!

I need some help deciding on a name for one of my side characters!!

It's a teenage girl who is friends with my main character, Emily, and another side character named Ruby.

Ruby is the true friend. This other no name friend will be a betrayal to Emily.

Any suggestions????

Wrestling

There are so many things I am wrestling with in my life. Among a few are: my weight, my writing, creating a good home atmosphere and life for my family, following the Lord's promptings, having more faith and forgiving those who have deeply wounded me. I know that these are things the average person deals with and I'm not alone. It's so easy to look at others successes and look back at yourself with frustration. {Which I am very good at doing.}

One of the things that has helped me is watching General Conference. Feeling the Lord's words and spirit has influenced me to make better choices. Another thing that has helped me is surrounding myself with good people. People who are positive and who love me no matter what. I have been very, very blessed with some of God's greatest daughters for girlfriends and their families on this earth. I am a better woman because of them!

I haven't 'won' any of these wrestling matches- yet anyway- but I am trying. Half of growing in this life is the fight. It's not the fun part but it is the part that counts toward weather or not you grow. I'm not feeling sorry for myself, well sometimes I do feel sorry for myself, but right now I'm just at a crossroads in my decision making on conquering these battles.

Whatever your battles may be- I hope you can beat the hell out of them as I'm trying to!

Home

After a long and eventful two weeks-- I am home. Ah, home. There's nothing quite like it.

There's so much I could share just about the two day LDS Storymakers conference that I could bore one to death. But I will say that I had such a wonderful time. Not only did I get to meet many of you blogger buddies I've been corresponding with but I got to reunite with a couple I already have met. It was like a reunion! So cool!

There was so much information packed in the conference I felt like my brain was going to leave fuming and sputtering, but I came out alright. I'm pleased to have gotten out of the conference what I needed and then some.

The Whitney Award Gala was fantastic. To see and talk with many talented writers was such an awesome experience for me. And then to get to watch the winners and hear their comments was very touching.

To my delight, the sweet, sassy and opinionated {just like me} Candace Salima gave me the honors of becoming my mentor! Oh, my goodness am I on cloud nine. I had breakfast with her a few days after the conference and we talked for a few hours. It soon became apparent why she felt the desire to help me. I feel so blessed, beyond words, really.

Candace has me on a schedule and I intend to follow her wise counsel. I have some books I'm to read first with no writing this month. Then an outline of my novel is needed. Sorry Tristi...I'm bummed to miss the 3rd BIAM challenge. I hope to join you next round.

My goal is to have my novel 'As we greet with a kiss' finished by the next LDS Storymakers conference- Spring 2009. That may seem like a long time for me to write but I only hope I can finish on time. Wish me luck and many prayers!

On my way...

On Wednesday my family and I are traveling up to Utah so that I can attend the LDStorymakers Conference! We are taking the opportunity while the kiddos are off for Spring Break {and an extra week} to visit family and friends while in Utah. We will be gone for 2 whole weeks.

Even though we will be having fun as a family...I can hardly wait to see my blooger buddies and feast on the knowledge at the conference. For those of you traveling to Utah for this grand event...be safe! Don't be shy about tapping me on the shoulder and saying HI. :)

I will be taking a break from this blog for the next couple weeks....I'll post when I get home.

Reflections of Christ

Click here to view my other blog about this awesome artist.

The time is right

I want to share something that I posted on Stephanie Humphrey's blog. Soemthing that I learned at the ANWA conference I was blessed to attend last weekend.

A comment from author, Heather Madder, made. She said that there is a time for everything. At this point if you're in the writing stage- you will be done when your supposed to be done. Your book will be published when it is supposed to be and the right publisher will be there when it's supposed to be. Your work will touch the people you need to touch when it is time.

I loved this and gained a lot of strength from it. Remember whatever stage you are in right now is what your supposed to do. The time is not ready for anything but.

Conference Update

I went to the said conference and had such an uplifting and empowering day! I rubbed shoulders with some of the most talented authors around and had a wonderful time learning. My most favorite part of the whole conference was the tones of spirituality that were brought to attention along with our writing lectures. I was touched in many ways and even had a GIANT epiphany during one of the lectures. YES!

Also, I met up with Tristi Pinkston and absolutely loved talking with her. She had the most AMAZING class--E V E R! What a talented woman! Tristi even lent me her signed ARC {Advance Readers Copy} of James Dashner's new book that she had to critique! It's called The 13th Reality. I am thrilled to read this with my boys! {Actually, we have read the first 8 chapters already!} If interested in this book {the first in a series} click here. AWESOME stuff!

ANWA Conference

I'm a member of ANWA {American Night Writers Association}. This is a writers group for LDS women. There are several chapters in Arizona, Utah, Washington, Nevada and Alabama. And I belong to one of the chapters in Glendale, AZ.


Tomorrow, bright and early, I am driving out to Gilbert {approx. 45 min. from my home in Phoenix} for the annual American Night Writers Associaion conference. I am super excited to go feast on other authors knowledge and ideas as they give their lectures. It's an all day event: 8 am to 5:30 pm. I have several lectures I will attend to my liking throughout the day with an hour lunch break. The one person I am thrilled to meet up with is my blogger buddy, and author, Tristi Pinkston! Tristi lives in Utah. She has come here to teach through out the day and I will be attending one of her lectures. YIPPEE!

I guess I need to go to bed now...I need my beauty sleep!

I'm a forgetful freak

I can't believe it! {Well, I can because this is SO like me.} I registered for the LDStorymakers Conference and as a registrant I could submit a "First Chapter" for a contest. I planned on doing this and was excited because it would help me rewrite/ edit the scenes needed.

AND I FORGOT TO SUBMIT!!!!!!!!! The due date was February 21st. Hello, today is February 25th. I'm such a forgetful freak! My head is held low in shame.

I did it!

On a previous post, I shared how I was attending the LDStorymakers Conference next month, and how I signed up for Boot Camp. Well, this 'Boot Camp' has some homework to be completed before hand and I am excited to share....I DID IT! Hip Hip Horray!!!

To read the homework I had you can read here.

Now off to fine tune my entries...

Quotes for thought and laughter:

A good novel tells us the truth about it's hero; but a bad novel tells us the truth about its author.
- Gilbert K. Chesterton***


If you can't annoy somebody, there's little point in writing.
-Kingsley Amis***


It's a damn good story. If you have any comments, write them on the back of a check.
- Erle Stanley Gardner***


The secret of good writing is to say an old thing in a new way or to say a new thing in an old way.
- Richard Harding Davis***



When I was a little boy, they called me a liar, but now that I am grown up, they call me a writer.
- Isaac Bashevis Singer***


I love being a writer. What I can't stand is the paperwork.
- Peter De Vries***


Manuscript: something submitted in haste and returned at leisure.
- Oliver Herford***

Will you be MY

Happy love day to you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now I have to work

I'm registered for the 2008 LDStorymakers Conference in Utah that is held next month. {I'm so excited!} One of the things I'm doing there is "Boot Camp". Now that sounds like hard work, huh? I thought... well, maybe, but it's probably just a name they came up with...it's not really hard work. Then I got an e-mail last night:




"For over two hours each day, you will sit at the feet of the experts and learn how to make your writing better. They will look at your writing and give you tips on how to make it stronger. Your particular strengths and weaknesses will be examined, and you'll learn how to improve and how to magnify the strengths you have. All of this is done in a friendly, supportive environment. Where else would you get personal attention of this caliber? Well, I sure don't know!



In order to prepare for your Boot Camp experience, I would ask you to begin assembling the following things: A pen or pencil, A highlighting marker, A notebook, A high-protein snack (I'm told food will be served, but I'm not sure what, and we need you strong!!)



You are also asked to look through your work in progress and find pages that correspond with the topics we'll be covering, which are:



Balancing Your Writing,
Showing Emotion,
Believable Antagonists,
Choosing Your Words,
Dialogue vs. Narrative and
Exposition Creating Lovable Characters



Find about two pages for each topic. For instance, say you have a scene where you need help making your character seem more real -- bring that for Creating Lovable Characters. If you have a scene that needs to show a lot of emotion, bring that for Showing Emotion. For Balancing Your Writing, just find a segment that shows a range of dialogue and narrative. Find a snippet from your work in progress that matches up with each topic. Each snippet should be 1-2 pages long, typed up, and you are asked to bring nine copies of each. That is a little bit to compile, which is why we're giving you some advance notice, but it's all worth it. The others at your table can each look over a copy of your work and give their feedback, which is so valuable. So again, six snippets from your work, nine copies of each."



Doesn't this sound like WORK? Heck, yes! Dang it...I gotta WORK!!!!

YOU MAKE MY DAY

Miss Tristi Pinkston showered me with kind words today and gave me this award! Oh, shucks! :) I'm officially on CLOUD 9. Isn't it funny how the littlest things can make your day? I suppose it just goes to show that each of us really can make a difference in others lives with small, random acts of kindness. Thanks, again Trisiti.

Now I have to share how I feel about Tristi. I am always amazed at her powerful words and the way she can encourage and love at the same time. I feel energized almost everytime I read her blogs and I am so happy I can call her a blogger friend. I think if I lived near her she'd be a good friend of mine...since I only allow the best of the best in my circle of friends. ;) You really do make me smile too, Tristi.

Now- This award is to be shared...so I will pass this award on to those who really make my day.

After I've thought about it I am having a very hard time giving out this award! Well, to be honest anytime ANYONE leaves me a comment...I smile and it makes my day. So if you want to make my day...just leave me a note. ;) Thanks to you all for showing love, kindness and support. I really cherish it.

More about ME

I generally write more about me and what's going on in my life on a seperate blog, Queen of Chaos. If ya wanna take a peek click here. Don't be shy on leaving comments there!

Our new Prophet!

For the new leadership of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints- our Prophet and his two councelors have been called of God!! ---

Thomas S. Monson- President
Henry B. Eyring- 1st Counselor

Dieter F. Uchtdorf- 2nd Counselor

I hit the JACKPOT!!

Read about my awesome news on my personal blog. Click here.

Goodbye, Farewell- 'till we meet again.

Gordon Bitner Hinckley
June 23, 1910- January 27, 2008

As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints- I am saddened and happy for the loss of our Prophet and President of our Church. To me he was the essence of all goodness, greatness and happiness that can be obtained in this life. His example was unwavering and his actions were momentous. He will be missed by so many! His humor, for one, will be sorely missed.

As for being happy- well his wife, Marjorie, passed away April 6, 2004 and I know he surely missed her. The thought of them being reunited today is very touching and joyous for me. And as the leader of The Lord's church here on earth- I know his reunion with Him on high is one of great honor.

*******************************************************************

I was able to be in the presence of this great man of God a few years back. My husband and I attended a grand meeting in Houston, Texas where several speakers shared counsel and testimonies of the gospel. President Hinckley and his wife, Marjorie, were in attendance as well. When he entered the room- all was quiet for a moment. Then all stood in one motion, and full of respect and gratitude, we all sang the hymn, "We thank thee Oh God for a Prophet" in unison. The spirit of the God was so strong in this place that tears were pouring from every eye. What a memory I will ALWAYS cherish.

President Gordon B. Hinckley served as president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints church since March 12, 1995 and has been a member of its top leadership since the 1960s. He died about 7 p.m. Sunday (9 p.m. ET) with his family by his side, from heath related issues due to his age.

To read more about Gordon B. Hinckley's life- click here.

A dedication?

Have you considered a dedication for your novel/book as you're writing? Or for those who have completed a novel {or more} how was the process of dedicating your book?

Because of the content of my novel I feel strongly that my dedication should be for my paternal grandmother who passed away almost 5 years ago.

Here is a very brief snippet about my novel "As we greet with a kiss"... {please bare with me. This is not a synopsis by any means. I dread the day I have to write it!}:

Sixteen year old Emily Jayne Walker, named after her paternal grandmother who passed away from breast cancer eight years earlier, finds herself with the rare opportunity to visit her grandmother many times in the sphere beyond the veil through dreams. Emily is able to get to know her grandmother on a very intimate and personal level through these interludes as well as learning amazing truths. The novel covers what happened before her mortality, her choices made in the preexistence, the war in heaven, friendships she made and a love she had. Unknowingly during her mortality- one of Emily's best friends in the preexistence- {who chose to follow Lucifer instead of Father} becomes one of the evil spirits who tempts Emily while in mortality.

I spent over an hour trying to word my dedication 'just so' for my grandmother. This is what I have come up with:

To my Eternal Grandmother
~ Bonnie ~
Even though my privilege of getting to know you in this life was brief; I feel your incessant love and personal desire to serve me from across the veil.

My gift of sincere gratitude

and undying devotion is yours.

Typing away...

I apologize for not showing loves to my blogger friends...I've been busy with family and writing, writing and more writing. I purposely refrained from peeking at your blogs too much...even reporting my progess on Tristi's Callenges so that I could focus. And it worked!

I am so happy to share that I am ahead of my goal so far and have added another 4,000 plus words towards my goal for January!!!!!!!!! Technically, I could quit and call it good since I have met my personal goal to double my word count in my novel from when I started this month...but I will keep clicking away since I still have many days left for this challenge.

Cheers to a 40,000 PLUS word count!!!!!!!

Picking up

I'm picking up the pieces of my life today. As the mother and homemaker- being sick for a few days last week really put a halt on the flow of things for our family. My husband did what he could but I need to fine tune.



As for working on the BIAM challenge- I'm picking up where I left off. I wasn't able to write two days last week and that's going to hurt my goal and grand total. But hey- what can ya do? I plan to write later tonight after kids are in bed.

And above... is my awesome family! I am posting this photo because Tristi was unaware and surprised I had 5 children. Maybe others don't know of my fortune. I don't mind showing them off. These people are MY LIFE and MY LOVE. {Yes, we have only 1 Princess and 4 Knights in invisible armor}

*&@# UGH *@#*

Oh, so sick am I.

I want my mommy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Temptation to Tweak

I don't know about you guys who are participating in the BIAM challenge- but for me to just write and write and write with no looking back... with no re-writing at this point in the game is so hard! I wanna tweak so bad- my fingers ache! I am forcing myself not to take away precious allotted time for writing a first draft to re-writing and re-writing again for perfection.

Is it killing you?

Just making the time.

Making time for this BIAM challenge has been a little more difficult then I'd imagined, of course. Doesn't it always go that way? Whenever I think something will be a breeze I jinx myself! HA!

I have found that since my desire for this challenge is to be a success...I just make time. I just do. Sometimes it isn't feasible by any means. But for the most part...I just have to make time.

How about you? What are you struggling with or making progress with?

How many writers does it take to change a light bulb?

Answer: Ten.

1st draft. Hero changes light bulb.
2nd draft. Villain changes light bulb.
3rd draft. Hero stops villain from changing light bulb. Villain falls to death.
4th draft. Lose the light bulb.
5th draft. Light bulb back in. Fluorescent instead of tungsten.
6th draft. Villain breaks bulb, uses it to kill hero's mentor.
7th draft. Fluorescent not working. Back to tungsten.
8th draft. Hero forces villain to eat light bulb.
9th draft. Hero laments loss of light bulb. Doesn't change it.
10th draft. Hero changes light bulb.

On a whim...

As I shared in my last post- I wanted to try writing on a whim with no preconceived ideas on how my novel 'should' be.

I thought this would be very difficult since I'm a perfectionist in many areas of my life. I have to share that I feel invigorated and free for once since I began this novel just by taking my challenge to practice!

I have written 1,669 words in the last two days!! This is HUGE guys- I mean HUGE for me. :)

BIAM= Book in a Month

Just as I accepted Tristi Pinkston's challenge for BIAM {Book in a Month} a few months ago... I'm ready to take it on again for her second round!!

Since I am still working on the same novel I was back then- I will just add upon this total during the month of January and that hind number will be my total at the end of this BIAM challenge.

I'm pleased to share that I started this months challenge with 21,143 words already in my novel. :) { A great accomplishment for me} I hope to at least DOUBLE this by the end of this month/challenge...for a total of 42,286 words toward my novel. That would make a daily goal of 783 words {taking Sundays off}.

Now the big question is: Will this word goal even be possible for me? I'm nervous to ask my self questions like this because last BIAM challenge I really over anticipated my ability and put my goal way out of reach. This time I'd like to make it attainable. I've been thinking hard about this very question and I am confident this is the course of action I need to take. So, YES- this word count is possible for me!

How do I know? Because I said so- that's why. ;) There is another strategy I'd like to try. I'd like to write at a whim- with no preconceived terms on how it 'should' be. If I do this I think I will be surprised at what I can come up with.

Goodbye 2007...Hello 2008!

My moment

Do you know that moment in time when all just makes sense? You know, when you just happen to "get it"? In other words- the duh moment for us mortals. Our relatives and guardians who are across the veil are sighing in relief at such occasions- I am sure- since they have worked hard to help us 'see the light'. For such a momentous slice in time- they excitedly rejoice- I am confident!!

Well- how I feel right here, right now is the recognition of such. A question that has been flying around in space for me is: Am I writing my novel for the world to read as a generic or am I going to write for predominately LDS readers? I've had no inclination or such inspiration to lead me to a confirmation. To this point I have felt that my work could be enjoyed by most readers- well, I should clarify- most Christian readers.

Until tonight.

Something very profound- I will even call it spiritual- happened. I was typing away as I feverishly tried to convey what my mind was thinking, when I wrote the words 'our Father'. As in our Heavenly Father- since this is a scene where He takes the lead. As quickly as I typed it... I deleted it. What came next was a bit of a surprise for me- I typed 'our Father and Mother'. As in our heavenly parents. As I made this change a peaceful and warm feeling spread through my body as if I was being assured I did the right thing. If that isn't evidence enough for me... I don't know what is. So to answer my question to myself...I will be writing for predominately LDS readers. Interesting. Wow. It feels great to have more direction!

If you are reading this and you are not LDS or do not have a belief that our Father in heaven has a spouse, our Heavenly Mother- then now you know we believe in such a beautiful concept. And in my novel...She will grace our Fathers side as His loving companion. :)

Inspired to tears...

As I was browsing blogs {ah, like the good ole' days before Christmas hit} I came to Tristi Pinkstons site and read some quotes on her side bar. I have to share that I was hit with a strong rush of emotion as I read this quote by Virginia Smith:

"God has plans for your writing. And believe me, they're better than any plans you have for yourself. Let Him be in charge, and let Him delight you with what He has in store."

I believe this with all my heart. If we are looking at our mortal life with an eternal perspective we would want our life to be in tune with our Father's wishes and desires. This would be the case with writing as well. Thank you Tristi for sharing this amazing and profound quote. I really needed to read this.

Merry Christmas

I hope you had a wonderful time with loved ones today and- the one thing that matters the most - a personal re-connection with our Savior as we celebrate His life and eternal mission.

Christmas love, Autumn

A chance meeting?

Having a blog to journal my hopes, dreams- highs and lows has been fun. I think it makes it worth the while when you have readers who are in the same place you are in life and share on their blogs as well. Also- the simple act of being one anothers' cheerleaders is definitely the best part of doing this.

Now- I wouldn't have ever thought I'd 'meet' any of my readers or cheerleaders in person...but I'm so excited to share that this past weekend I had the opportunity to meet Stephanie Humphreys in person! She is from Alberta, Canada and I live in Phoenix, Arizona...how likely would our chances of meeting? Well- since the world is a small place, after all- Stephanie traveled down here to my city for the funeral of her great-grandmother...so we took the opportunity to meet. We met at the mall- had lunch and chatted without missing a beat. It was amazing, fun, great and wonderful!!

Thanks for taking some time out of your day to have lunch with me, Stephanie. :) I had a fantastic time with you and getting to know you better. I hope and pray your travels home during the next couple days are safe. But most of all- thank you for being one of my cheerleaders!

Hallelujah!!!!

I am so excited, ecstatic, happy, thrilled, pleased and every other kind positive emotion!!

For me- trying to reach the 20,000 word mark in my novel has been looming like a black cloud over my head....but no more. I finally hit my 20,000 plus word count!! YES!

Vacation

I guess I'm on 'vacation'. Nothing towards my novel, reading or blogging is happening these days. With five children and the holidays...need I say more? When I get a moment or so I will try to check your writings and updates of you, my fellow blogger friends, ...until then here's something to read and if your industrious enough at the moment you can apply these principles you will learn in your writing this month. {I won't be!}

Plot - What is it and How do I get one? {by Carolyn Jewel}
Plotting your story takes attention to detail. Whichever comes first for you, the plot or the characters, the characters need to be believable in the plot. Or maybe the plot needs to be believable for the characters. Six of one, half dozen of another. As long as your readers end up believing.
It is my personal belief plotting is hard work and there isn't any way to make it easy, so if you're looking for easy, you won't find it here. What you'll find here is my approach and the process I go through to arrive at a story that editors want to buy. I urge you-- no, make that plead with you-- to think really, really hard about you read here. Even if, perhaps even especially if, you find this doesn't work for you, figuring out why it doesn't work for you will help you discover what will.
The time you take to absorb and digest and bring yourself to an understanding of the issues is worth every agonizing minute. I swear.
Some Preliminaries:
Because it's convenient, I'll define Plot as "Your Story in a Nutshell." Which leaves the hard part in need of another term which I have decided to call The Story.
Think of your plot as a container and your story as what will fill the container.
One more thing to say up front is I'm not going to be telling you exactly how go about this. Some people do extensive brainstorming before they write a word, others go straight to the writing in order to get a handle on things. There is no right answer (or if there is, I don't know it yet), but I suspect that the less thinking you do beforehand, the more re-writing and adjusting you need to do later, a situation that is neither bad nor good, UNLESS you mistake the need for re-writing for failure.
Plot: What your story is about.

Some Examples of Plots:

Boy Meets Girl -
Secret Baby -
Marriage of Convenience -
Marriage for the sake of Honor.

Well, that's all folks. (OK, not really) Your plot can be anything. Space aliens inhabiting your doormat, a man who leaps tall buildings in a single bound, a woman in love with her best friend's brother. If it's so easy, how come writers agonize and despair over plot? Because they're not really agonizing over the plot, they're agonizing over the story. This proccess is commonly referred to as plotting because "story-ing" is a really awkward word.

Plots need a story in order to be told and stories need motivation and set-up and that's hard. Space aliens inhabit my doormat. How? Why? What happens when I step on the doormat? What do the aliens look like? The devil is in the details.

Plots require that things happen. Thus, the plot of "Boy Meets Girl" requires that a boy meets a girl. Secret Baby: A man doesn't know a former lover has had his baby. Marriage of Convenience: Two people get married for convenience. That's the easy part. The way these things happen distinguish your story from other stories with the exact same plot, and that's the hard part. What does that mean? It means But What Happens? It means, how does your story carry out the plot?

Let's say the plot of your story is the tried and true "Marriage of Convenience." In order to write a story with this plot, you need detail. Lots and lots of detail. Unfortunately, not just any detail will do. Picking just the right detail is hard work. And deciding how to present those details is even harder. (I did say plotting is hard work.)

Elementary, my Dear Watson:
Without changing the subject entirely, once you know the details of your story, you will have to decide how to convey them. How you do this depends on more than just the scenes in your story, things like characterization, theme, whether your story is a comic one or not, etc. In brief, you need to present the elements of your story in such a way that in each and every scene something new or additional is at stake. That said, onward because this is about plotting (arriving at the details of your story.)

For the sake of convenience, let's say a story "element" is more or less the equivilant of a scene.
The elements of your story require:
Motivation
Set-up - usually in a prior scene
Something at stake

Motivation, Set up and the Something at Stake Help Determine the Elements.
Absolutely, this is circular. Start with whatever seems easiest to you. If you start with a scene, such as your heroine goes shopping, this element needs motivation and set-up. If you start with a motivation such as your heroine needs clothes, then you need to establish why she needs clothes (set up). In order for the shopping scene to be exciting to read, there needs to be something at stake. Someone challenges her in some way, she trips over the hero, just as long as it's something.
Given sufficient set-up and motivation, anything can happen. Absolutely anything.

Motivation Defined:

This is the general principle you need to internalize.
I define motivation as the convincing reason for the things that happen in your story, and mostly for the stuff the characters do. This cannot be over-emphasized. If the motivation is not convincing, your story will suck. This is a bit of a chicken and egg thing. Does the motivation require a certain kind of character? Or does a certain kind of character require a specific motivation? The answer is - whatever works for you. Just make sure the character fits the motivation. Or that the motivation fits the character.
As I've said, motivation must be convincing and in order for that to be true, you should deconstruct the motivation. Get in there and get anal. Confront as many possibilities as you can think of.
What follows is explanation and example for the statement above. It's one way of arriving at a scene that has motivation.
Let's assume your handsome hero enters a marriage of convenience.

A Quick Definition of Convenience:
Just to keep things simple, let's define a marriage of convenience as a marriage wherein both hero and heroine get married because each thinks they will get something they want and that something is NOT love.

Back to Deconstructing Motivation:
Ok. Why does your handsome hero enter a marriage of convenience? There are a gazillion reasons why. He needs money. He loves someone else and thinks it doesn't matter who he marries. It's December 15 and he has to be married by Christmas in order to inherit his uncle's money. He's a good guy and wants to do someone else a favor. On and on. Choose whatever you want. But! It's more complicated than that. The motivation should be fully deconstructed so that you know who and what you're going to be writing about. Which way you approach this depends upon the kind of writer you are. Maybe you need to work more on the Who, or maybe Who doesn't need work it's the What. Maybe you adjust both. Just as long as the characters and motivations fit together.
Let's take the first possible motivation. Handsome Hero enters a marriage of convenience because he needs money. What does that tell you about your hero? On its face, the glaring answer is that he values money over love. So your story is about a man who values money over love. Oh. That doesn't work for you because your hero is a romantic? Then keep deconstructing. Why would a romantic man marry for convenience instead of love? List the possibilities, deconstruct them, find a situation that allows you have a romantic hero marry for convenience instead of love. Keep going until you are satisfied the motivation is rock solid.

But Wait! There's More!
Handsome Hero's motivation for a marriage of convenience implies something about the woman he will marry, primarily that she, too, values something more than love, otherwise, she wouldn't marry for convenience. Deconstruct the heroine and her motivations. What is that something? Safety? Companionship? Children? Social Status? Pity? Please don't let it be stupidity. Sorry, but plotting is hard work.

A Brief Digression on TSTL:
TSTL means "To Stupid To Live" A character is TSTL only when the writer has not provided sufficient motivation and set up for her (or his) actions.

Back to But Wait! There's More!
The heroine's motivation for a marriage of convenience implies something about the man she will marry. (Hopefully, this sounds familiar.) Let's say the heroine's motivation for a marriage of convenience is that icky Cousin Fred is after her money. (Yes, you must give Cousin Fred motivation for wanting her money.) Therefore, the heroine must reasonably believe that Handsome Hero can protect her from icky Cousin Fred, who, by the way, wouldn't mind stooping to murder to get what he wants.

Your assignment:
Examine your hero's motivations for what he does. Deconstruct his motivations and make sure each element is convincing.

Extra Credit:
Do the same thing with the rest of your characters.

Squeezing it all in!

No- I'm not talking about your tummy as you try to zip up your favorite jeans or about the large piece of chocolate cake you just can't seem to get enough of!

With the holidays here it's been tricky to get any writing in. {That's an under statement.} Though, I will proudly state that I am trying to squeeze some in here and there. Trying.

What about you? You taking the holiday season off or are you squeezing it in, like me? Or- do the holid