Category Archives: My books
For what are you thankful?
Posted by doggonedmysteries
I promised Dave, that sometime this month I’d do a post on what we are thankful for, so here goes.
I’m thankful for every moment with my Dear Hubby, the love of my life, may we have many more years ahead of us. I’m thankful that I’m healthy. I’m thankful that we have a roof over our heads, our mortgage is paid, and we have food on the table. I’m thankful for the love of two silly dogs.
I’m thankful for the love and support of my wonderful Aunts and Cousins. Have I told you all lately how much I love you?
I’m thankful for all my wonderful friends who never fail to lift my spirits. I love you guys too.
I’m thankful to be able to follow my own path in life.
I’m thankful to be who I am, all I’ve experienced—the good and the bad, who touched me, who I’ve touched, and for those who have gone before me. I’m thankful for the joys of living and the lessons of loss and grief.
I’m thankful for the people who take time out of their day to read what I write here.
Posted in Holidays, Misc, My books, Writer, Writing
Tags: Author, Beads, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Coffee, comedy, Craft of writing, Crafts, Dead, Disability, Dog humor, Doggoned, Dogs, Family, Fiction, Food, gifts, happy, Home, Humor, joys, lessons learned, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Pet humor, Pets, Rescue Dogs, Thankful, Thansgiving, Writer, Writing
You can pick your friends, you can pick your nose, but you can’t pick your relatives.
Posted by doggonedmysteries
Some family holiday meals are as pleasant as playing with an angry grizzly bear. We don’t do them any more. Instead, Dear Hubby and I enjoy a quiet meal at home without having to endure in laws or out laws. We don’t go away for the holidays.
For some reason, at certain of these ‘holiday meals,’ Dear Hubby and I found ourselves seated at the children’s table. Two children sat at the adult’s table because they’d raised a fuss over having to sit with their peers. We didn’t have kids, we were well over twenty one, but there we were at the kiddies’ table. (Not a smart thing to do with us.)
I guessed it was some perverse torture set up by the parents of the spoiled brats…um children. Therefore, we became the ringleaders of mischief. Do not leave us to our own devices…you WILL pay. DH’s specialty is food fights. He is very subtle and no one has any idea how these battles begin—well, I do but no one else does.
I specialize in telling bad fart jokes or engaging in other antics that will make milk come out of a child’s nose. (I warned them not to seat us there.)
Posted in Food, Holidays, My books, Writer, Writing
Tags: Author, Beads, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Coffee, comedy, Craft of writing, Crafts, Dead, Disability, Doggoned, Family, Fiction, Food, Holiday meals, Home, Humor, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Writer, Writing
It came from the north
Posted by doggonedmysteries
A cold front brought wind and rain mixed with snow. The storm didn’t last long. However, while it was here the rain and snow pelted sideways hard and fast. Gavin and Patty rang the bells to go out. I opened the door and they saw the rain. They beat a hasty retreat.
The pups no longer wanted to go out. I got those ‘are you insane?’ looks from them. They hadn’t been outside in hours and yet they decided they could wait.
Patty took the couch and Gavin, his chair. For several hours neither one moved. Dear Hubby went up for a nap. I worked on my book. All was quiet.
Gavin rang the bells to go out.
Posted in Dog related, My books, Writer, Writing
Tags: Author, Beads, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Coffee, Craft of writing, Crafts, Dead, Disability, Doggoned, Dogs, Family, Fiction, Home, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Writer, Writing
Peeling back the layers
Posted by doggonedmysteries
Every person has layers, like onions. They have layers to their personalities, their life experiences, and even their dreams. In creating characters, we need to remember this. We need to give them those all important layers. Without them, our characters fall flat.
We don’t need to write every detail but we need to know the minutiae behind our characters. We need to know the little nuances that will make them unique and real to the readers. We need to bring them to life.
How do we do this? Some people make complicated charts, lists, and countless outlines. I’m lazy I don’t. I have a one paragraph character description, maybe two, or three for major characters, in a file for each book I’m writing. The most important thing is to peel back the layers and show the character’s goals, needs, and morality.
You need to show what drives the character. Once you know what drives each character, what is beneath each layer, you’ve given them those all important three dimensional lives that will make the readers come back for more.
Posted in My blog, My books, Writer, Writing
Tags: Author, Beads, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Coffee, Craft of writing, Crafts, Dead, Disability, Doggoned, Family, Fiction, Home, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Writer, Writing
Stitching seamless scenes
Posted by doggonedmysteries
Do your scenes give your reader the maximum effect? Does each one move your story forward? They do? Well then, you are well on your way. All you need do now is seamlessly connect the scenes. Make the story flow, be logical, and compel the reader to keep turning the pages.
Cue the sound of car tires screeching to a halt. “What?”
Not so easy is it?
As many writers do, I agonize over each scene I write. Did I build the tension in that one? Have I thrown enough conflict at my protagonist? Did I end the last scene with enough oomph to carry on to the next one? Are the goals clear enough? And on and on….
If your scenes fall flat and the connections are rough, sometimes you need to step back for a day or two and then read what you’ve written with fresh eyes. Read from the last scene to the first one. This can often make the raw connections jump out at you and you’ll see where you need to fix them.
Dear Hubby says that some days watching me write is painful. I tell him, that some days writing is like wrenching each word out of my brain with an upholstery needle. On good days, the words flow and the scenes stitch together as if run off on a sewing machine.
Posted in My blog, My books, Writer, Writing
Tags: Author, Beads, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Coffee, Craft of writing, Dead, Disability, Doggoned, Family, Fiction, Home, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Writer, Writing
That’s a wrap…for this week.
Posted by doggonedmysteries
It’s been a long week. In the last two days, the weather improved drastically. We had a temperature of 75 degrees today and plenty of sunshine. Whoopee!
I now have a working oven light. Another whoopee! I no longer have to use a flashlight to check on things cooking in there. My next door neighbor’s dear son came in today and was able to remove the end of the broken bulb. Thank goodness for tall people with long arms!
Dear Hubby is feeling much better since the oral surgeon removed the stitches. In addition, I realized I haven’t heard him complain of a headache since the removal of those broken teeth. That one deserves a big yippee!
The pups are happy and healthy. {Knock on wood there.} I posted a new picture of Patty in the Bull Pen, and if you scroll down a few posts, you’ll see Waldo the owl.
I managed to finish another chapter in my book without going postal.
My kitchen is clean and I did some yard work today. I do need to figure out how to plug the hose for the little gargoyle fountain since I’m worried that he might freeze and crack over the winter. I’ll be bringing him in with all the other garden statuary until spring rolls around again.
Posted in My blog, My books, my garden, Writer, Writing
Tags: Author, Beads, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Coffee, comedy, Craft of writing, Crafts, Dead, Disability, Dog humor, Doggoned, Dogs, Family, Fiction, Food, Gardening, Gardens, Home, Humor, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Pets, Pond, Ponds, Writer, Writing
I haven’t a clue
Posted by doggonedmysteries
Wait, I know. It was Colonel Mustard in the conservatory with the candlestick. No, that’s not it.
When I sat down to my computer tonight, I had no clue what I was going to write about, but then I usually don’t. I set a goal to write an average of two hundred words a day on this blog when I started it. Some nights I write more, some less, but it does average out in the end. Why did I set this goal? I had to prove to myself that I could do it.
This blog is a journey, a discovery of who I am. It is where I let off steam, play, and sometimes drive myself ‘round the bend. Yes, I admit it. It is a short drive—hardly a revolution of the wheels.
What I’ve found is that I can succeed at what I put my mind to. Good news for me because I want my books finished, published, and enjoyed by all. This is my mind set.
In addition to writing this blog, I work on my books. The writing of them isn’t easy because life often interferes but I will write them.
Posted in Misc, My blog, My books, Writer, Writing
Tags: Author, Beads, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Coffee, comedy, Craft of writing, Crafts, Dead, Disability, Doggoned, Family, Fiction, Home, Humor, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Writer, Writing
My manuscript as a patchwork quilt
Posted by doggonedmysteries
As of right now, my manuscript reminds me of a patchwork quilt I tried to make years ago. Some pieces aren’t quite right but others look perfectly stitched in. I can’t say that the quilt ever looked good enough to show to anyone but it was warm and cozy.
The manuscript will go on display one day as a completed work. I still have several months, and many hours of work left to do. As I’ve worked on it, I’ve mended tattered edges, cut out ragged pieces, and repaired some bad prose. I killed off a character, changed another one, and transformed the book a bit.
Unlike that failed quilt—I never was good at math and quilts require math to do them well—this manuscript is looking better. Thank goodness, writing doesn’t require math skills.
To my agent I say, don’t worry ‘tis a far, far better thing I do the book is better and when I send it to you I’m sure you will sell it.
Posted in My books, Writer, Writing
Tags: Author, Beads, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Craft of writing, Dead, Disability, Doggoned, Family, Fiction, Home, Humor, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Writer, Writing
Support writers—READ!
Posted by doggonedmysteries
I love reading new authors’ books. I search them out in my local Borders and I hope that someday other people will do the same with mine. When I worked in a book store, it was my job to keep both the Mystery and Sci Fi sections up to date, restocked, and I had the honor of making selections of new books to add to the shelves.
I am saddened that so many book stores are going or have gone out of business. Don’t leave it up to me to keep book stores and other writers in business. Go buy some new books and get reading. Sure, you could go to your local library but if you are anything like me, you have more books in your favorite genre than they do, and better ones!
I’d rather write or read than watch TV. Yes, when I’m not writing, I’m reading. Heck, I burned through two mysteries tonight. I needed a break from the major rewrite I’m doing. If you like mysteries, check out the writers in my writers community list. As I discover new ones I do add the authors to the list.
Posted in My books, Writer, Writing
Tags: Author, Beads, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Coffee, Craft of writing, Dead, Disability, Doggoned, Fiction, Home, Humor, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Writer, Writing
What do you do with an uncooperative character?
Posted by doggonedmysteries
I’m having difficulty with one of my characters. He doesn’t seem to be working as well as I hoped he would. However, the story falls flat without him since he is an important character. Now comes the time either to lose him or fix him. This is not an easy decision.
What would you do if you have a character that doesn’t seem quite right? Do you rewrite him numerous times to fix him or do you continue plodding on with the story and hope that you can go back and fix him later?
I’m not certain if he needs to be meaner or if he’s mean enough but I haven’t quite caught his character. I can’t seem to get into his head enough.
How do you get into a character’s head? I haven’t had problems with this when I write other characters, so why does this one elude me?
I feel as if I’m spending time banging my head against the wall.
Posted in My blog, My books, Writer, Writing
Tags: Author, Beads, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Craft of writing, Dead, Disability, Doggoned, Fiction, Life, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Writer, Writing
Give me a starting line
Posted by doggonedmysteries
Many writing books have writing exercises to do at the end of each chapter. They are supposed to free your creativity and help you write. For me they don’t. What they do to me is stress me out, lock up my brain, and put my creativity on ice. It’s like taking a test. I always hated taking tests.
I do better when I don’t have a structured writing lesson. Give me a good writing prompt or a starting line any time. It’s as though the bells have run, the gates have opened, and the horses have taken off around the track. My mind runs free.
I had a high school English teacher who discovered this in me. She began to give assignments with starting lines. My grades soared, not that my grades in English class were poor, they weren’t, but she knew I could do better.
Now my writing comes from my own starting lines, which are usually my working titles.
What works for you? Is it a structured exercise, a good prompt, or an unrestrictive starting line?
Posted in My blog, My books, Writer, Writing
Tags: Author, Beads, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Coffee, comedy, Craft of writing, Crafts, Dead, Disability, Doggoned, Family, Fiction, Home, Humor, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Writer, Writing
Books, an addiction, or a love affair with words?
Posted by doggonedmysteries
I recently purged my library of paperback books. I kept my favorites, books I hope to get autographed one day, and my autographed copies. I gave away a large number of books. I still have tons. What’s a book nut to do? I love books.
Is there a book lovers anonymous? I can picture this now. I sit down with my fellow book addicts and slug back coffee after coffee, while listening to others tell their tales of addiction. Then it’s my turn to stand up.
“Hello my name is M and I’m a book addict.”
“Hi, M!”
I can’t go to a conference and come home without books. I can’t walk into a book store and leave without buying at least one book. I devour books, sometimes reading two in a day. I’m so far ahead of our local library’s newest acquisitions they should ask me what’s new.
I take pleasure in a great turn of phrase, an imaginative simile, a good joke, a skillful mystery, a story that paints a vivid picture with words. Maybe it’s not an addiction to books but a love affair with words.
Posted in My books, Writer, Writing
Tags: Author, Beads, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Coffee, comedy, Craft of writing, Crafts, Dead, Disability, Dog humor, Doggoned, Dogs, Family, Fiction, Home, Humor, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Writer, Writing
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