Category Archives: Writing
I wish I could read my notes…
Posted by doggonedmysteries
I may have written some brilliant stuff this past week. I have a notebook jam-packed with handwritten notes. However, now there is the problem of deciphering all that chicken scratch and turning it into something eloquent. That’s not going to happen soon since I’m still under the influence, which could explain the tons of chicken scratch notes.
Perhaps I can locate a chicken scratch interpreter. Then again, maybe I don’t want to know what it says. This all goes back to the post the other day and that wondrous word ‘gibberish.’ What I wrote in that chicken scratch could be nothing but gibberish.
Once my head clears, once I can breathe again, I will try to sit down and puzzle out what I wrote in this notebook. You never know, it could be brilliant.
Posted in Misc, 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, Writer, Writing
Taking a break for the ROADTRIP!
Posted by doggonedmysteries
The suitcase is packed, the car will be loaded tomorrow, and then I’ll be on my way. In the meantime, I hope you all have a good time while I’m gone. I’ll post when I get home.
Dear Hubby is in charge of the house and dogs while I’m gone—I hope to heaven the dogs behave for him. They can be a handful when I’m not around. (When the alpha dog’s away…and all that.) Hey, I even have an ‘Alpha Dog’ T-shirt and DH bought it for me.
I’ve left DH a list—it’s not long, just reminders as to what to do with the dog’s water, the fish, and to remember to water the potted vegetable garden and the flowers in the pots on the front porch every afternoon once the sun is off them. I know him, without a list he’d forget to water the plants. He wouldn’t add the cider vinegar to the dog’s water, which, by the way, has cleared up Gavin’s chronic ear infection. So we don’t want to stop doing that do we? He’d also ignore the fish and they’d have to live on algae—they would not be pleased.
Posted in Dog related, MS 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, Koi, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Pet humor, Pets, Pond, Ponds, Rescue Dogs, Writer, Writing
The underpinnings of a road trip
Posted by doggonedmysteries
I have my route planned out. I even retyped and printed the directions from the first part of the trip in large, bold print so I can read it while driving at night. Yes, even with an interior light on I’d have trouble with the tiny print out of the AAA Triptik. No, I’m not blind but I do wear bifocals. Okay, so I’m half blind….
Tomorrow I’m off to the grocery store to make certain that Dear Hubby has what he wants in the fridge and that I have plenty of easy-to-eat-while-driving snacks for the car. I’m not paying for food on the road. I’m even taking a thermos of coffee and cooler full of Starbucks Mochacinos. The only stops I’ll be making are to fill the gas tank and well…remove the coffee I put in me.
Tuesday I’ll pack my suitcase, fill the gas tank, and set out my list of what to load in the car. Yes, I do a list. If I didn’t I’d forget something. I even take my list along so when I pack to leave up there I know I have everything back in the car where it belongs. I also leave instructions for Dear Hubby so he doesn’t forget things he needs to do when I’m gone—like water the potted tomato plants.
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
The gardens needed the rain
Posted by doggonedmysteries
It was almost time to drag out the hose and water the gardens. After so much rain there for a while, we had a nice dry spell, but we were due for some rain. The rain began around seven tonight and I’m jumping in here in between storm cells.
During one break between downpours, I went outside with the flashlight and checked around the pond. Dear Hubby calls this doing my frog count because I always tell him how many I’ve seen after I do my walk around each night. They certainly were active in the yard tonight. I think they were enjoying the rain. I counted nine bullfrogs. I don’t often see more than four or five most nights.
One small bullfrog took my presence as a threat. He panicked, screamed, and took off as if the hounds of hell were on his water tight butt. The poor thing careened into a plastic coffee can (we have it near the pond for the worms I catch to feed the fish), then he bounced off of a piece of slate, took a high flying leap, and landed with a loud splash in the pond. The bigger frogs have more sense.
Posted in My blog, 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, Gardening, Gardens, Home, Humor, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Pet humor, Pets, Pond, Ponds, Writer, Writing
Yeah, I know I said I hated cell phones, but…
Posted by doggonedmysteries
When you’re driving three hundred and fifty miles alone, it makes sense to have a cell phone along with you. I hate the damned things but I bought one. Dear Hubby is pleased. He was worried.
I bought a Go phone. I’m not paying for fancy bells and whistles. I walked into one of our local AT&T phone stores this afternoon. Clayton asked me if I needed help.
“I need a Go phone.”
He showed me several.
I looked at the prices and winced. “What’s your cheapest phone?”
He looked at me as if I’d sprouted a third eye and a set of antenna. “Well, there’s is one. It’s $29.99. But it doesn’t do nearly as much as these others.”
“Honey, I don’t need or want a lot of bells and whistles.” I went on to explain how I hate the damned things and the idiots who drive while talking on them—all those close calls I’ve had with men and women alike who were so busy yakking they weren’t paying attention to the road.
“Then there are the rude people who yell on them while in stores or libraries. I really do not want to listen to their private conversations. I’m only buying one for my husband’s peace of mind because I’m going to be driving alone for three hundred and fifty miles. I’m not a technophobe. I hate being available 24/7. I don’t need an umbilical cord to the world. That’s why I have an answering machine.”
Clayton got it. He grinned. “You’ll like this one.” He held up a tiny phone.
I groaned, “Another thing to get lost in my purse.” I peered at the teensy number pad and screen. “They sure don’t make these for half blind people like me, do they?”
Clayton cracked up.
I bought the damned phone.
Posted in Misc, 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
You know the animals are spoiled when…
Posted by doggonedmysteries
The dogs bark at you when dinner isn’t in their dishes by five-thirty at the latest and you hurry up to give it to them.
The neighbor’s cat looks at you, at his treats, then at you again, and you give him some.
The Koi beg for worms as soon as you walk near the pond so you go dig some out of the compost heap.
The frog expects you to throw him some worms when you are feeding them to the Koi and you do it.
The squirrels jump on the neighbor’s screen door when the corn cob she puts out for them is empty and she brings them a fresh cob.
The poodle across the street expects you to have cookies in your pocket and you do.
The basset hound whose owner walks him by on a regular basis wants to take a water break at your house on hot days and you have the dish filled and ready.
The cat birds clean the blueberries off the bushes right under your nose, and you don’t chase them away. Instead, you sigh, and think it’s a good thing you have bags of frozen blueberries in the freezer.
Posted in Dog related, My blog, 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, Fish, Gardening, Gardens, Home, Humor, Koi, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Pet humor, Pets, Pond, Ponds, Rescue Dogs, Writer, Writing
Goliath Frog and the remake of ‘The Birds’
Posted by doggonedmysteries
Late this afternoon I was settling in to do some writing. I’d opened my book file, found where I’d left off, and began to work. It’s been so lovely around here during the day we haven’t had to close up the house and turn the A/C on. Therein lies the rub.
With everything opened I can hear all that goes on outside. I was quite enjoying the sounds of the birds. That is until they began to screech, squawk, and scream bloody murder. I went out the back door to see what the heck was causing of all this dismay among the birds. I should’ve known. I should’ve guessed.
One of our bullfrogs has decided that flies, bees, worms, and large moths aren’t enough. He now has his eye on our feathered friends. We call him Goliath Frog. Goliath Frog mooches worms when I’m feeding them to the Koi. Goliath Frog is fat he’s far from starving. When I walked out into the yard, I saw a large flock of screaming starlings and grackles trying to aid a full grown starling who happened to have Goliath Frog attached to his tail feathers. The bird was flapping about the pond making a gallant effort to lose the frog.
Goliath Frog wasn’t ready to give up. He had hold of his stomach’s desire. The other birds were shrieking and flapping their wings, making dives at the determined amphibian. Finally, the bird shook Goliath Frog loose and flew for the wires over the alley. For a moment, I thought I was in a scene from Hitchcock’s The Birds. There were starlings and grackles by the hundreds on the wires and in the trees. They must have come from miles around in answer to the distress calls of the now almost tail featherless starling, AKA Goliath Frog’s intended supper. It’s almost time for Goliath Frog to take a trip. He can join our other bird eating bullfrogs, Frogadile and Frogzilla at the river.
Posted in My blog, 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, Doggoned, Family, Fiction, Gardening, Gardens, Home, Humor, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Pet humor, Pets, Pond, Ponds, Writer, Writing
I’m no sugar and spice girl.
Posted by doggonedmysteries
I’m not a girly girl. I never have been, never will be. Proof of that hit me yesterday when my neighbor’s son came to the gate and told me he’d found a bunch of worms for the Koi. I let him in, we went over to the pond, and I asked him if he wanted to feed the fish. Nope, he didn’t want to handle the worms. He handed me the large plastic drink cup in which he had them contained. I giggled. I couldn’t help myself. I was trying to figure out how he’d picked up the worms without handling them.
I was always a tom boy. I started fishing as soon as I was able to hold a fishing pole. If we went fishing with Grandpa or my Father, we had to bait our own hooks. Worms don’t bother me. I remember chasing a cousin or two with a nice big night crawler.
I remember when the boys in school would try to scare me with a snake or a mouse and I didn’t scream and run. Instead, I’d squeal, “Oh, how cute! Can I hold it?” Picture their disappointed little faces.
When I came in from playing outside, much to my mother’s chagrin, I was as filthy as all the neighborhood boys were. Dad thought it was a hoot.
Have a happy and safe 4th of July!
Posted in Misc, 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, Fish, Gardening, Gardens, Home, Humor, Koi, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Pet humor, Pets, Pond, Ponds, Rescue Dogs, Writer, Writing
Writing for the long haul
Posted by doggonedmysteries
I managed to finish another chapter today. I hate that this has dragged along so much but I’ve had so many days where other things around here made demands on my time and, when I could finally sit down to work, I was so tired I couldn’t think straight.
There aren’t enough hours in a day some days. I don’t know where they go. One minute I look at the clock and it’s early the next time I look it’s Oh My Gawd is it that time already? Off I dash to cook dinner or jump in the shower and head to bed.
Dear Hubby isn’t in a frenzy running back and forth to the nursing and rehab hospital. He is less frantic now that his mother is back in her home. The energy in the house is calmer. It seems that lately I’m writing at a steadier pace.
I know that I can now do the long haul and finish the books.
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, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Writer, Writing
Raising the stakes in our writing
Posted by doggonedmysteries
How do we do that? Gee, I’m glad you asked.
We give our protagonist a problem at every turn. It can be a small problem such as a flat tire, or BIG problem such as what to do about that dead body in the middle of the living room.
Cliffhangers, don’t we all love those? End your chapters with one that will ensure your readers keep turning the pages.
There’s the old time honored ticking clock where our protagonist must solve a big problem within a set time frame or there will be dire consequences. Think about all those suspense movies that you enjoy, they have a deadline.
Keep raising the tension, releasing it, and raising it again. You can even do that with the scenery. Is it night? Foggy? Is your hero heading into a mudslide? You get the idea.
Make your readers’ hearts pound. Put your protagonist into so much danger that they catch themselves holding their breath.
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, Dog humor, Doggoned, Dogs, 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
The blank page
Posted by doggonedmysteries
Here I go again. I stare at a blank page on my screen wondering what I’ll write to fill it. I type in the chapter number. I hit the enter key twice, and then tab. Hmmm, do I begin this one with dialogue? Maybe I need to set the scene first. I scratch my head, adjust my chair, walk to the kitchen, and pour another cup of coffee. Sitting in my chair again, I stare at the monitor. My brain screams, “Type something you idiot!”
The quick brown fox…. “Not that. Quit playing around and get to work.” Delete, delete, delete. The air smelled of…of…hmmm, what did it smell of? Was it night? Day? Delete, delete, delete. When he sat up, the strong odor of gasoline assaulted his nose. He moaned. “You’re getting warmer.” Funny. Ha ha. Delete, delete, delete.
The side of his face felt warm, sticky, he knew it was blood. His brain hammered against his skull in time to his heartbeat. At least he had a heartbeat. “I should’ve known better than to follow the dame into a dive like that.” But, she was all curves and….All right now we’re getting somewhere.
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, Fiction, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Writer, Writing
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