Category: Thoughts

Look At This Mug

A great gift for a wanna be author is this mug I got from my Other for my birthday. A favorite on my Etsy list, now I own. If you want or you know someone who would like fun mugs like this one you should check out LennyMud. All ready it is keeping me company while I try and type all my novel ideas. I am nervous about my clumsy ways but I have promised to use it. Not let it sit up on a shelf as if untouched equals protected.

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I don’t think I will be posting next week since I will be on vacation and I don’t know if the wifi is free where I’m going. Also, I have a belief vacation is to get away from it all and not be working. Also, vacation reminds me how much I love staying off social networks and being away from the stresses of the everyday grind.

Hope everyone has a good week!

Primary Vs. Election Day

I try to explain my experience.

New York City had a primary two days ago. I worked the polls. It was a long 15 hour day but I liked it. I learned a few people were thrown off with what a Primary was. Republicans wanted vote for Democrats. Soon I was trying to make them understand that this is a vote for who they want to be the voice their party. Some cursed when they remembered, while others still stared at me blankly. Party doesn’t matter. Right? They can vote for whoever they want. I explained that was true in November on election day but not for a primary. I was mostly met with, “I wouldn’t have come in if I knew.”

I was surprised to see the age of people asking me questions. These were the wiser generation which had the better education. But there I was explaining the rules. For New York City the Democrats had a lot of decisions to make. In this Primary there was ten Mayoral, five Public Advocate, two Comptrollers, two Borough Presidents, and even a few (forgot how many) City Counsel candidates. The Republicans had three Mayoral candidates. So, Republicans would come out of the booth asking why they had so little. I would explain the Republican party most likely know who will be the voice for the party. If you weren’t part of the Democratic or Republican party you couldn’t vote in this primary. There was a hand full of people who left the building with voting card in hand ready to change there party so they could participate in the next primary.

I must say I was happy to see the turn out. For a primary I was told it wouldn’t be busy and true I probably don’t know what busy is but I was proud to see so many voting. But if you’re reading this I hope you now know the difference between Primary (who will represent your party’s voice in an election) and Election Day (vote for whoever you think best to represent everyone). I probably could have explained this more clear then this but that day I was trying to give the best possible answer everyone would understand.

Query Letter Concern

I find query letters frustrating. They seem so simple until the writing begins. So many tips out there but only one real template. I don’t want it to sound like very other but queries seem to have such specific sound. Over the years I have submitted a few short stories to writing contests and I have been rejected but none of them needed a query letter to enter.

This is my first query letter. I wrote a children’s picture book (without art). I have found a few places to send the book. The agent/publishing research is easy. It’s the writing. There are not a lot of examples or templates for writing children’s picture book query letters. I don’t think I’m worried about rejection. I expect it. My writing and or story may not be everyone’s cup of tea. I don’t want a bad query letter holding back my book from a future. Most likely this concern and frustration is all from my focus on detail, which I will have to learn to overcome.

Pinterest For Novel Outlines

I’ve been trying to write and edit a few novels and I have come across a useful tool to help visualize characters, places, and things. What I was normally doing for my character’s description was trying to write everything I envisioned down  in a notebook. Each character would get a page. The page would list physical appearances, personality, and motive. It wasn’t until I saw a post by blogger Shannon A. Thompson called, “Writing Tips: Picture Book” I realized how much detail I was missing by not using this useful tool. Pictures.

I never thought of using pictures to help inspire and build images of characters, places, or objects. I’ve had a Pinterest account for years. When I first signed up I used it a few times but it wasn’t long that I left it having found no use for it. Now I can’t help but think, here was a writing instrument at my fingertips and I have left it idle.  Well, no longer, I have started to use it to help with my novel’s vision. Pinterest has an a great number of pictures, easy access for pinning from other websites, and a board privacy setting (so the world doesn’t have to know what you’re planning). Also, saves on paper and ink, which helps me, keep my limited budget from going over. Also, it adds a bit more of creative fun to the process. I find creating a character board or looking at a few photos can be all the pop I need for a shot of inspiration. Even on days writing is slow I can get a daily writing exercise from a few pinned pictures.

If there is anyone out there who is struggling to write a novel, I hope this helps. It has sure has helped me. If you would like to see Shannon A. Thomas’s examples I have linked to her website and her “Picture Book” blog above.

Blogger’s Block

I’ve been trying to keep up with a blog schedule but it is proving to be a hard task. I try to post every Tuesday but I didn’t post anything yesterday because I have nothing to write about. For a bit I thought I’d post a creative writing piece but that ended with my brain going quiet at the site of the blinking curser. I was thinking about trying different days even though I know creative flow has nothing to do with a certain days of the week. Lately, I read a lot and was thinking of writing book reviews to fill up some blog space.

How do you keep your topic creative juices flowing? Have you had a blogger’s block? (Like writer’s block but with blogs?)

Frustration With The Job Search

How am I supposed to show enthusiasm for every job I apply to if I am losing optimism in all my efforts? I have written so many cover letters. Long and short. Showing my excitement, maybe showing too much excitement. There are the sites that only allow one cover letter even if you are applying to multiple similar jobs with different requirements.  A company has contacted me! I figured they must have seen something they like. I tried not to get my hopes up and send what they ask. One week, no reply. Send nice follow up letter. One more week, “we went in a different direction”. Friends have sent me job applications, still turned down. Then there are the companies that don’t get back to you not even with a generic email to say you suck. (I understand why they don’t send emails).  And worst the companies that will give you a job but only if they don’t have to pay you. Would you like to build up your resume with our internship? How about a few more articles? We have over a million readers coming to our site daily. Don’t forget to flood your social feeds with your articles and did you ask you friends to like our page.

Tomorrow I’ll be fine. Write new cover letters, sent out a few more resumes, and maybe write a few 100 words towards a story. Today is the day to let out the frustration.

The Seeds Are Planted

I planted the seeds. So begins the growing. Now comes the waiting. Can’t wait to plant these containers in the garden. Excited to see the seeds sprout leaves and stems that will soon bear fruit and vegetables. Can’t wait to smell and pick the flowers these stems will bud.

On the bottom of this post is a picture of what I planted.

The big stems at the bottom of the photo are Hawaiian Plumeria.

Now the top of the photo. I’ll go from right to left.

First row of two pots are Sweet Basil.
Next row of three containers are Endive. It is a leaf vegetable.
The next two rows, according to the Great Britain English translation on the seed package, are Tomato Peppers.

It’s a seed package from Romania. The package reads Ardei Gogosar and the Google translation is just Bell Pepper. I’m guessing this is a type of red bell pepper. If you are wondering why the first three have a stick and the next row of three don’t its more a marker for me later on. The first three are dried from actual peppers. The next three pots are from the seed package. I received the Endive and Tomato Pepper seeds from my Other’s Grandma. Yes, they are from Romania hence the hazy translations. Plus, it’s my first time growing from dried seeds so I liked to see if there is a difference (like a stronger plant or better tasting peppers). According to my Other’s Grandma, there is and I don’t mess with Grandmas!

I’ll continue to post more about the ongoing process of the garden in the weeks to follow.

I’m excited!

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Now We Wait.

The End Is The Beginning

That is everything from my Tumblr blog. My past. I can’t tell you how much it means to me to receive all the new followers, likes, and comments. I have a renewed view on my writing. I mean, it is one thing to hear “that’s a great piece” or “you have some real skill,” etc. but to see feedback as little as a like, it’s a big deal. At least to me.

I promise your reader feed will not be flooded with post from me. From here on I will try to post on a schedule. Weekly at least. So until then.

Hope You Stay Tuned.

That was 2011. I started this blog on Tumblr. Recently I was told by a few peps that I should try a platform that gives readers more interaction. So, I’m back at WordPress. I could have just started a new blog on this day but I couldn’t leave behind my past. I really liked some of the writing I did. It was interesting to re-read all my old posts. The up and downs of life’s jump robe.

Tomorrow (maybe later today) I’ll post (half of) 2012’s Random Thoughts. Don’t think there were to many storys since my blogging skills are not very scheduled. Hope all my new followers, readers, and likers stay tune. Thanks for taking the time.

Running Through My Head

December 6, 2011
I feel like I’m missing something in order to sit down and write. I don’t know if it’s the place, time or person.

I think this place is stale with distractions. Internet, cable, and me. I think about places I could go and not plug into the world but just my head. But I wonder if place or distractions are the problem. The disappointment when I find out it isn’t any of that. It is me.

Is it time? I have no set schedule. I don’t write in the morning with sleep still in my eye. I don’t let my hands search my inner subconscious. I have been writing almost everyday but there is not set day. No set time. Most of the time it is just for work. Does that make me less of a writer?

I have no person to go to with my writing. Criticism is the hardest thing to take but the thing needed most. I don’t want a writing group I want a literary companion who will tell me my silly grammar mistakes aren’t stupid but easy to fix. Someone I can return the favor to with conversion. I can do that myself. I have fears. I don’t need to be told everyone has the same fears but do I need to hear it. Maybe I could read my stories out loud tripping and stumbling. Listening to someone read their stories worried I may miss something because it is not visual. I can read my stories to myself with the written word in front of me. Not be forced to read my work out loud to someone who will grin and nod but really daydream away. Worst believe someone believes in my writing but shows no interest in what I write.

It isn’t inspiration. Inspiration does visit me. Sometimes it is at the worst moment. Just as I’m laying down to sleep. Dark. The bed is finally warm where I can stretch out of the radiation of heat ball. Words and phrases and sentences start to talk in my head and there is always that moment I think, “I should write this down,” but I think about turning on the light and being closer to awake than asleep and I abandon inspiration. The worst is when the muse tricks me. She makes me believe what I am hearing from my head is genius then I write it all down in a clique mess of words.

I am missing something when I sit down to write. Me.