Category Archives: Writing
The problem with snow is snow removal
Posted by doggonedmysteries
Yes, we did get snow, quite a bit, though not as much as Philly and south. Our snow angel shoveled our walk again color me happy since shoveling the walk completely exhausts me for the rest of the day.
I do wish DH’s mother had a snow angel. DH had his stomach in knots all day thinking about how we can get her walks cleared. He can’t do it and feels guilty that he can’t. She, of course, adds to that guilt on purpose. There’s no way I can get over there to do it either. The snow plow managed to block our driveway and my project for tomorrow is to clear the wall of ice he left for us. That’s going to take all afternoon and it’s going to kill me. Sore muscles here I come.
I got a little creative tonight while doing some research on snow removal in our area. I found ServiceMagic.com. I plugged in my MIL’s address, named my project—residential snow removal, and they matched me with two places that do it in our area. Both of them will give a free estimate too. How cool is that? I’ll let you know it goes.
Posted in MS related, My blog, Weather related, 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, Snow, Writer, Writing
I sent myself a PajamaGram
Posted by doggonedmysteries
It began with an idea for a character in one of the books I’m working on—her pajamas. She’s supposed to have a pair of PJs with bulldogs on them. My character secretly collects all things with bulldogs. (Not unlike the way that I collect bull terriers.) She owns a bulldog. Yes, this book has a bulldog and not a bull terrier. It’s not from the Doggoned series and one of these days, I’ll reveal more about this book, but not yet.
Anyway, back to the research…I went surfing for a pair of bulldog PJs. What I found I wasn’t happy with so I kept hunting through sites that sold PJs. I hadn’t intended to buy anything. Truly dear readers, I did not intend to buy anything. I was looking for my character’s PJs. I wanted to be able to describe them in detail.
Then I hit the PajamaGram site. I told you I collect bull terrier stuff, right? Over the years, a friend has presented me with New Yorker magazine covers that have that white dog, the one that sorta kinda looks like a BT, on it. (I need to get those framed one of these days.) Well there they were, New Yorker dog PJs. I squealed with delight. DH got curious and came to see what I had me so tickled.
I pointed to the screen where I’d enlarged the fabric pattern. By this time, I was wiping drool off my chin.
He laughed when he saw the dog he knows so well from our collection.
“I have to have them,” I said.
“Yes, you do.”
I looked at the price and started to waffle. “I do need some new Jammies. The PW conference is coming up…my old ones are looking ratty. But—“
“Buy them. They’re cute.”
The cheapskate in me reared its ugly head. “They cost way more than I’d normally pay for any.”
“Oh, for heaven’s sake, just order them.”
“They can be your Valentine’s gift to me.”
DH rolled his eyes. “Don’t worry about it. Buy them.”
Posted in Dog related, Misc, 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, gifts, Home, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Writer, Writing
Word choices
Posted by doggonedmysteries
I can’t tell you how often I will fuss over word choices. A first draft is rife with bad choices. My verbs are feeble and lackluster. The descriptions are hackneyed and drab.
“It’s boring, boring, BORING!” I scream as I read over a new page. “I can do better.”
I believe my delete and backspace keys will wear out long before any of the other keys on my keyboard.
Dear Hubby and Gavin are used to this and don’t bat an eye. Patty will often dive for her crate but that’s how she is.
I go over each word, dredging for something better, brighter, and stronger. No wonder it takes me so long to write. I want my readers to feel the textures, hear the sounds, see, even taste and smell what my character sees, tastes and smells. I want to yank you into the story, suspend your disbelief, and entertain you.
Have patience with me. It’s my greatest hope that you will feel satisfied and entertained when you finish one of them. If I can do that, and make you want more, I will be content.
Posted in My blog, My books, Writer, Writing
Tags: Author, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Coffee, Craft of writing, Dead, Disability, Doggoned, Dogs, Family, Fiction, Home, Humor, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Writer, Writing
Gavin doesn’t do well with change
Posted by doggonedmysteries
Poor Gavin. He’s very confused. Our kitchen is the coldest room in the house. Gavin’s crate has been in the kitchen since he arrived here at the age of eight weeks. He’s now eight years old. I moved his crate to the living room tonight. With the dreadfully cold weather we’ve had lately, he’s been fussing at night in his crate trying to cover himself with his bedding.
I did some rearranging of furniture a few hours ago and his crate is now next to Patty’s. (Oh, yeah this has also confused her a bit.) When I moved Gavin’s crate, he was busy getting a belly tickle from DH so he really didn’t notice. When DH finished, I showed Gavin where his crate was. I did, honestly I did. Gavin even went in and out of it several times.
Then we let Patty out of her crate so she could see the change too. She thought it was a funny joke. She quickly pounced on, and teased Gavin. Then she did a silly huckle butt on the couch. All this wound Gavin up and he raced back and forth from living room to kitchen. They took a while to settle down.
When I told them to kennel up, Gavin ran to the kitchen and looked for his crate, and looked for his crate, and stood in the middle of the floor looking puzzled. I showed him his crate, again. It’s going to take a while for him to get used to this. In the meantime, I might need to go looking for a dog psychologist.
Posted in Dog related, My blog, Writer, Writing
Tags: Author, Beads, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Coffee, comedy, Craft of writing, Dead, Disability, Dog humor, Doggoned, Dogs, Family, Fiction, Home, Humor, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Pet humor, Pets, Rescue Dogs, Writer, Writing
Where do you get your ideas?
Posted by doggonedmysteries
I hear that a lot. Unbelievably, I can get a book idea from almost anything. DH was watching the show Pawn Stars a few nights back when I spotted an item that I thought would work great in the hands of a serial killer. I took notes.
An overheard conversation will often make its way onto the written page. Don’t scream at someone on your cell phone if you don’t want your conversation to be the dialogue for someone’s book. Your right to privacy stops when the decibel level goes up. I’m a people watcher. I find many characters wandering off the street and into my books.
Then there’s the ‘people I enjoy killing in print’ category. Those people are changed, rearranged, disguised, and are usually the bodies that my protagonist finds. They are people who have caused me harm and heartache. The corpse could be the idiot who walks his dog past our place and never cleans up after it.
I know whom it is that I kill off but my victims never do. It’s so liberating and much better than paying a therapist.
Posted in My blog, 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
Time to trim the toenails
Posted by doggonedmysteries
Tonight I noticed that both of the pups sound like tap dancers when they walk. Tomorrow I’ll have to get sneaky and begin the process of trimming their claws. Patty is very good about letting us trim her claws. Gavin, on the other hand, is not. Trimming Gavin’s claws is a long, slow process.
Patty will stay on her back on the couch and remain as still as a seat cushion while I snip away at her claws. On occasion, she will pull a paw back but she does so without any conviction.
We have to sneak up on Gavin to do his. Most of the time, I manage to snip a claw or two when he’s snoozing with me on my chair. It only works if he is on his back, then he’s fairly easy pickings. I never can trim more than two at a time though. By the second snip of the clippers, 65 pounds of white dog rockets from the chair. He has his limits and I’d better have a cookie ready or I won’t get him in that position again.
You can almost see Patty rolling her eyes at him.
Posted in Dog related, My blog, 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, Pet humor, Pets, Rescue Dogs, Writer, Writing
Dreaming of spring on a cold night
Posted by doggonedmysteries
We had some sunshine today and the temperature inched above 40 degrees. Gavin and Patty made full use of the yard, dashing about and pretending it was warm.
2 a.m., I took the dogs for their last out of the night. It’s getting danged cold out there. I’m tired of the cold, of being stuck in the house, gray and dreary days. I don’t want to wear a heavy coat, a hat, and gloves. The dogs are tired of it too. Both were quick going about their business.
I want warm nights where I can sit out by the pond listening to the crickets and frogs sing in chorus. I dream of digging in the gardens, the scent of flowers, and the sound of song birds.
I can tell the dogs want spring too. I can see the dreams of dozing in a patch of sun warmed grass in their eyes.
I heard a tiny snatch of a songbird’s song this morning. Tulips and daffodils are pushing through the mulch. Can spring be far behind?
Posted in Dog related, Misc, Weather related, Writer, Writing
Tags: Author, Beads, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Coffee, Craft of writing, Dead, Disability, Doggoned, Dogs, Family, Fiction, Gardening, Gardens, Home, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Pond, Ponds, Spring, Writer, Writing
How to be a writer
Posted by doggonedmysteries
Write a paragraph. Delete what you’ve written. Write some more. Two paragraphs, three, maybe a whole page. Read them, scream, delete and rewrite them.
Bang head on desk. Get some sudden inspiration and write six pages. Spell and grammar check them. Read them and feel a thrill that they make sense.
Write a paragraph. Delete what you’ve written. Dig deep inside you. Find additional inspiration and write five or six more pages.
Life interrupts.
Write a paragraph. Bang head on desk…
Posted in My blog, 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
Gone fishing
Posted by doggonedmysteries
The second week of fishing season there will be a sign on our front door, ‘Gone Fishing’ and at least once a week thereafter through to late fall. We never go the first week of the season because all the danged amateurs who think they know how to fish are out there crowding the river banks. It takes most of them about a week to decide that they’d rather do something else. We didn’t get out at all last year and we both missed it.
Fishing amateurs are easy to recognize. They arrive with brand new tackle more suited to lake or deep sea fishing than trout streams. They spend more time untangling their line than they do wetting it in the river. An amateur will place him/herself directly across the river from anyone else that is fishing and throw his or her line atop the other person’s line—definitely bad form.
The amateur will trash the river bank. We clean up after ourselves and pick up any other trash we find. Our parks department supplies plenty of trash barrels but the amateur, the slob fisherman, and lazybones visitors to our lovely parks don’t bother to use them. Most of the fish we catch, we release.
DH and I always have at least two cheap rods and reel set ups in our vehicles that we will often gift to some child who is interested in fishing but doesn’t have the proper tackle.
Two years ago, a couple had their nine year old grandson out near our favorite fishing hole. Someone at a store (that will remain nameless) sold them a lake pole, a horrible reel, plastic worms, and fish hooks only suitable for deep sea fishing. None of them knew what they were doing and they were all getting frustrated, so while DH kept them busy, I slipped off to my car and pulled out one of our give-away set ups. DH and I patiently showed the boy how to tie on a leader, put a proper hook on, and bait it. We took turns teaching him how to cast his line. Fifteen minutes later the delighted boy pulled a decent sized trout out of the stream with his new fishing pole. Hours and many fish later, the grandparents and the boy were ready to leave. The boy brought the ‘borrowed’ fishing pole over to us—my favorite part is when we tell kids they can keep the rod and reel. Their faces are priceless.
Posted in hobbies, Misc, Writer, Writing
Tags: Author, Beads, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Coffee, Craft of writing, Dead, Disability, Doggoned, Fish, fishing, Home, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Writer, Writing
Rejection letters
Posted by doggonedmysteries
I could paper a room with my rejection letters. That would be enough to discourage most normal people. I never said I was normal. With each rejection letter I’ve received, I’ve been lucky because for some reason the person who has written the letter has taken the time to comment on my writing. I, in turn, have taken the time to listen to their comments and my writing has improved.
I say I’m lucky because so many writers that I know have received the standard form letter type of rejection. A few even got the nasty ‘don’t quit your day job’ types. Those are enough to make a person consider murder—at least in print. Yes, when you read a mystery where one kills an editor or agent, the person who wrote it probably got one of those letters.
Rejection letters are a normal course for writers. They teach us to have the skins of rhinos. What could possibly be worse than a bad rejection letter?
One thing, a critique that not only shreds your book, your dignity, and lacks saying anything constructive but it makes you doubt yourself. I’ll go into that at another time.
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
We are gonna get some warmer weather
Posted by doggonedmysteries
Over the next few days, we’re supposed to see a steady rise in the temperature. Need I say yippee? I can’t wait it’s been far too cold for my taste lately. We might even see it hit fifty degrees by Thursday. Wow, that means I can…do…some…yard…work—oh, crap.
The Koi will be happy because it means I’ll be able to add fresh water to the pond and back wash the filters. They should thaw by then. Not only will they be happy but also the wild birds who have been trying to find water at the top of the falls will be too. I’ve seen the poor things leaning way over the edge of the pond to sip. The littlest ones do have trouble reaching it.
The pups will be thrilled. They have not been pleased with the extreme cold we’ve had the last several weeks. I’ve never seen them hurry so much to get back inside as they have during this cold spell. Yes, they are spoiled. They love the comfort of the furniture and the heat. Same as they do the AC in the summer.
Posted in Dog related, Misc, my garden, Weather related, 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, Fish, Home, Koi, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Rescue Dogs, Writer, Writing
Are your characters likable?
Posted by doggonedmysteries
Plot twists, bodies, red herrings, murder scenes, cops, and bad guys aren’t all there is to a mystery. Your characters are the stars of the story. Therefore, the characters need to draw in the reader. They have to be likable or, at the very least, intriguing.
Editors didn’t like my first mystery. No, that’s not true; most of them liked the mystery. I have the lovely long rejection letters to prove it. However, they didn’t like my main character. She was too independent, too gritty. They couldn’t warm up to her. No matter that, her father and several loving but gristly ranch hands raised her. She was a person they didn’t understand. Their world wasn’t ready for that character.
However, my agent loved her. She worked hard to sell the book. Willing to continue to try to sell it, I think she felt let down when I pulled it to write something different.
Several years have passed, and maybe I should have her shop it around again. After all, since then the program Saving Grace became a hit. Grace is gritty, tough, and an independent character.
Could it be that editors would give the book a second look today? One never knows, but for now, I’m too busy with my works in progress to rewrite that one.
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
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