Can This Manuscript Be Saved?

I'm over at the Grand Rapids Region Writers Group blog today, asking the all-important question, "Can this manuscript be saved?" Come see what the prognosis is. :D

The Ugly Truth

This movie was much more than I was expecting. It had me laughing out loud at its crude, adult humor. The chemistry between Katherine Heigl and Gerard Butler was hot. Katherine played a great role as a strong working woman clueless about men and dating. Gerard was an egocentric macho man with a soft underside.

Two big thumbs up!

Chicken Salad

What's for lunch?

When I'm home working all day, I usually look in the fridge for leftovers. When there are none, I'm often stumped for a tasty, easy lunch idea. Today I remembered this easy and fast version of Chicken Salad.

Easy Chicken Salad for One
1 frozen chicken breast cooked in microwave on high until done
1 spoonful of sour cream
1 knifeful of mayo
2 dashes of tarragon
1 dash of salt and pepper to taste

This was all I had time for today before I had to leave for an appointment. I used two chicken breasts today, so tomorrow I will add some chopped celery, apple and walnuts to the uneaten portion for my lunch.

This can be served on a lettuce leaf for a low carb lunch or on toast or stuffed in a pita pocket.

Enjoy!

Soup's On! (Again)

In the winter I love soup for lunch and dinner. And amazingly, my boys have decided they like my soup this year. And my hubby loves it, too. It is so nice to find a dinner that everyone appreciates, and they tell me!

When I make soup, it never tastes the same twice because I always play around with the quantity of the ingredients. I like the freedom to throw in more or less of whatever I have on hand.

So here is an approximation of what I do to make Chicken Noodle Soup.

Chicken Noodle Soup
1 lb chicken breast, cooked and cubed
1 onion, chopped
Splash of olive oil
5 thick carrots, chopped (or 10 skinny ones)
3 celery stalks, chopped
6 cups chicken broth
1 tsp thyme
salt and pepper to taste
2 cups dry egg noodles

Saute onion in olive oil until browned. Add carrots, celery, chicken broth, thyme, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Add chicken and dry noodles. Boil 14 minutes or until noodles are cooked.

It makes enough for my family of 5 to have dinner, and I get at least 2 lunches out of it.

So, go ahead and play with the ingredients and make as much or as little as you like! Enjoy!

Robyn Carr's Virgin River Series

You must read this series of books if you like strong women, stronger men and a small community that pulls together to help those that need it most.

Robyn Carr has an incredible ability to create characters with depth and warmth and humor. I lose myself in her books every time.

Here is the current list of books in print in the series. And she has plans to add more!!!
March 2010 - Moonlight Road
February 2010 - Angel's Peak
January 2010 - Forbidden Falls
Book 8 - "Under the Christmas Tree" (novella)
Book 7 - Paradise Valley
Book 6 - Temptation Ridge
Book 5 - Second Chance Pass
Book 4 - A Virgin River Christmas
Book 3 - Whispering Rock
Book 2 - Shelter Mountain
Book 1 - Virgin River

Winter NaNo Challenge Update

I can do it, I can do it, I can do it. Yes, I can!

This Winter NaNo Challenge has been a great way to keep me writing regularly. There have been a few days that I added 0 words to my total, but I knew I could make them up the next day or the next. It's kept me writing and moving forward in my story when I probably would have let it slide for a week or more without adding anything.

What I've learned about my writing through this challenge is amazing. I write much better detail and characterization and really take my time in each scene by writing without an outline. I'm not rushing to get from point A to point B to point C, because I have no idea where those points are! I don't know what my characters will do next, so I am taking my time with exploring what they are doing right now.

Winter NaNo Challenge Update

Challenge: 40,000 words in 35 days, average 1143 words per day, 7 days a week

My numbers: 11065 words in 9 days, average 1229 words per day

I'm doing the happy dance because I'm keeping up with the challenge. I had a huge day on Friday, writing 4272 words in a new story. So, now I must stop writing here, open my WIP and get to work!

Happy Monday!

Movie Buffs

My hubby and I are huge movie fans. We've even spent an entire week at a film festival where we sat through four and five movies a day for several days in a row.

Last week my mother took my boys overnight, which gave my hubby and I an opportunity to spend an entire afternoon and evening at the movie theater. We squeezed in 3 movies and a pizza.

Our favorite of the day was The Blind Side, which Ingrid has already reviewed for us. Phenomenal story.

The next favorite movie was Up in the Air with George Clooney. It was a little left of center, which hubby and I usually enjoy. We were caught up in the story, but left feeling a little dejected at the not-so-happily-ever-after ending. We're both romantics at heart, and this was not a true romance with a HEA ending.

Finally the third place finish went to It's Complicated with Meryl Streep, Alex Baldwin and Steve Martin. Definitely several laugh out loud moments, but as my hubby said, "I didn't really care for any of the characters."

So a mixed bag of movies, but the pizza was awesome! I think we found our new favorite pizza restaurant in our area. Here's a cheer for Greek Tony's Pizza & Sub Shop. Go Tony's!!! :D

Caution: Big Challenge Ahead

My local writing group has thrown down the gauntlet. We are sponsoring a modified NaNoWriMo for our members. For the uninitiated, NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month, which is actually the month of November. This year over 170,000 writers committed to writing 50,000 words in their manuscript during the 30 days of November. Everyone who completes the challenge is a winner.

My local group is holding our writing challenge during the weeks between our January meeting and our February meeting, January 9 to February 13, and we've modified the required word count. We have 5 weeks to write 40,000 words. So instead of writing 1666 words per day for 30 days, I am committing to write 1142 words per day. And by the end of the 5 weeks my family may wish to commit me.

Of all the writers in our group who finish, three names will be drawn to win $25 gift certificates to Barnes & Nobles. Because what better gift to give a writer than free books?!? :D

So, the weeks of January and the beginning of February may be fraught with writer's angst as I attempt to conjure up enough words to meet the challenge. But I love a good challenge.

The Best Fudge EVER!

Dickinson Family Fudge

Melt 1/2 lb butter in large heavy saucepan. Add 12 oz can of evaporated milk. Add 4 1/2 cups of sugar. Put over medium heat and stir constantly until it boils, about 20 minutes. Do not stir while it boils 10 minutes. (Boil slowly.) Take off stove and add 24 oz of chocolate chips and 13 oz marshmallow fluff. Stir together. Pour into mini loaves or a large pan for cutting into pieces.

Makes 5 lbs.


Warning: Don't eat it all at once! It's dangerous to the hips, but so good crossing the lips!

It's a Wonderful Life!

Of course, I have to recommend today that you watch the classic, It's a Wonderful Life. Every year I fall in love with Jimmy Stewart as George Bailey. I still laugh out loud during the dancing scene when they end up in the swimming pool. Such good fun!

Merry Christmas, Everyone!

It's the week before Christmas...

and all through my work center,
there are secrets within, not a child may enter.
I've hid a few presents, and I'm not telling where.
You'll have to wait four more days. Christmas is so near.
Now it's back to work I must go. There are stories to write.
Here's wishing you a Merry Christmas. May your holidays be filled with light.

Andrea

Jennifer Armintrout's New Lightworld/Darkworld Series

Jennifer Armintrout became a national bestseller with her Blood Ties series about vampires. If you haven't read them, they are The Turning, Possession, Ashes to Ashes, and All Souls' Night.

With her new series she has created a new world order consisting of the Lightworld, Darkworld and the Upworld. The veil between the magical world and the world of humans has been torn and fairies, trolls, demons, dragons, vampires, angels, elves, and all sorts of imaginary creatures now must exist on earth with humans. Of course, they can't all just get along.

Book one of the series, Queene of Light, tells the tale of Ayla, a half faery, half human, who can not escape her role in the ancient prophecy of the Fairy Court.

Child of Darkness and Veil of Shadows are books two and three in the series.

Queene of Light started a bit slowly for me. I had some trouble getting into the story because everything in the world building was new to me. I felt a little distant from it. But once I got to know the characters better, I couldn't put down the book.

The next day I picked up Child of Darkness and read it within a twenty-four hour period. Again I had a little difficulty with the book initially. I didn't particularly feel much sympathy for the main characters. They were showing all their warts and weren't very lovable. But as the action took off and the characters were forced to change, I enjoyed the story more.

I haven't bought Veil of Shadows, yet. But I'm greatly anticipating the conclusion to this unique tale of the Lightworld, Darkworld and Upworld.

Working through the holidays

This is a difficult time of year to keep to the writing. I am easily distracted by baking, shopping, wrapping presents, and various other holiday activities. Plus I seem to find myself curled up on the couch under an afghan voraciously reading romances much of the time.

I have to remind myself that I consider myself a writer. And you know what? Writers write. If I'm not writing during this holiday season, then I'm not much of a writer. I don't want to get to January 1 and find I've made no progress on my WIP in two months.

So, I commit to you and myself to renew my weekly goals and write every week.

Almond Glazed Sugar Cookies

I got this recipe from a tear-out card in a magazine years ago. It was an advertisement for Land O'Lakes butter. It is one of my favorite cookies to make for Christmas.

I just made a double batch for a celebration of Advent last night. That's why the glaze is tinted blue. :D

Almond Glazed Sugar Cookies

Cookie:
1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

Glaze:
1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon almond extract
4 to 5 teaspoons water

• Heat oven to 400 degrees.
• Combine butter, sugar and almond extract in large mixer bowl. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until creamy. Reduce speed to low; add all remaining cookie ingredients. Beat until well mixed.
• Roll dough into 1-inch balls; place 2 inches apart on cookie sheet. Flatten balls to 1/4 inch thickness with the bottom of a buttered glass dipped in sugar.
• Bake for 7 to 9 minutes or until edges are very lightly browned. Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheets. Cool completely.
• Stir together all glaze ingredients in small bowl with wire whisk. Decorate cooled cookies with glaze.

Makes 3 1/2 dozen cookies.

Rent!

My hubby and I went to see our local university theater department's production of Rent, the musical. I had seen the movie version, which is awesome! So I was excited to see the live stage version.

I was amazed at the talent available here in West Michigan. The quality of the singing voices were great, but unfortunately poor sound mixing took away from some of my enjoyment. The volume of the band drowned out the volume of the vocals. And I didn't think the actors enunciated very clearly on the songs.

Nearly the entire story is told through the lyrics of the songs, so I was glad I already knew the story, otherwise I would have been lost during the show. My hubby didn't remember the story as well as I did from the movie version, so he enjoyed the stage version even less than I did.

Overall, it was great to see the local talent enjoying themselves on stage, and it made me want to buy the movie version so I could enjoy the songs over and over again. It's a great story full of love, heartbreak and hope. A true romance. Enjoy!

Synopsis

I've really been struggling (or avoiding) for about a month to write my synopsis for my current manuscript. I feel like I've been hitting my head against a brick wall every time I sit down in front of the page that says Synopsis at the top. I'm getting bogged down in the scene details, and I'm struggling to step back and view the story from a distant perspective.

So, what's my problem? Why can't I get this thing written? How did I write the synopsis for my past stories?

Then I came across a blurb about an upcoming class on how to write a synopsis in fifteen minutes. In the blurb it mentioned "characters, goals, motivations, and conflict, how to create a satisfying ending, and how to develop and summarize the middle of the book." That was my eureka moment. I'd forgotten to go back through my library of writing books for a reminder of what to include in my synopsis.

According to Leigh Michaels in her book, On Writing Romance: How to Craft a Novel that Sells, an effective synopsis will address six specific points:

1. Hook - What's going to appear on the back cover of the book? What element in your story is going to grab the readers and make them say, "This is so different, so unusual, so intriguing that I have to read this book"?

2. Heroine - What makes her interesting? Physical description is usually a waste of space, as is most of the character's history. The editor is more interested in what kind of person the character is now and - only if it's crucial to the story - how she got that way.

3. Hero - Why is he in opposition to the heroine? What does he want, or why does he not want the heroine to succeed?

4. Conflict - What is the main character's difficulty at or near the start of the story? What is the problem that will keep the characters apart, force them to work together, and change their entire future?

5. Story - How is the conflict shown to the readers? How does it intensify? How does each event affect the main characters? What twists and turns in the plot will keep the readers fascinated and unable to put the book down? Sketch the beginning, middle, and end of the story in skeletal form, while still being as specific as possible.

6. Resolution - How is the conflict resolved? How does the ending come about? What makes the ending satisfying for the readers?

Easy peasy, right? :(
I'll let you know when I get it done.

Soup's On!

The winter is a great time to make homemade soup. And when you make your own, you can make it healthier by reducing salt and using fresh vegetables. Here's a healthy and delicious recipe for Minestrone.

Minestrone
1/4 lb turkey bacon
2 medium onions, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 sliced carrot
1 cup chopped cabbage
1/2 cup chopped turnip
1 cup spinach
1/2 cup peas
1/4 cup chopped parsley
6 cups vegetable stock or low-fat, low-salt chicken broth
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp basil
1 cup cooked white beans

Saute vegetables and then add broth and spices; cover and simmer for 45 minutes. Add beans. Serve with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Chapter 1, Scene 1, Take 4

Yesterday at critique group, Ingrid read my first chapter aloud to us. It was fascinating to hear my words spoken with a different voice. Her inflections and emphasis on different words made the scene feel new again. And it was new in this particular formulation.

It's taken at least four major revisions, but I think I've finally found the right combination of characters, action and dialogue for chapter one.

First chapters are so hard for me to write, and I'm sure for many writers. It's so important to get the first five pages just right to attract an agent's attention, so they'll want to read more. What really adds to my difficulties is that after working with my characters for so long, it's hard to go back and read chapter one with fresh eyes. It's hard to read it as a first-time reader who doesn't already know these characters, their backstories, and what is in store for their futures. It's hard to step back with clear eyes and feel the emotions for the first time.

And that's why I love my critique partners. Because their eyes are fresher than mine when it comes to reading my work. Thanks, ladies!

Easy Peasy Pizza

My kids love pizza. Whose don't? This recipe is a great way to make pizzas without a lot of work, and you can make them healthy by adding a little veggie matter to the toppings.

Easy Peasy Pizza
4 pitas
8 oz. can of Pastorelli's pizza sauce (yummy!)
8 oz. shredded mozzarella (shred it yourself and skip the potato starch in the pre-shredded bags)
Your favorite toppings - pepperoni, sliced tomatoes, fresh basil, mushrooms, olives, red pepper, go crazy!

Place pitas on cookie trays, spread evenly with sauce, then cheese and toppings. Cook at 400 degrees until cheese starts to brown, about 15 minutes.