Monday, April 9, 2012

Monday Mishmash 4/9/12

Happy Monday! Here's my mishmash of thoughts:

  1. Easter  I hope everyone enjoyed the holiday weekend. We had fun dying eggs, searching for eggs, and visiting with family.
  2. Friday the 13th  This Friday is Friday the 13th. Anyone superstitious?
  3. Editing  I'll be doing second round edits on Touch of Death this week. Wish me luck!
  4. Spectral  This amazing novel by Shannon Duffy releases tomorrow! Though it's already available on Amazon, if you want to snag it early like I did. ;)
  5. Brainstorming  My new WIP idea is revealing itself very slowly. I got the idea months ago, but it's still only bare bones right now. I need to sit down with my MC and ask her to tell me her story so I can get this plotted.
That's it for me. What's on your mind today?

70 comments:

  1. Taking a break from my WIP since I burned myself out this week. Sometimes you need some distance to go back in later and bring it to a new level.

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    1. I agree. Sometimes you need to step away and work on something else until you can get your mind to clear. Good luck with it, Jodi. :)

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  2. I never used to be superstitious about Friday 13th and then my nan died on a Friday the 13th and six months later my gramps died on the 13th of the month (not a Friday though)

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  3. This week I'm finishing up revisions on my WIP. I've taken some time away from it because I was getting frustrated with myself. Now it's time to get it done. Good luck with your edits!

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  4. Yay! for your editing.

    We had a relaxing, quiet Easter celebration. It was nice to sit, enjoy family, and basically do nothing.

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    1. Relaxing holidays are so nice. Ours was pretty relaxing, and we got to fly kites, which is always fun.

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    3. Okay, formatting went weird, let's try this again-

      Easter was really peaceful for me this year, as opposed to somber last year, long story, but this year was far better. I got to really enjoy cooking and baking yesterday, after working out a game plan that didn't cause too much frustration so others could get what they needed done.

      (Kitchen is shoe box small, that's why this is HUGE!)

      I know some of you find don't baking or cooking "therapeutic" but I do, since it's creative, but in a different way from writing, and I don't have the same pressures of success I put on writing.

      Since I won't run out of good food for a couple days, thanks to well stocked leftovers of yesterday's feast, I can focus more on my writing again, and give my blog some love. I updated today, and plan to be back on schedule this week.

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    4. That's great, Taurean. I'm so glad it was a good day for you. :)

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  5. Glad to hear that you interview your MC to get a story plotted. Maybe I'll try that again.

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  6. Your Easter holiday sounds pretty, and no, I didn't know about this Friday! (An idea for this week's blog coming up ...:) ) Good to know you're brainstorming your next story. Your hardworking attitude keeps me working hard, too.

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  7. Ooh, it is Friday the 13th. Hopefully all goes well. Good luck on the editing - I'm deep in the writing of my new WIP, and it's going well. Had a great Easter holiday with family, although I ate too much. Have a great week!

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    1. I think everyone eats too much on holidays. :) Good luck with your WIP. I'm glad it's going well for you.

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  8. Lot's of editing for me! Good luck with yours. Happy Monday!

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  9. I had a lovely Easter with my family. I was able to get the second-to-last chapter of my WIP revised. All that's left is the final chapter, and then it's back to red pens and post-its as it goes through another round of revisions. I'm feeling good about it, though.

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  10. I love Monday mishmash!
    Easter was just another day for me; although I did get a couple of articles written. But my kids are grown and I have no family here in Louisville.
    Seems like I'm always editing. I prepare to send a few chapters off to an agent and find something I don't like. Probably not a good idea to make a change off the top of my head...but I cant help it!
    Kelly, do you do your own editing?

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    1. Nancy, I love them too because I get to hear what everyone else is doing. :)

      I do my own editing before I sent it to my CPs, betas, and then my agent. So I have a lot of help. Then of course I have my editor at Spencer Hill and she's incredible. :) It's tough to edit your own stuff. I'm so much better at editing for others.

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  11. Another Friday the 13th, huh?

    There's a town down on Lake Erie, where every Friday the 13th, aside from winter months, bikers gather together on their Harleys and spend the day... hundreds or thousands of them, depending on the weather.

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  12. I consider Friday the 13th a lucky day! Why not buck the stereotype. Easter was great. We went to see the Future of Space Exploration at the Natural History Museum, followed by a dinner of Italian seafood at Marea, followed by my hubby's homemade strawberry merange cake.

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  13. This week I am going to finish my MS edits. I need to get this in the hands of some Betas. I'm also starting my first freelance edit job. Exciting stuff.

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  14. I can relate to number 5. I started a new YA story and I have two chapters. Normally it comes flowing out of me, but for some reason I might need to plot it out. :)

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    1. I have to plot. I tried pantsing it once and it took forever to write the story. If I plot, I can draft in as little as 12 days.

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  15. I realized, Kelly, that I've come to rely on your Monday Mishmash posts to jump start mine! That's what's on my mind right now.

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  16. Stepping away for a time definitely revives the muse.

    Friday the 13th....I never think much about it, but now that you've brought it to my attention I will remember to say 3 Hail Marys before I go outside that day. Thank you!

    Mishmash on.

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    1. LOL. Friday the 13th is my sister second favorite day (Halloween is first). I probably wouldn't even notice it if it weren't for her.

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  17. Tabitha Olson has left a new comment on your post "Monday Mishmash 4/9/12":

    We had a great Easter. We don't dye eggs, instead my kids set out their Easter baskets full of empty plastic eggs, then the 'Easter Bunny' comes and fills them with various treats and hides them throughout the house. My oldest son left a note for the Easter Bunny requesting that the egg hunt be really difficult this year. I think he got exactly what he asked for. :)

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    1. Ah, Tabitha, you're this week's designated reply to my email. One day I'll figure out why this happens. LOL

      We have an egg hunt like that, too. But my daughter like to dye eggs for my husband to eat. We dyed so many he needs to make some egg salad or something. ;)

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    2. LOL! Holidays with kids are the best, aren't they? :)

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    3. Absolutely! They lose excitement as you get older, but having my daughter brings that all back. :D

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    4. If you need an idea for how to use leftover Easter eggs besides salad or even deviled eggs (A new love for me) you could try Scotch Eggs.

      Don't worry, no alcohol's involved, it's deep frying hard cooked eggs, okay not the most figure friendly (Or physique friendly in your husband's case) but if it's only a few, why not?

      I haven't tried it yet, but this recipe seems simple enough...

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    5. I try not to deep fry much, but it sounds interesting.

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  18. Easter was wonderful. I'm not to worried about Friday the 13th but maybe I should knock on wood now. :) Good luck on your edits and hope you have a great week!

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    1. I'm glad you had a good Easter, and I hope you have a great week, too. :)

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  19. I'm fighting with my first paranormal novel, and my MC is being totally uncooperative! Easter was good, but with the way things are going in the family right now, I'd just as soon skip Friday the 13th altogether. :(

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    1. Sorry to hear that, Mikki. I hope Friday the 13th has no effect on you. And I hope your paranormal novel gets under control. Though I'm a firm believer that our MCs know better than we do. It's their stories, right?

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  20. I was born on Friday the 13th, so it's always held a special place in my heart. All my good luck happens on those days :-)

    Have a great week.

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    1. Very cool! I hope this one brings you good luck, too.

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  21. I'm not superstitious but since I own a black cat maybe the bad luck will cancel itself out? :)

    I'm thinking about getting back to my WIP, organizing my bookshelves, dragging myself to the gym and starting a new short story.

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    1. Those all sound like great things to have on your To Do list, Adrianne. Good luck with them.

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  22. Brainstorming to get to know your MC is a great idea Kelly! I had not done that with my MC just yet, but I'm super excited to try that out. :)

    As always, thanks for sharing!

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    1. You're welcome. I'm glad you found it helpful. :)

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  23. Had a great (relaxing) Easter with family. We watched lots of old movies: Sound of Music, Mary Poppins, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Yep, we love musicals =)

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  24. The only thing on my mind is too much jet setting. I am actually tired of traveling around. This is a first for me.

    Try writing something different--outside of your comfort zone--while your new WIP percolates. Maybe a steampunk story--they seem to be as hot as vampires these days. Trying new things helps me when I am working through the nitty gritty.

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    1. Brenda, maybe that's the problem. My last WIP was very outside my comfort zone and now I'm going back to what I'm used to. Maybe my system is missing the extra challenge. I'm weird like that. :P

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  25. Easter was nice- I got to walk on the beach in Cape Cod. It is always great to see the ocean- even if it is cold and windy. :) Good luck editing! Also- I am fine with the 13th- I am superstitious- but not about that.

    ~Jess

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    1. I love the beach. We are making plans to go to Cape May next month since our Myrtle Beach trip was cancelled this year.

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  26. We had a lovely Easter. Even though our daughters are older, they still love the traditions. Our oldest daughter found these plastic eggs that actually look like rocks and grass and she hid them all over the yard for my youngest to find. It was fun to watch.

    Kelly, I tagged you on my blog for the Lucky Seven challenge. If you are interested, fine, if not, also fine. I know it's hard to find time for even one more thing these days.

    Judy

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    1. That sounds like fun. I've never seen eggs that look like rocks and grass.

      Thanks for tagging me. I did this not long ago, but I'll give you the link on your blog. :)

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  27. Today's a rainy mindset. Some writing. A hike later when the rain turns to drizzle, then yoga. I'm still doing the A to Z Blogging Challenge, so that will take some time today as well.

    Thanks for stopping in to say hi at the Write Game. Your visit is always lovely. Glad you enjoyed my website.

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    1. A hike sounds nice. It's not raining yet here but it's supposed to. I think we'll be stuck inside today. Enjoy your time outdoors.

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  28. I love your mishmash. Good luck on your WIP. Sometimes they do come slowly along, building up steam for the big take-off.

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    1. Yeah, it's slowly piecing together for me. I think this is my brain's way of telling me to slow down. I've written three books already this year. I can't maintain this pace, not when I have edits to do and promotion to work on.

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  29. Happy Easter!
    I think Friday 13 is full of opportunities ... No superstition here
    I just finished a rewrite of my 2010 nano... Yay!
    Hope you have a fab week

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    1. Congrats on finishing the rewrite. I had to do a total rewrite once. I was a lot of work but totally worth it.

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  30. Hello Kelly, I am a new follower(318). Thank you for stopping by! I hope your day is a good one and that you will come back again soon. Greetings from Rio de Janeiro/Brasil!

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  31. Good luck with edits. :)

    Spectral's cover is great.

    I'm brainstorming, too. I won't be ready to outline my shiny new idea for a while, but right now I'm jotting down notes.

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    1. Same here with the brainstorming. I'm researching and coming up with ideas right now. Then I'll get into putting the pieces together.

      Good luck!

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  32. Hi Kelly - Loved what you said about sitting down with your MC and getting her to tell you her story. I've been stuck on in the middle of my story, and I love working on it, but can't figure out how it ends. Now I know why - I have to ask my MC! Thanks so much!

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