Category Archives: Writing
Exercising the brain while writing
Posted by doggonedmysteries
As you can see by my reading list, I am reading Donald Maass’s book The Fire in Fiction–passion, purpose, and techniques to make YOUR NOVEL GREAT. It is an exhausting and slow read because there are exercises to do at the end of each chapter. No, I don’t mean I have to do calisthenics. I’m talking about doing writing exercises. The brain needs exercise too.
I’ve found that I can do the exercises, have fun doing them, and learn. However, when I’m expected to do this sort of thing in a writer’s conference session, my mind goes completely blank. I figure it’s because it’s daytime at the conference (usually morning and I don’t do mornings well at all) when this asked of me.
Hell, I’m never alert until the sun goes down. Thus, doing the exercises on my schedule seems to work fine. I wonder if I’ll feel the same way when I tackle his Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook. Don’t worry. When I do the exercises, I am using my books and it is helping with the rewrites.
Why do I do this? I have no idea. Mostly I am hoping all this work makes me a better writer so you, my readers, have greater enjoyment.
Tags: Arts, Author, Bones, books, Books on writing, Brain, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Craft of writing, Dead, Disability, Doggoned, Donald Maass, Family, Fiction, Fire in Fiction, Home, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Reading, The Fire in Fiction: Passion Purpose and Techniques to Make Your Novel Great, Writer, Writers Resources, Writing
After the storm
Posted by doggonedmysteries
With very strong winds gusting and pushing the rain from the south, our roof leaked again. This only happens when conditions are right and conditions were perfect. I cussed the weather and roof and set out the usual buckets. If we could afford it, I’d have that entire roof torn off and redone so it never leaks again.
Since we often have a problem with the power going out in fractious weather, I cooked the bacon for our BLTs early in the afternoon. This time our power stayed on much to our surprise. I told DH it was because for once I was prepared for the worst. I guarantee had I not cooked the bacon for our dinner the power would’ve gone out. I will keep that in mind for future storms.
I see we have some small tree branches down and there are a few plants in the garden that look like an elephant stepped on them. Today is still gray so I’ll wait for clear skies before I go out and clean up the mess. In the meantime, I have buckets to empty, walls to scrub, and more cussing to do.
Posted in Weather related, Writer, Writing
Tags: Author, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Construction and Maintenance, Craft of writing, Dead, Disability, Doggoned, Family, Fiction, Gardening, Gardens, Home, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, weather, Writer, Writing
Update on that MP3 player and other things
Posted by doggonedmysteries
I went shopping today and ran across a 4GB SanDisk Sansa Clip+ on clearance. After comparing it to several other MP3s and the IPods, I went with it, not only for the price, but also for the ease of downloading my music to it. I am once again enjoying my favorite music while cooking, cleaning, and doing other menial tasks around here.
Due to some severe weather heading our way I might not be able to post tomorrow. Since I normally write my posts in the wee hours of the morning, the weather might put a damper on that. Do check back though just in case the front moves more easterly instead of north.
DH is still showing improvement in his walking so I have nothing but good things to say about Ampyra.
Patty has decided she wants ice cookies every night after their last out. She’s begun to sit at the freezer door and beg. Gavin waits to one side. He knows she has the right moves to get some for them.
Take care everyone and have a good day!
Posted in Misc, Writer, Writing
Tags: Author, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Craft of writing, Dead, Digital audio player, Disability, Doggoned, Dogs, Family, Fiction, Home, IPod, Life, Love, MP3, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, SanDisk, SanDisk Sansa, SanDisk Sansa Clip, Sansa Fuze, Writer, Writing
Now why didn’t I do that before?
Posted by doggonedmysteries
I’ve missed music. Lately the only time I’ve listened to music is while driving my car. What an idiot I am. A while back when my hard drive crashed, I didn’t put much of my music on the new hard drive. I have no idea why I haven’t done this. I have a couple albums on the computer and I have many more CDs I can download to listen to while I’m writing.
Tonight I remedied this and now I am listening to some of my favorite music. I realized afterwards why I hadn’t been listening to music as much. DH takes a nap every afternoon and I don’t play music because I don’t want to disturb him.
Duh, use the headphones. Yeah, but that means I can only listen to music while I sit at the computer. I need to buy a new MP3 player or something. Any suggestions out there as to which one is best? Do keep in mind that I am on a tight budget and need something I can easily download the music to from my computer.
The next test is will music jump-start my creativity. It used to let’s hope it still does.
Posted in Misc, Writer, Writing
Tags: Audio, Author, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Compact Disc, Craft of writing, Dead, Digital audio player, Disability, Doggoned, Family, Fiction, Home, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Music, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Recordings, Writer, Writing
I won’t grow up
Posted by doggonedmysteries
It doesn’t take a lot to amuse me. DH stops at Mc Donald’s every day to pick up a happy meal breakfast for his mother. Most of the time, we give the toys to G for her grandson, or to my new neighbor across the street for her daughter.
Today I snitched one of the toys. I couldn’t help myself. Who doesn’t want a tiny skateboard to play with? It doesn’t matter to me that it’s a Clone Wars skateboard. What matters is it’s silly and fun to play with.
I’ve added it to my collection of silly things on my desk. I have a Scooby Doo with magnifying glass wind-up toy, a large winged gargoyle, and a skull that has dancing black roses coming out of the top all of which sit on my desk. There are bells, whistles, and even a set of dumbbells within reach. My pencil holder is a gargoyle.
I have a fancy magnifying glass, a magic wand, and a miniature treasure chest that holds my thumb drives. I use Winnie the Pooh pencils and there’s a walking robot pencil sharpener at Amazon.com that I covet.
Posted in Misc, Writer, Writing
Tags: Author, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Craft of writing, Dead, Disability, Doggoned, Family, Fiction, Home, Humor, I still like toys, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Peter Pan has nothing on me, Won't grow up, Writer, Writing
Ice cookies, a doggie treat
Posted by doggonedmysteries
I used to complain about our dogs trying to crawl into the old refrigerator when I opened the door. It was a constant contest to see if I could get things out without the dogs getting in.
Our present refrigerator has the freezer on the bottom. It’s actually a great idea when you have dogs, except if you’ve introduced them to the joys of crunching ice cubes. Now I can’t open my freezer without paying a fee.
They know there are ice cubes in there and they want them. They will ignore dog cookies in favor of ice cubes. Well, at least they will until they finish crunching the ice.
Gavin will pick his up, take it over to the rug in front of the sink, and work on it there. Patty, little miss dainty, will chew hers where you drop it. Gavin crunches his quicker, and always checks to see if Patty has dropped any chips, he can help himself to, she’s getting faster at eating hers and not leaving anything for him.
It would be easier if we had a working icemaker instead of ice cube trays but DH never installed it. It’s still in the box. When we bought the refrigerator, it didn’t have an icemaker and they were going to charge us sixty bucks to install it later. I should’ve paid them the sixty bucks and not listened to DH when he said he could do it. This reminds me, I’d better go fill the ice cube trays.
Posted in Dog related, Writer, Writing
Tags: Author, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Craft of writing, Dead, Disability, Dog humor, Doggoned, Dogs, Family, Fiction, Home, Humor, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Pets, Rescue Dogs, Writer, Writing
My paper-recycling bin runneth over
Posted by doggonedmysteries
Another election is approaching our area. Politicians waste trees and money sending flyers to me. Said flyers leave the mailbox and go directly into the recycling bin. I could probably save time by placing the blue bin under the mailbox and label it ‘political flyers here please’. Oh, if only they’d get a clue as to how much money they waste. No, I don’t read the flyers especially when the mudslinging begins as it always does.
If you want my vote, do come and talk to me. Give me some proof that you actually care about the people in your district. Don’t waste my time calling me on the phone with a poll. I refuse to answer questions asked by faceless voices. Another thing that will greatly impress me is if you don’t bad mouth other candidates. My parents always said, “If you can’t say anything nice don’t say anything.” Nothing lowers my opinion of a candidate faster than when one begins mudslinging.
Do not talk to me as if I am stupid. I stay informed and actually have opinions. However, you will never see them on this blog because my politics are private. There’s nothing I hate more than having someone try to shove their politics down my throat. Therefore, I refuse to do it to my readers.
Posted in Misc, Writer, Writing
Tags: Author, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Craft of writing, Dead, Disability, Doggoned, Environment, Family, Fiction, Home, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Politics, Recycling, Waste, Waste and Recycling, Writer, Writing
Nineties in mid September? This sucks.
Posted by doggonedmysteries
We’re having a weird, weird fall. We’ve now broken all records of years with the most days in the nineties. We’ve had fifty-five days of temperatures in the nineties this year not a good record in my opinion. As I’ve said before if I wanted that sort of heat, I’d move south. You don’t see me packing up and heading in that direction do you?
I’d rather head up to northwestern NY State and live near my dear cousins and aunties than move south. My apologies to my friends who reside in the south, but I’ve lived there and it’s too danged hot. In addition, as the song says “All my exes live in…” and that’s more than enough to keep me north.
I do hope that October is comfortable and doesn’t get too cold I’d hate not to be able to wear my new costume this year. All I need to do now is figure out how we’re decorating the porch.
Here’s hoping we have a gentle winter, a warm spring, and a normal summer next year. We can certainly use them.
Posted in Weather related, Writer, Writing
Tags: Author, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Craft of writing, Dead, Disability, Doggoned, Family, Fiction, Heat, Home, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Temperature, Writer, Writing
My favorite time of year is getting closer
Posted by doggonedmysteries
September is almost over. Halloween will be upon us before you know it. Can you guess where I went yesterday? Yep, Spirit Halloween and I happened to find a new costume for this year. I could easily go broke in that store every year but this time I’d saved a few bucks just in case I found another costume I liked.
I’d kill to have a large front yard to decorate. I go nuts over their animatronics each year. Drooling over the darned things doesn’t make one popular with the staff. They do hate wiping up puddles. I keep telling myself that one of these days I’ll buy one or two. If I do, I can get rid of some of the smaller Halloween decorations.
I was in the store so much last year the manager recognized me as soon as I walked into the store. Heck, she even remembered my E-mail address.
I’m thinking of dragging DH there so he can see the animatronics and I’ll point out the few I’d love to have. You never know, he might decide to buy me one. Hehehe!
Posted in Holidays, Writer, Writing
Tags: Author, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Costume, Craft of writing, Dead, Disability, Doggoned, Family, Fiction, Halloween, Home, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Writer, Writing
We have a diverse critter population
Posted by doggonedmysteries
We have a quite a large crop of red back salamanders in our yard. I discovered this fact after a heavy rain last night that brought out various denizens of the yard and garden. Seems we have a good eco system going here. The only things we’re missing are frogs. Yes, I do miss my bullfrogs.
One of my favorite things to do is to take a flashlight and go out into the yard at night. You see so many different small creatures during this time that you don’t often see during the day. I refuse to go wandering about the yard at night without some sort of light source. It’s no fun to step on a snake and jump out of your skin when it wraps around your foot—yes, it’s happened to me. Thank goodness, the only snakes we have are harmless garter snakes.
Nighttime is also a great time to rid the garden of pests. I bet my regular readers remember how I went out picking cucumber bugs off my cantaloupe and watermelon vines.
Posted in my garden, Writer, Writing
Tags: Author, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Craft of writing, Dead, Disability, Doggoned, Family, Fiction, Flora and Fauna, Gardening, Gardens, Home, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Writer, Writing
Juggling books
Posted by doggonedmysteries
We need several rainy days in a row. I have to settle my butt in the house instead of working on getting the house and gardens ready for fall. I have books screaming at me to write them. I’ve only been able to put in a few hours at a time on them. Yes, I did say them three times. I am juggling five now.
(Cue circus music.) Step right up and watch the juggling act. Look at how she keeps five books in the air at once.
It’s a good thing I learned a long time ago to keep character lists, time lines, and plot points available for each book. It would get very confusing without them.
I also learned about keeping storyboards at a conference session done by one of my favorite writers and friend Valarie Malmont. The use of different shaped and colored Post It® notes for plot points, turning points, and other important things makes for a wildly colorful board. I believe I’ve singularly kept the Post It® note company in business. I use tons of them. DH will sometimes present me with new ones when he sees some that are a bit different.
Tags: Author, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Craft of writing, Dead, Disability, Doggoned, Family, Fiction, Home, Humor, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Writer, Writing
Doggonedmysteries 
And a big hello to all the spammers out there
Oct 3
Posted by doggonedmysteries
Cue Monty Python’s Spam music. I do enjoy reading some of the atrocious spam comments that come in. I admit, some of them I go ahead and allow just for chits and grins.
However, if you’re going to spam me please don’t go overboard in your praise of my site. I know better. Sugary overdoses of accolade make me want to go on a diet. I may be a gardener, but excessively flowery praise raises my hackles. Believe me when I say that you aren’t nearly as clever as you think you are.
Did you know that Akismet catches you every time? I am silly enough to slip a few of you through the barricades. I only do it for extreme cleverness, a particularly good turn of phrase, or if I am in a silly mood. Don’t depend on my moods.
For those of you that don’t have a web site through WordPress I will elaborate. Akismet is the spam catcher for WordPress and it does a terrific job. Some spam never even makes my spam folder. Those that do get past Akismet I must sort through and delete. I delete 99% but there’s something about that 1% I let through that I can’t resist allowing.
Posted in Misc, Writer, Writing
2 Comments
Tags: Akismet, Author, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Comment Spam, Craft of writing, Dead, Disability, Doggoned, Family, Fiction, Home, Humor, Life, Love, Monty Python, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Spam, WordPress, Writer, Writing