Dear Shell,
I'm working on the revision/rewrite/editing on Hideaway Inn, as I think I've mentioned in a post before this. I'm looking at changing the beginning of the story. This is the possible beginning:
Long white candles burned, the flames flickering eerily against the shadows of the room. The lone occupant of the room crossed over to a small ornate wooden chest on the fireplace mantle. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out golden key. With a sigh, she glanced over her shoulder at the circle of clear crystals on the hardwood floor before turning back to the chest. The key slid easily into the lock, turned smoothly. She paused again before lifting the lid.
“I hope this is worth it.” She muttered in a low voice.
A soft glow came from within the chest. Her hand dipped into the chest and pulled out a fist-sized, smooth onyx crystal. The crystal felt warm in her hand, the warmth seeming to pulse with her heartbeat.
That is what I have so far, I'm looking at how to incorporate it into the current beginning.
Shell
Monday, December 14, 2009
Friday, December 4, 2009
Packing and all that Jazz
Dear Shell,
I have too much stuff. Plain and simple. Too. Much. Stuff. Yet, I cant seem to make myself get rid of it. Well, I did throw out a couple things today while packing stuff up. But only a couple. I need to throw out more, but it's so hard!
I have four or five boxes of books packed up so far, one is a huge box. They contain about four authors worth of books. That's it. FOUR authors. I made a good dent in the bookshelf, but I think it would take a good ten or more boxes, more like twenty, to pack up all the books. I'm going to take some to Goodwill, once I sort through what's left and decide which books I know I would enjoy reading again.
The majority of the breakable items, such as figurines, collectible plates, carousel horses, and such have been packed. Some of the glasses and plates packed. Pictures taken off the walls and packed.
Yet the house still looks the same! Well not completely, the walls are bare of pictures now, but it really does not look like I've made a dent in anything!
The hard part is deciding what can be packed now, and what needs to wait til the last minute. And convincing my brain of it. My brain keeps arguing that You might need that in the next two weeks" while the rest of me is saying "OMG I ONLY HAVE TWO WEEKS TO PACK!"
Less than two weeks for some of it if I want. The current owners are moving out immediately (the moving truck is coming the same day we close on the house). So the next day, we can start moving our stuff in. I'll probably take loads, and loads, and loads of boxes over as soon as possible. We are going to try to get carpet cleaners in to clean the carpets before we move in, but there are places where i can stack up boxes without worrying about the cleaners.
Well, I should get back to packing. I'm running low on boxes again already, and I just picked up a few more today! (some were pretty small though).
Packing my life in boxes,
Shell
I have too much stuff. Plain and simple. Too. Much. Stuff. Yet, I cant seem to make myself get rid of it. Well, I did throw out a couple things today while packing stuff up. But only a couple. I need to throw out more, but it's so hard!
I have four or five boxes of books packed up so far, one is a huge box. They contain about four authors worth of books. That's it. FOUR authors. I made a good dent in the bookshelf, but I think it would take a good ten or more boxes, more like twenty, to pack up all the books. I'm going to take some to Goodwill, once I sort through what's left and decide which books I know I would enjoy reading again.
The majority of the breakable items, such as figurines, collectible plates, carousel horses, and such have been packed. Some of the glasses and plates packed. Pictures taken off the walls and packed.
Yet the house still looks the same! Well not completely, the walls are bare of pictures now, but it really does not look like I've made a dent in anything!
The hard part is deciding what can be packed now, and what needs to wait til the last minute. And convincing my brain of it. My brain keeps arguing that You might need that in the next two weeks" while the rest of me is saying "OMG I ONLY HAVE TWO WEEKS TO PACK!"
Less than two weeks for some of it if I want. The current owners are moving out immediately (the moving truck is coming the same day we close on the house). So the next day, we can start moving our stuff in. I'll probably take loads, and loads, and loads of boxes over as soon as possible. We are going to try to get carpet cleaners in to clean the carpets before we move in, but there are places where i can stack up boxes without worrying about the cleaners.
Well, I should get back to packing. I'm running low on boxes again already, and I just picked up a few more today! (some were pretty small though).
Packing my life in boxes,
Shell
Sunday, November 29, 2009
NaNoWriMo is almost over
Dear Shell,
NaNoWriMo is almost over. It has been a pretty good month. I have about 52,000 done in Hide Me - Hideaway Inn. And another 15,000 in Just Five More. I am still loving Hideaway Inn. I am still working on adding scenes in where they are needed, and trying to add in the descriptions that I'm missing.
Just Five More has become something different than what I was planning on. It was going to be a chick lit story, but it has become more of a self-exploration journal instead. I might be able to get a few good short stories or essays out of it to try to get published in some magazines.
Tomorrow at midnight is the official end of NaNoWriMo. I am actually at a write-in right now, but we are talking so much that I'm having trouble concentrating on writing. haha. The only writing I'm getting done so far is during our word sprints (15 minutes, write as much as possible non-stop). The sprints are nice because it forces you to just write.
I should get back to writing. I need to figure out where these scenes fit.
Forcing myself to concentrate,
Shell
NaNoWriMo is almost over. It has been a pretty good month. I have about 52,000 done in Hide Me - Hideaway Inn. And another 15,000 in Just Five More. I am still loving Hideaway Inn. I am still working on adding scenes in where they are needed, and trying to add in the descriptions that I'm missing.
Just Five More has become something different than what I was planning on. It was going to be a chick lit story, but it has become more of a self-exploration journal instead. I might be able to get a few good short stories or essays out of it to try to get published in some magazines.
Tomorrow at midnight is the official end of NaNoWriMo. I am actually at a write-in right now, but we are talking so much that I'm having trouble concentrating on writing. haha. The only writing I'm getting done so far is during our word sprints (15 minutes, write as much as possible non-stop). The sprints are nice because it forces you to just write.
I should get back to writing. I need to figure out where these scenes fit.
Forcing myself to concentrate,
Shell
Friday, November 20, 2009
First Draft - Hideaway Inn
Dear Shell,
The first draft of Hideaway Inn is technically finished, although I don't consider it officially finished since I know I have a few scenes I need to add still. It has a beginning, middle, and end. I wrote the final chapter and epilogue last night/this morning. So that is why I say it's technically finished.
Today, between job searches, I have been slowly going through the manuscript, double-checking my timelines, looking for missing scenes, and adding in some much needed descriptions. I have noticed I tend not to describe certain things since well, I see them in my head so I already know what it looks like.
I think what I plan to do is, once I have gone through the first draft and figured out the scenes I need to add, I'll add those in, then print the whole thing out. That'll make it easier to edit. For me anyway.
I have a scene I may end up cutting out near the end of the story. It leads up to the third book of the series (yes, I'm going to try to turn this into a trilogy or maybe a 4 book series), but it's a rather touchy subject/scene so may have to change it around at a minimum.
I'm getting requests from a couple people now to hurry up so they can read it. So I guess i better get back to it. I wanted to post quick here though since it has been a little bit since my last letter.
Lost in a world of witches, warlocks and vampires,
Shell
The first draft of Hideaway Inn is technically finished, although I don't consider it officially finished since I know I have a few scenes I need to add still. It has a beginning, middle, and end. I wrote the final chapter and epilogue last night/this morning. So that is why I say it's technically finished.
Today, between job searches, I have been slowly going through the manuscript, double-checking my timelines, looking for missing scenes, and adding in some much needed descriptions. I have noticed I tend not to describe certain things since well, I see them in my head so I already know what it looks like.
I think what I plan to do is, once I have gone through the first draft and figured out the scenes I need to add, I'll add those in, then print the whole thing out. That'll make it easier to edit. For me anyway.
I have a scene I may end up cutting out near the end of the story. It leads up to the third book of the series (yes, I'm going to try to turn this into a trilogy or maybe a 4 book series), but it's a rather touchy subject/scene so may have to change it around at a minimum.
I'm getting requests from a couple people now to hurry up so they can read it. So I guess i better get back to it. I wanted to post quick here though since it has been a little bit since my last letter.
Lost in a world of witches, warlocks and vampires,
Shell
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Hide Me (Hideaway Inn) Excerpt
Dear Shell,
Time for another excerpt, even though it's only been a couple days. At my region's kick-off party last Friday, we all walked around with papers on our back for others to write plot ideas on to help each writer out when they hit a snag. I decided that the one idea just couldn't wait until i hit a snag, i needed to use it and work it in earlier.
Excerpt from "Hide Me (Hideaway Inn)":
Back to being her usual whirlwind of energy, Marie burst through the office door already talking up a storm without knowing for sure if Amanda was in yet or not. Several of her words penetrated the sleep fog that Amanda was in. Words like: Slime, creepy, strange, snails, unnatural.
Amanda sat up, rubbing her eyes. She said groggily, “Slow down. What or who is arriving? And what are they bringing?”
Marie took a deep breath then quickly repeated what she had been saying when she had come in to the office, “The were- snails are coming. They commissioned a miniature replica of the inn, identical to the Hideaway, down to the furniture. Although, I do not know if they know about the piano. Hm. I wonder if they will add that. Anyway, they said the Hunters or something like that are after them. They want to come to the Hideaway for sanctuary.”
“The Hunters respect our laws at the Hideaway. They hate it, but they respect it. They know we have the blessing of the Gods, and that all the magical community comes here to be safe.” Amanda was starting to realize just how serious things were getting outside of the safety of the inn. She wondered if maybe the notes were warnings from a Hunter, maybe it really did go back to Arabelle.
“What is with the miniature version of the inn though? That is just creepy.”
Amanda shook her head, trying to hold back the laughter. “They are were- snails. That means they are small creatures. I suspect the miniature version of the inn will be where they will spend most of their time, so they avoid being stepped on by other guests. I will need to find a safe spot for them to put the miniature where it will not disturb the other guests, and the were- snails will not be disturbed either.”
“I still say it is unnatural, Amanda. Were- snails? That is just, odd.” Marie said.
“You have been a part of the magical community for how long, and you still find things unnatural?” Amanda gave in to the laughter.
“I do not find most things unnatural. I take it all in stride. But seriously, snails?” Marie shuddered.
Amanda crossed over to her closet to see if she had any spare clothes stored there. Her voice was slightly muffled as she spoke from inside the closet, “You would be surprised just how much magic those little creatures contain. It is good that they are not our size, they would be too powerful, unstoppable.”
Marie moved to the office door and called back into the room, “Still. It is snails.” She shut the door behind her as she left.
Cleaning up the slime trails from the lobby floor,
Shell
Time for another excerpt, even though it's only been a couple days. At my region's kick-off party last Friday, we all walked around with papers on our back for others to write plot ideas on to help each writer out when they hit a snag. I decided that the one idea just couldn't wait until i hit a snag, i needed to use it and work it in earlier.
Excerpt from "Hide Me (Hideaway Inn)":
Back to being her usual whirlwind of energy, Marie burst through the office door already talking up a storm without knowing for sure if Amanda was in yet or not. Several of her words penetrated the sleep fog that Amanda was in. Words like: Slime, creepy, strange, snails, unnatural.
Amanda sat up, rubbing her eyes. She said groggily, “Slow down. What or who is arriving? And what are they bringing?”
Marie took a deep breath then quickly repeated what she had been saying when she had come in to the office, “The were- snails are coming. They commissioned a miniature replica of the inn, identical to the Hideaway, down to the furniture. Although, I do not know if they know about the piano. Hm. I wonder if they will add that. Anyway, they said the Hunters or something like that are after them. They want to come to the Hideaway for sanctuary.”
“The Hunters respect our laws at the Hideaway. They hate it, but they respect it. They know we have the blessing of the Gods, and that all the magical community comes here to be safe.” Amanda was starting to realize just how serious things were getting outside of the safety of the inn. She wondered if maybe the notes were warnings from a Hunter, maybe it really did go back to Arabelle.
“What is with the miniature version of the inn though? That is just creepy.”
Amanda shook her head, trying to hold back the laughter. “They are were- snails. That means they are small creatures. I suspect the miniature version of the inn will be where they will spend most of their time, so they avoid being stepped on by other guests. I will need to find a safe spot for them to put the miniature where it will not disturb the other guests, and the were- snails will not be disturbed either.”
“I still say it is unnatural, Amanda. Were- snails? That is just, odd.” Marie said.
“You have been a part of the magical community for how long, and you still find things unnatural?” Amanda gave in to the laughter.
“I do not find most things unnatural. I take it all in stride. But seriously, snails?” Marie shuddered.
Amanda crossed over to her closet to see if she had any spare clothes stored there. Her voice was slightly muffled as she spoke from inside the closet, “You would be surprised just how much magic those little creatures contain. It is good that they are not our size, they would be too powerful, unstoppable.”
Marie moved to the office door and called back into the room, “Still. It is snails.” She shut the door behind her as she left.
Cleaning up the slime trails from the lobby floor,
Shell
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
NaNo Time Again
Dear Shell,
It's that time again. November has shown up on the calendar again and writers around the world are slaving away over their keyboards, fighting the clock to hit 50,000 words or more by midnight on November 30th.
Like I did last year, I plan on sharing excerpts from the novel I am working on this year.
Hide Me (Hideaway Inn)
Three beautiful women stood in the extravagant foyer of the Hideaway Inn. Amanda Cameron, owner and manager of the inn, stood with her arms crossed and a scowl on her face. “I measured. I swear I measured it. The piano should have fit between the fireplace and the dining room entrance.”
“Did you measure before or after you upgraded from the vertical piano to the baby grand?” Brynn, the middle sister, tapped the measuring tape against her arm.
“I –oh shut up.” Amanda stalked away from her sisters, cut around the corner of the oak front desk and slammed into her office. The sound of the door hitting the door jamb resonated through the lobby.
Brynn and Diana looked at each other and grinned identical grins. “She's so easy to rile up.” Diana waved her hand in the direction of the baby grand piano and they watched the piano shrink back down to the correct size.
“You know she's going to blame me for this.” Brynn mentioned to her baby sister. She glanced toward the office door and laughed. “Not like I wouldn't have done it if you hadn't beaten me to it.”
Hiding out at the laptop for the next 27 days,
Shell
It's that time again. November has shown up on the calendar again and writers around the world are slaving away over their keyboards, fighting the clock to hit 50,000 words or more by midnight on November 30th.
Like I did last year, I plan on sharing excerpts from the novel I am working on this year.
Hide Me (Hideaway Inn)
Three beautiful women stood in the extravagant foyer of the Hideaway Inn. Amanda Cameron, owner and manager of the inn, stood with her arms crossed and a scowl on her face. “I measured. I swear I measured it. The piano should have fit between the fireplace and the dining room entrance.”
“Did you measure before or after you upgraded from the vertical piano to the baby grand?” Brynn, the middle sister, tapped the measuring tape against her arm.
“I –oh shut up.” Amanda stalked away from her sisters, cut around the corner of the oak front desk and slammed into her office. The sound of the door hitting the door jamb resonated through the lobby.
Brynn and Diana looked at each other and grinned identical grins. “She's so easy to rile up.” Diana waved her hand in the direction of the baby grand piano and they watched the piano shrink back down to the correct size.
“You know she's going to blame me for this.” Brynn mentioned to her baby sister. She glanced toward the office door and laughed. “Not like I wouldn't have done it if you hadn't beaten me to it.”
Hiding out at the laptop for the next 27 days,
Shell
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Missed Contest Entry
Dear Shell,
Well, I had planned on entering a writing contest this month. I read the prompt, thought to myself, this one looks fun, and I sat down and wrote. I was getting ready to submit my work when I received the call to set up a job interview. Wham, the contest flew right out of my head as I started preparing myself for the interview.
Since I missed the deadline for the contest, I am now free to post it here on my blog for all of you to read. It might be good, it might be bad, but it's written!
They'll Never Find It
I hope you enjoyed this short short story, or at least were able to struggle through to the end!
Waiting patiently for the next contest,
Shell
Well, I had planned on entering a writing contest this month. I read the prompt, thought to myself, this one looks fun, and I sat down and wrote. I was getting ready to submit my work when I received the call to set up a job interview. Wham, the contest flew right out of my head as I started preparing myself for the interview.
Since I missed the deadline for the contest, I am now free to post it here on my blog for all of you to read. It might be good, it might be bad, but it's written!
They'll Never Find It
Monday March 2nd
“Don’t worry, they’ll never find the body.”
“I don’t know John, it seems risky.” I bit my lip as I studied John’s hand-drawn map.
“You want to be free don’t you? Michael doesn’t treat you right. You thought he had only a few years left to live when you married him. It’s been almost fifteen years! I’m tired of waiting, tired of hiding.” John paced the room.
I looked away from his gorgeous blue eyes. It was true, when I married Michael, I thought he had only a few more years to live. The cancer had eaten away at his body leaving him near death many times. Thanks to an experimental treatment, my ailing husband had been cured. John, my love since high school, had been waiting patiently on the side, waiting for Michael to die and leave me rich and free to marry him.
“What if something goes wrong?”
“It won’t. Look, it can’t be simpler. You’ll convince Michael to take a boat tour around the islands. You’ll make the arrangements, hire me and my crew. When we get to the south end of Anita Island, the boys and I will take care of Michael. The logs will show you came alone.” John paused and tapped the table. “When you get home, wait until late at night and call the cops, report him missing, he never came home, no evidence he had been home at all while you were on vacation, etcetera. Enough time passes, they declare him dead, you get the money.”
It sounded simple. But there’s always a catch, something that could go wrong. “How do you know the crew won’t talk?” I had to ask.
“I pay them well. And I have blackmail against all of them. They won’t cross me.”
“Okay. Okay, let’s do it.”
Thursday March 5th
It was difficult, but I think I hid my nervousness well over the next few days. It helped that Michael was away on business so I didn’t have to face him. He was home now.
“Ready for our trip?” Michael wrapped his frail arms around me.
“Packed and set to head out. Did you tell anyone about our trip?” I had asked him to keep it a secret, stating that I didn’t want any interruptions from his employees, associates, or family while we snuck away for our romantic getaway.
“No one knows. I told my associates that I’d be working from home and not to worry if they didn’t hear from me for a few days.” A wicked grin crossed his face.
“Perfect.” I pulled away from Michael, walked over to the pile of designer luggage. Making sure my face was turned away from him; I closed my eyes and prayed for strength. Strength to deceive him, strength to commit, or at least aid in, murder.
Friday March 6th
“Welcome! We’ll be leaving on our tour once we get your belongings stowed below. My name is John and I’ll be your tour guide today.” John kept his gaze on Michael as he explained the various highlights of the tour. At the end of the speech, the boat left the dock to start the tour of the islands.
Several hours later we reached the southernmost island.
“This is Anita Island, named after Anita Fay Dell, a young woman who stood daily on the cliff you see there, waiting to see her love come home from the sea. On the day she received the news of his death, she leapt from the cliff into the sea. If you look over the side right here, you can see a glimpse of something white, that some say is the dress she wore on that day.” John motioned for Michael to come closer to peer over the side of the boat. When Michael looked over the edge, John gestured to his crew.
I turned away. Even knowing what would happen, knowing that I was part of this plan, I couldn’t watch the murder happen. The sounds of struggling seemed to last forever before I finally heard the splash of his body hit the water. I knew his body would be weighted down to help it sink to the ocean floor.
“Ready?”
I turned and looked into those familiar blue eyes. “Ready.” I slipped my arm around his waist.
“Don’t worry, they’ll never find the body.”
I hugged him close. “I know, Michael. I know.” I sighed and kissed my husband of fifteen years.
“Don’t worry, they’ll never find the body.”
“I don’t know John, it seems risky.” I bit my lip as I studied John’s hand-drawn map.
“You want to be free don’t you? Michael doesn’t treat you right. You thought he had only a few years left to live when you married him. It’s been almost fifteen years! I’m tired of waiting, tired of hiding.” John paced the room.
I looked away from his gorgeous blue eyes. It was true, when I married Michael, I thought he had only a few more years to live. The cancer had eaten away at his body leaving him near death many times. Thanks to an experimental treatment, my ailing husband had been cured. John, my love since high school, had been waiting patiently on the side, waiting for Michael to die and leave me rich and free to marry him.
“What if something goes wrong?”
“It won’t. Look, it can’t be simpler. You’ll convince Michael to take a boat tour around the islands. You’ll make the arrangements, hire me and my crew. When we get to the south end of Anita Island, the boys and I will take care of Michael. The logs will show you came alone.” John paused and tapped the table. “When you get home, wait until late at night and call the cops, report him missing, he never came home, no evidence he had been home at all while you were on vacation, etcetera. Enough time passes, they declare him dead, you get the money.”
It sounded simple. But there’s always a catch, something that could go wrong. “How do you know the crew won’t talk?” I had to ask.
“I pay them well. And I have blackmail against all of them. They won’t cross me.”
“Okay. Okay, let’s do it.”
Thursday March 5th
It was difficult, but I think I hid my nervousness well over the next few days. It helped that Michael was away on business so I didn’t have to face him. He was home now.
“Ready for our trip?” Michael wrapped his frail arms around me.
“Packed and set to head out. Did you tell anyone about our trip?” I had asked him to keep it a secret, stating that I didn’t want any interruptions from his employees, associates, or family while we snuck away for our romantic getaway.
“No one knows. I told my associates that I’d be working from home and not to worry if they didn’t hear from me for a few days.” A wicked grin crossed his face.
“Perfect.” I pulled away from Michael, walked over to the pile of designer luggage. Making sure my face was turned away from him; I closed my eyes and prayed for strength. Strength to deceive him, strength to commit, or at least aid in, murder.
Friday March 6th
“Welcome! We’ll be leaving on our tour once we get your belongings stowed below. My name is John and I’ll be your tour guide today.” John kept his gaze on Michael as he explained the various highlights of the tour. At the end of the speech, the boat left the dock to start the tour of the islands.
Several hours later we reached the southernmost island.
“This is Anita Island, named after Anita Fay Dell, a young woman who stood daily on the cliff you see there, waiting to see her love come home from the sea. On the day she received the news of his death, she leapt from the cliff into the sea. If you look over the side right here, you can see a glimpse of something white, that some say is the dress she wore on that day.” John motioned for Michael to come closer to peer over the side of the boat. When Michael looked over the edge, John gestured to his crew.
I turned away. Even knowing what would happen, knowing that I was part of this plan, I couldn’t watch the murder happen. The sounds of struggling seemed to last forever before I finally heard the splash of his body hit the water. I knew his body would be weighted down to help it sink to the ocean floor.
“Ready?”
I turned and looked into those familiar blue eyes. “Ready.” I slipped my arm around his waist.
“Don’t worry, they’ll never find the body.”
I hugged him close. “I know, Michael. I know.” I sighed and kissed my husband of fifteen years.
I hope you enjoyed this short short story, or at least were able to struggle through to the end!
Waiting patiently for the next contest,
Shell
Friday, October 2, 2009
House Hunting
Dear Shell,
As I said in my last letter, J and I went to look at a house. The house is in great shape, has everything we're looking for, and is in a price range we can afford. J has started the process for the VA assistance for home buying and we should know soon if we are approved by the VA and then we need to get approved for a mortgage.
We don't want to just settle on the first house that we look at, so we are looking at other homes as well. But so far, we're leaning toward the first house still. Today we went to look at another house. It's about $10,000 less than the first one, 300 less sq feet, higher taxes, and.... a lot of water damage visible in the basement, plus other visible damage from animals. So we're crossing that one off the list.
We have three more houses on our current list to look at. I drove past one of them on the way back from looking at the other house today. I have a feeling I can cross it off the list already without J even looking at it. He is dead set against living off a gravel road, and there's about a 3/4 mile of gravel road to go down to get to the subdivision where this house is. The subdivision is paved, but the paved drive stops just before the house that's for sale.
The other two on the list are about 3 miles south of where we currently live, in a decent subdivision.
So far, I'm definitely liking the first house we looked at. It's a good size, not too big, not too small. Has a partially finished basement. Just over one acre of land. Garage. Three bedroom, three bath, kitchen with breakfast nook, dining room, and a large living room. Plus a room off the back of the garage that could be used as a den, office, craft room.... something of that sort.
On the search for a new home,
Shell
As I said in my last letter, J and I went to look at a house. The house is in great shape, has everything we're looking for, and is in a price range we can afford. J has started the process for the VA assistance for home buying and we should know soon if we are approved by the VA and then we need to get approved for a mortgage.
We don't want to just settle on the first house that we look at, so we are looking at other homes as well. But so far, we're leaning toward the first house still. Today we went to look at another house. It's about $10,000 less than the first one, 300 less sq feet, higher taxes, and.... a lot of water damage visible in the basement, plus other visible damage from animals. So we're crossing that one off the list.
We have three more houses on our current list to look at. I drove past one of them on the way back from looking at the other house today. I have a feeling I can cross it off the list already without J even looking at it. He is dead set against living off a gravel road, and there's about a 3/4 mile of gravel road to go down to get to the subdivision where this house is. The subdivision is paved, but the paved drive stops just before the house that's for sale.
The other two on the list are about 3 miles south of where we currently live, in a decent subdivision.
So far, I'm definitely liking the first house we looked at. It's a good size, not too big, not too small. Has a partially finished basement. Just over one acre of land. Garage. Three bedroom, three bath, kitchen with breakfast nook, dining room, and a large living room. Plus a room off the back of the garage that could be used as a den, office, craft room.... something of that sort.
On the search for a new home,
Shell
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Me Lately
Dear Shell,
Yes, I know, I've been slacking yet again on my blog. Again, I'm sorry. Fifty lashes with a wet noodle! Wait... no... I'll try harder, i promise! :)
I've been pretty busy with my writing lately. I had to type up about 100 hand-written pages, plus I was changing the POV so that took some work. I'm still torn as to which POV I want, first person or third person, this particular story would work either way. But I am going to complete the first draft, read it over, and decide then. I can always change it when I'm editing/revising/rewriting for the second draft. I'll try to get an excerpt posted soon.
I'm still searching for a job. I applied a couple days ago for an Administrative Assistant job in Imlay City. The posting is scheduled to stay up until Sept 30th, but I'm not sure if they'll start interviewing before then or not. Wish me luck! I'm going to check some of the other 'cities' in the county and see if any of them are looking for employees as well. Wouldn't that be funny though, if I got a job working for/with one of the cities, I'd be the fourth generation working in the municipal field according to my mom. Must mean it's in my blood somewhere!
J and I are going to go look at a house tonight, in about 40 minutes actually. It's a nice ranch on the east side of town. I'm not sure if we can afford yet to buy a house though. If I get one of the jobs I've applied for, and we can sell this place we're in now, then we'd definitely be able to afford that house. Nothing wrong with looking at what is for sale though and seeing what we like and don't like, so when we know we can afford it, we know exactly what we're looking for.
Well I should finish getting ready so we can leave as soon as J gets home from work.
Shell
Yes, I know, I've been slacking yet again on my blog. Again, I'm sorry. Fifty lashes with a wet noodle! Wait... no... I'll try harder, i promise! :)
I've been pretty busy with my writing lately. I had to type up about 100 hand-written pages, plus I was changing the POV so that took some work. I'm still torn as to which POV I want, first person or third person, this particular story would work either way. But I am going to complete the first draft, read it over, and decide then. I can always change it when I'm editing/revising/rewriting for the second draft. I'll try to get an excerpt posted soon.
I'm still searching for a job. I applied a couple days ago for an Administrative Assistant job in Imlay City. The posting is scheduled to stay up until Sept 30th, but I'm not sure if they'll start interviewing before then or not. Wish me luck! I'm going to check some of the other 'cities' in the county and see if any of them are looking for employees as well. Wouldn't that be funny though, if I got a job working for/with one of the cities, I'd be the fourth generation working in the municipal field according to my mom. Must mean it's in my blood somewhere!
J and I are going to go look at a house tonight, in about 40 minutes actually. It's a nice ranch on the east side of town. I'm not sure if we can afford yet to buy a house though. If I get one of the jobs I've applied for, and we can sell this place we're in now, then we'd definitely be able to afford that house. Nothing wrong with looking at what is for sale though and seeing what we like and don't like, so when we know we can afford it, we know exactly what we're looking for.
Well I should finish getting ready so we can leave as soon as J gets home from work.
Shell
Monday, August 24, 2009
Alternate Day Diet - Part 2
Dear Shell,
Well I started the Alternate Day Diet last week. I have to say, I don't think I like it. We don't have a lot of low-calorie foods in the house (i.e. carrots, celery, etc) to snack on, so the Down Days have been very hard. I've been lightheaded, woozy, getting headaches. And then when the Up Day hits the next day, I'm so hungry that I'm eating more than I should. My calories on the Up Days have been way too high, and I'm having trouble staying in the low calorie range for the Down Days without feeling the symptoms above. The result: Since Wednesday last week I've GAINED weight.
I need to get to the grocery store and pick up some vegetables that I can snack on during Down Days, and some of the 5 calorie Jello cups as a sweet. Plus air-popped popcorn is supposed to be filling for not a lot of calories for a Down Day, so I need to pick up some popcorn to pop.
I'm still drinking a lot of water (which reminds me, I need to make another gallon of lemonade). So that's a good thing at least.
I'm thinking just plain old counting calories is what works best for me. That's always been the only 'method' that's worked for me in the long run. But I'm going to give this Alternate Day Diet a little more time (once i get more prepared for the Down Days) before I decide if it's for me or not.
Shell
Well I started the Alternate Day Diet last week. I have to say, I don't think I like it. We don't have a lot of low-calorie foods in the house (i.e. carrots, celery, etc) to snack on, so the Down Days have been very hard. I've been lightheaded, woozy, getting headaches. And then when the Up Day hits the next day, I'm so hungry that I'm eating more than I should. My calories on the Up Days have been way too high, and I'm having trouble staying in the low calorie range for the Down Days without feeling the symptoms above. The result: Since Wednesday last week I've GAINED weight.
I need to get to the grocery store and pick up some vegetables that I can snack on during Down Days, and some of the 5 calorie Jello cups as a sweet. Plus air-popped popcorn is supposed to be filling for not a lot of calories for a Down Day, so I need to pick up some popcorn to pop.
I'm still drinking a lot of water (which reminds me, I need to make another gallon of lemonade). So that's a good thing at least.
I'm thinking just plain old counting calories is what works best for me. That's always been the only 'method' that's worked for me in the long run. But I'm going to give this Alternate Day Diet a little more time (once i get more prepared for the Down Days) before I decide if it's for me or not.
Shell
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Alternate Day Dieting
Dear Shell,
Recently I read an article in Woman's World Magazine about the Alternate Day Diet, also known as the Johnson Up Day, Down Day Diet. My friend Melissa and I have been researching the diet for the past two days (yesterday and today) and discussing trying it out ourselves. We've read articles on the pros of the diet and how to do the diet, blogs and message boards of people trying it, articles on the cons of the diet, and watched Youtube videos of shows discussing the diet. One article promoting the cons of the diet, the author decided to try the diet but she went to the extremes, rather than eat like she normally would on Up Days which is the recommended way to do it, she gorged herself to the point of being sick every Up Day, eating stuff she normally wouldnt have and overdoing it. IMO, she lost a lot of credibility doing that, because she purposely went to the extremes to try to prove it as a bad diet, instead of actually following the diet as recommended.
The basics of the diet: You only diet every other day. The days you are dieting are called Down Days. The days you are not dieting are called Up Days.
On Down Days, you keep your caloric intake low. They recommend 500 calories on Down Days, but you can go up to 40% of your normal intake and still lose weight, it'll just be at a slower rate. (for example, for my height, weight and age, my normal caloric intake should be 2042 calories (which i've been below this amount while counting calories so I'm already doing good on that). So for a down day I would need to eat 817 calories or less to stick with the program and lose weight. That may not seem like a lot, and some experts say you miss out on nutrition on those days, but... you can have a LOT of veggies on a Down Day and still stay in your calorie range. Veggies are a great source of nutrition. Add in a little protein for energy.
I've actually had a few days while counting calories that are close to Down Day calories anyway and still felt fine throughout the whole day. I just wasnt that hungry and I made good choices on what I did eat. Such as: Last night for dinner I baked up chicken breasts, then I chopped it up into small chunks (ended up being 12 ounces of chicken = 560 calories) and put it in a large skillet pan with 1 tbsp of olive oil (120 cal). Cooked rice (1 cup dry = 2 cups cooked = 400 calories) added to the pan along with 1 bag of steamed SteamFresh Broccoli and Califlower (105 calories for full bag). The total calories for the WHOLE pan was 1185 calories. I had about 1/3 of the pan, which equaled 395 calories. And I was full before finishing my bowl of food. So I could have had less for dinner, still been full, and had even less calories going to dinner. So you can easily eat healthy and low-cal at the same time. We even had leftovers!
On Up Days, you can eat whatever you want. Note: This is NOT a license to eat everything and anything in sight, gorging yourself on food to the point of making yourself sick. What it means is, I can eat like I normally would. And if I want pizza for dinner, I can have pizza for dinner. My normal amount of pizza though, not the whole large pie! If I'm craving chocolate? I can have some chocolate. This does not mean run out and eat a whole box of chocolates. But a candy bar? No problem. 10 candy bars? Get serious, don't be stupid.
By now you're probably wondering, well where's the benefit in this diet? First off, you only have to diet every other day. Second, you can still have the foods you love and crave, just have them on your Up days. Third, because you're not putting your body into starvation mode by restricting caloric intake daily, you keep your metabolism high instead of it slowing down and getting sluggish because your body is trying to store fat. Fourth, health benefits of reduced asthma, more energy, lower cholesterol, and its been linked to longer life.
So today marks day one of the diet. Today for me is an Up Day. Melissa is starting today as well but hers is a Down Day. This should help us with encouragement, if one of us is having a bad Down Day, the other can say "I made it through mine yesterday, I'm still here, you can do it!"
The reason I decided to start today with an Up Day is because I looked at the calendar and the next few weeks are rather busy with birthdays and vacations, so I tried to find the best way to have Up Days on the special occasions, that way I'm not sitting there chowing on a carrot stick while everyone around me is eating cake, etc and tempting me to attack the table of food.
We'll see how this goes. My biggest concern is my blood sugar level and the Down Days. I'm not diabetic, but I am hypoglycemic. So I will keep a good eye on how my body feels on the Down Days to make sure I'm not risking more than I'm gaining.
Looking forward to seeing results,
Shell
Recently I read an article in Woman's World Magazine about the Alternate Day Diet, also known as the Johnson Up Day, Down Day Diet. My friend Melissa and I have been researching the diet for the past two days (yesterday and today) and discussing trying it out ourselves. We've read articles on the pros of the diet and how to do the diet, blogs and message boards of people trying it, articles on the cons of the diet, and watched Youtube videos of shows discussing the diet. One article promoting the cons of the diet, the author decided to try the diet but she went to the extremes, rather than eat like she normally would on Up Days which is the recommended way to do it, she gorged herself to the point of being sick every Up Day, eating stuff she normally wouldnt have and overdoing it. IMO, she lost a lot of credibility doing that, because she purposely went to the extremes to try to prove it as a bad diet, instead of actually following the diet as recommended.
The basics of the diet: You only diet every other day. The days you are dieting are called Down Days. The days you are not dieting are called Up Days.
On Down Days, you keep your caloric intake low. They recommend 500 calories on Down Days, but you can go up to 40% of your normal intake and still lose weight, it'll just be at a slower rate. (for example, for my height, weight and age, my normal caloric intake should be 2042 calories (which i've been below this amount while counting calories so I'm already doing good on that). So for a down day I would need to eat 817 calories or less to stick with the program and lose weight. That may not seem like a lot, and some experts say you miss out on nutrition on those days, but... you can have a LOT of veggies on a Down Day and still stay in your calorie range. Veggies are a great source of nutrition. Add in a little protein for energy.
I've actually had a few days while counting calories that are close to Down Day calories anyway and still felt fine throughout the whole day. I just wasnt that hungry and I made good choices on what I did eat. Such as: Last night for dinner I baked up chicken breasts, then I chopped it up into small chunks (ended up being 12 ounces of chicken = 560 calories) and put it in a large skillet pan with 1 tbsp of olive oil (120 cal). Cooked rice (1 cup dry = 2 cups cooked = 400 calories) added to the pan along with 1 bag of steamed SteamFresh Broccoli and Califlower (105 calories for full bag). The total calories for the WHOLE pan was 1185 calories. I had about 1/3 of the pan, which equaled 395 calories. And I was full before finishing my bowl of food. So I could have had less for dinner, still been full, and had even less calories going to dinner. So you can easily eat healthy and low-cal at the same time. We even had leftovers!
On Up Days, you can eat whatever you want. Note: This is NOT a license to eat everything and anything in sight, gorging yourself on food to the point of making yourself sick. What it means is, I can eat like I normally would. And if I want pizza for dinner, I can have pizza for dinner. My normal amount of pizza though, not the whole large pie! If I'm craving chocolate? I can have some chocolate. This does not mean run out and eat a whole box of chocolates. But a candy bar? No problem. 10 candy bars? Get serious, don't be stupid.
By now you're probably wondering, well where's the benefit in this diet? First off, you only have to diet every other day. Second, you can still have the foods you love and crave, just have them on your Up days. Third, because you're not putting your body into starvation mode by restricting caloric intake daily, you keep your metabolism high instead of it slowing down and getting sluggish because your body is trying to store fat. Fourth, health benefits of reduced asthma, more energy, lower cholesterol, and its been linked to longer life.
So today marks day one of the diet. Today for me is an Up Day. Melissa is starting today as well but hers is a Down Day. This should help us with encouragement, if one of us is having a bad Down Day, the other can say "I made it through mine yesterday, I'm still here, you can do it!"
The reason I decided to start today with an Up Day is because I looked at the calendar and the next few weeks are rather busy with birthdays and vacations, so I tried to find the best way to have Up Days on the special occasions, that way I'm not sitting there chowing on a carrot stick while everyone around me is eating cake, etc and tempting me to attack the table of food.
We'll see how this goes. My biggest concern is my blood sugar level and the Down Days. I'm not diabetic, but I am hypoglycemic. So I will keep a good eye on how my body feels on the Down Days to make sure I'm not risking more than I'm gaining.
Looking forward to seeing results,
Shell
Monday, August 17, 2009
Description
Dear Shell,
Time for another writing assignment. Today's assignment: Take a random word and write two pages about that word. Random Word is: Description (found through a random word generator).
The word description means painting a picture for your readers with your words. While too much description can be boring, not enough description can leave your readers wanting more. You want to include enough information for the reader to picture the object or scene but still leave room for their imagination to fill in minor details that will enhance the story for them.
When showing your reader about the house your character is entering, if you describe it as an 1880's Queen Anne Victorian complete with turrets, towers and a wrap-around porch, painted in a pale lavender with russet-colored trim, the reader's mind will most likely fill in the minor details about the design of the gingerbread trim or shape of the windows, based on what they know about Victorian period homes. Unless the gingerbread trim and windows are vital to the story and characters, you do not need to spend three, four, ten pages describing each twist and turn. Your character could idly glance at the trim, maybe have a random thought about how beautiful it is, but they don't need to expound on the details of that trim.
Knowing what to describe and what to leave to the reader's imagination is important. How you describe an object or scene can set the tone for your story as well and let the reader know more about your characters.
Example: If you describe your exercise equipment as the "torture device with cables designed to strangle the first person to come near", you give the impression of a character that hates exercise and views the exercise equipment as a death trap.
I'm personally bad about writing descriptions. I have to keep reminding myself to go back and add in descriptions that I completely skipped over or didn't think about. I know what it looks like in my mind...I just forget that my reader can't see into my mind to see the same thing!
Thinking of ways to describe items better,
Shell
Time for another writing assignment. Today's assignment: Take a random word and write two pages about that word. Random Word is: Description (found through a random word generator).
The word description means painting a picture for your readers with your words. While too much description can be boring, not enough description can leave your readers wanting more. You want to include enough information for the reader to picture the object or scene but still leave room for their imagination to fill in minor details that will enhance the story for them.
When showing your reader about the house your character is entering, if you describe it as an 1880's Queen Anne Victorian complete with turrets, towers and a wrap-around porch, painted in a pale lavender with russet-colored trim, the reader's mind will most likely fill in the minor details about the design of the gingerbread trim or shape of the windows, based on what they know about Victorian period homes. Unless the gingerbread trim and windows are vital to the story and characters, you do not need to spend three, four, ten pages describing each twist and turn. Your character could idly glance at the trim, maybe have a random thought about how beautiful it is, but they don't need to expound on the details of that trim.
Knowing what to describe and what to leave to the reader's imagination is important. How you describe an object or scene can set the tone for your story as well and let the reader know more about your characters.
Example: If you describe your exercise equipment as the "torture device with cables designed to strangle the first person to come near", you give the impression of a character that hates exercise and views the exercise equipment as a death trap.
I'm personally bad about writing descriptions. I have to keep reminding myself to go back and add in descriptions that I completely skipped over or didn't think about. I know what it looks like in my mind...I just forget that my reader can't see into my mind to see the same thing!
Thinking of ways to describe items better,
Shell
Sunday, August 9, 2009
My Apologies
Dear Shell,
I must apologize for my lack of correspondence lately. I do not have any excuse other than, I let Facebook and Farmtown sway me away from my blog. A recent personal message on the Writer's Digest forums that I have a new follower has reminded me that, maybe I should get back into blogging again!
I have to admit though, Farmtown was fairly amusing for quite awhile. I started out with just a couple plots of potatoes. Now, my farm is at the max size, I have a farmhouse and a small house, a barn, silo, windmill. A river going through the farm. Flowers, lots of flowers. Also quite a few orchards, oranges, apples, coconuts, pears, mangos, etc. Currently I am a blueberry farmer, as I went through and figured out the best profit per hour for every crop that is available to me, and at level 28, blueberries have the best profit (not counting the 2-4 hour fast crops that you need to harvest every few hours in order to make money). I have enough neighbors that I qualify for hiring my neighbors or strangers to harvest crops and plow fields.
Okay, okay, now you're probably sitting there asking," well what about your writing, did you neglect that too?" Rest assured, I am still writing. Is it good writing, I hope so, or at least i hope i can make it good after revisions. I'm still working on editing Dragon Eye. Boy does it need a lot of work! It's scary how much work it needs. But when you consider I wrote the majority of that novel in a month's time, and it was my first time writing a full-length novel, it's understandable why it's not quite that great right now. Crystalvein, my second novel, is going much smoother. Although I'm still not 100% sure if I want to keep it in third person or not. I've re-written the first chapter three different ways to test out different POV (point of view) and a different storyline. I've decided to stick with the original storyline with one small change, and most likely it will stay third person limited for point of view.
Well I'm starting to hear thunder outside, and if it's anything like last night, we're in for a hell of a storm again. And I have to admit, that does worry me because we're already flooded pretty bad as it is. Every park in town is flooded, some are waist deep or deeper. A few roads are blocked off because the river is over the road now. And our backyard is a lake because the river broke over both banks. Too much more rain and I'm going to start worrying about the house floating away! Although then we wouldnt have to worry any longer about the leak in the roof that showed up pretty bad last night.
I will do my best to blog more often,
Shell
I must apologize for my lack of correspondence lately. I do not have any excuse other than, I let Facebook and Farmtown sway me away from my blog. A recent personal message on the Writer's Digest forums that I have a new follower has reminded me that, maybe I should get back into blogging again!
I have to admit though, Farmtown was fairly amusing for quite awhile. I started out with just a couple plots of potatoes. Now, my farm is at the max size, I have a farmhouse and a small house, a barn, silo, windmill. A river going through the farm. Flowers, lots of flowers. Also quite a few orchards, oranges, apples, coconuts, pears, mangos, etc. Currently I am a blueberry farmer, as I went through and figured out the best profit per hour for every crop that is available to me, and at level 28, blueberries have the best profit (not counting the 2-4 hour fast crops that you need to harvest every few hours in order to make money). I have enough neighbors that I qualify for hiring my neighbors or strangers to harvest crops and plow fields.
Okay, okay, now you're probably sitting there asking," well what about your writing, did you neglect that too?" Rest assured, I am still writing. Is it good writing, I hope so, or at least i hope i can make it good after revisions. I'm still working on editing Dragon Eye. Boy does it need a lot of work! It's scary how much work it needs. But when you consider I wrote the majority of that novel in a month's time, and it was my first time writing a full-length novel, it's understandable why it's not quite that great right now. Crystalvein, my second novel, is going much smoother. Although I'm still not 100% sure if I want to keep it in third person or not. I've re-written the first chapter three different ways to test out different POV (point of view) and a different storyline. I've decided to stick with the original storyline with one small change, and most likely it will stay third person limited for point of view.
Well I'm starting to hear thunder outside, and if it's anything like last night, we're in for a hell of a storm again. And I have to admit, that does worry me because we're already flooded pretty bad as it is. Every park in town is flooded, some are waist deep or deeper. A few roads are blocked off because the river is over the road now. And our backyard is a lake because the river broke over both banks. Too much more rain and I'm going to start worrying about the house floating away! Although then we wouldnt have to worry any longer about the leak in the roof that showed up pretty bad last night.
I will do my best to blog more often,
Shell
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Comments are Welcome
Just in case anyone was wondering, comments are welcome on the blog. They help keep me going. :)
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Edit Hell
Dear Shell,
Every so often, a writer gets the idea in their head that they really need to make a change to their current work before they get any further into the story because the story Just Isn't Working. Is this always a good idea? Well, not really. It could make the current work worse than before. It could make the writer say to themselves "what the Hell were you thinking??" But it could also take an "eh, it's okay, I'll try to finish it" story into a "Wow, I'm really enjoying writing this" story.
That's what is happening with my current novel, Crystalvein. I got to a certain point, kept crossing things out, changing things, just about pulling my hair out trying to write certain scenes. In my head, I am my main character. I'm thinking in first person, then writing it as third person. But in writing third person, I had to then change wording or thoughts. I didn't like that, it got to be confusing at times.
So, I have decided to change Crystalvein into first person instead of third person. This means doing a rewrite on what I had written already, which has meant some minor changes to most of it and a couple major changes, which have helped the story out tremendously in my opinion.
I'm still working on Dragon Eye as well, fitting in edits when I run out of steam on Crystalvein. Dragon Eye needs a major overhaul. Right now I'm working on filling in some plot holes, checking spelling and grammar. Once that is done, I'll go through again for a third draft and try to overhaul the story. Will it ever be publish-ready? Right now I'm thinking No. But I learned a lot from writing Dragon Eye. And I hope I'm not making the same mistakes again on Crystalvein that I know I made on Dragon Eye. We'll see once I get the first draft finished and start the process of editing.
Hoping to put the red pen away for awhile,
Shell
Every so often, a writer gets the idea in their head that they really need to make a change to their current work before they get any further into the story because the story Just Isn't Working. Is this always a good idea? Well, not really. It could make the current work worse than before. It could make the writer say to themselves "what the Hell were you thinking??" But it could also take an "eh, it's okay, I'll try to finish it" story into a "Wow, I'm really enjoying writing this" story.
That's what is happening with my current novel, Crystalvein. I got to a certain point, kept crossing things out, changing things, just about pulling my hair out trying to write certain scenes. In my head, I am my main character. I'm thinking in first person, then writing it as third person. But in writing third person, I had to then change wording or thoughts. I didn't like that, it got to be confusing at times.
So, I have decided to change Crystalvein into first person instead of third person. This means doing a rewrite on what I had written already, which has meant some minor changes to most of it and a couple major changes, which have helped the story out tremendously in my opinion.
I'm still working on Dragon Eye as well, fitting in edits when I run out of steam on Crystalvein. Dragon Eye needs a major overhaul. Right now I'm working on filling in some plot holes, checking spelling and grammar. Once that is done, I'll go through again for a third draft and try to overhaul the story. Will it ever be publish-ready? Right now I'm thinking No. But I learned a lot from writing Dragon Eye. And I hope I'm not making the same mistakes again on Crystalvein that I know I made on Dragon Eye. We'll see once I get the first draft finished and start the process of editing.
Hoping to put the red pen away for awhile,
Shell
Friday, June 5, 2009
Stop Raising Prices!!
Dear Shell,
As you can see by my coupon tracker to the right on this blog, coupon savings have been decreasing each month. That doesn't necessarily mean I'm doing bad though. The coupon tracker is only tracking what is saved with coupons, and coupons are only for brand name items. It's not showing the savings made by buying store brand instead of brand name and it doesn't show store sales (i.e. item is normally 3.19 each, on sale 2 for $4. that's a savings of $2.38 that doesn't show in the coupons).
I just got back from grocery shopping. And the bill was huge compared to the past couple months. But we were also out of just about everything. I stocked up on some items so those should be good for the next couple months. I also had to buy some high priced items that I don't normally buy every grocery shopping trip (razor blades are so expensive).
After shopping at both Krogers and Walmart over the past few months and tracking prices, Walmart has cheaper prices on almost everything, sometimes up to a couple dollars cheaper on some items. Krogers still has cheaper store brand canned veggies and they taste better. BUT, Walmart does not double coupons and Krogers does (coupons up to .50 will be doubled). So on items that are close in price between the two stores, if I have a coupon for the item it would be better to go to Krogers. If I do not have a coupon, Walmart is the better choice.
Walmart has raised prices again since last month. Some items went up about 4 cents, some went up 40 cents. Knorr's flavored rice went from .98 to 1.38 at Walmart, but it's still 1.68 at Krogers.
Watch Those Sizes!
Watch out when you run into the store brand and brand name that are same price for what looks to be same size can. You have a coupon for brand name so you're saying to yourself 'cool, im saving money'. Look again at the sizes. The store brand can is 2.54 for 7 ounces (.36 per ounce). The brand name can is 2.54 for 5 ounces (.51 per ounce). Unless you have a coupon that can get that brand name can under 1.80 for 5 ounces (.36 per ounce), you're really not saving anything.
Watch Those Sizes Again!
Smaller is better, right? Not always. Again, look at those per ounce/per unit prices. Add up what you'd spend on the smaller size to equal the amount you'd get on the larger size. Example: All Laundry detergent. 4.97 for 50 ounces. 8.97 for 100 ounces. You have 2 coupons for .40 off one and you know this is an item you use a lot of. Do you buy 2 bottles of 50 ounce All or 1 bottle of 100 ounce All? (Remember, we're at Walmart that doesn't double the coupons).
2 bottles of 50 ounces = 9.94
2 coupons @ .40 off = .80
total price for 2 bottles = 9.14
Right away you can see that even with the coupons, you're still paying more for 2 bottles of 50 ounce each than if you were to just buy the 1 bottle of 100 ounce. And if you buy the 100 ounce... guess what you can use that coupon on it! So you're getting 100 ounce bottle for 8.57. (I know what you're saying, well just buy 1 bottle of the 50 ounce, then buy another bottle next month when you run low. Okay...you're still paying more overall in the end, and you might not have any coupons at all for that product next month!)
Cutting the coupons again,
Shell
As you can see by my coupon tracker to the right on this blog, coupon savings have been decreasing each month. That doesn't necessarily mean I'm doing bad though. The coupon tracker is only tracking what is saved with coupons, and coupons are only for brand name items. It's not showing the savings made by buying store brand instead of brand name and it doesn't show store sales (i.e. item is normally 3.19 each, on sale 2 for $4. that's a savings of $2.38 that doesn't show in the coupons).
I just got back from grocery shopping. And the bill was huge compared to the past couple months. But we were also out of just about everything. I stocked up on some items so those should be good for the next couple months. I also had to buy some high priced items that I don't normally buy every grocery shopping trip (razor blades are so expensive).
After shopping at both Krogers and Walmart over the past few months and tracking prices, Walmart has cheaper prices on almost everything, sometimes up to a couple dollars cheaper on some items. Krogers still has cheaper store brand canned veggies and they taste better. BUT, Walmart does not double coupons and Krogers does (coupons up to .50 will be doubled). So on items that are close in price between the two stores, if I have a coupon for the item it would be better to go to Krogers. If I do not have a coupon, Walmart is the better choice.
Walmart has raised prices again since last month. Some items went up about 4 cents, some went up 40 cents. Knorr's flavored rice went from .98 to 1.38 at Walmart, but it's still 1.68 at Krogers.
Watch Those Sizes!
Watch out when you run into the store brand and brand name that are same price for what looks to be same size can. You have a coupon for brand name so you're saying to yourself 'cool, im saving money'. Look again at the sizes. The store brand can is 2.54 for 7 ounces (.36 per ounce). The brand name can is 2.54 for 5 ounces (.51 per ounce). Unless you have a coupon that can get that brand name can under 1.80 for 5 ounces (.36 per ounce), you're really not saving anything.
Watch Those Sizes Again!
Smaller is better, right? Not always. Again, look at those per ounce/per unit prices. Add up what you'd spend on the smaller size to equal the amount you'd get on the larger size. Example: All Laundry detergent. 4.97 for 50 ounces. 8.97 for 100 ounces. You have 2 coupons for .40 off one and you know this is an item you use a lot of. Do you buy 2 bottles of 50 ounce All or 1 bottle of 100 ounce All? (Remember, we're at Walmart that doesn't double the coupons).
2 bottles of 50 ounces = 9.94
2 coupons @ .40 off = .80
total price for 2 bottles = 9.14
Right away you can see that even with the coupons, you're still paying more for 2 bottles of 50 ounce each than if you were to just buy the 1 bottle of 100 ounce. And if you buy the 100 ounce... guess what you can use that coupon on it! So you're getting 100 ounce bottle for 8.57. (I know what you're saying, well just buy 1 bottle of the 50 ounce, then buy another bottle next month when you run low. Okay...you're still paying more overall in the end, and you might not have any coupons at all for that product next month!)
Cutting the coupons again,
Shell
Friday, May 22, 2009
Happy Happy
Dear Shell,
Okay, I've been slacking bad. But I just haven't felt like blogging lately (yeah... it's been a month. I'm sorry!)
Yesterday was my 4th wedding anniversary. Can you believe it? It doesn't seem like it's been 4 years already. We didn't do a whole lot last night, just kicked back and relaxed, talked a bit, watched a movie on TV. Tonight we're going out for a nice dinner. I haven't decided if I want steak or some good bbq ribs though haha.
My new novel (Crystalvein) is coming along fairly well, I'm really enjoying the story and the idea behind it. I'm doing a lot of research for it though so it's not going fast.
I learned a lot from writing Dragon Eye and working on editing it. I see where I made major mistakes, minor mistakes, and those 'what the hell was I thinking' mistakes. So hopefully this next novel will have a better first draft. With Dragon Eye, I really enjoyed writing it, but I'm really hating editing it. The more I work on it, the more I wonder if it would ever be worth finding an agent for. It stinks lol. I have some good scenes, but then I have some 'um...huh, what?' scenes. It needs a lot of work. And I do mean, a LOT.
Speaking of which...off I go to the wonderful world called EDIT.
grabbing my red pen, again,
Shell
Okay, I've been slacking bad. But I just haven't felt like blogging lately (yeah... it's been a month. I'm sorry!)
Yesterday was my 4th wedding anniversary. Can you believe it? It doesn't seem like it's been 4 years already. We didn't do a whole lot last night, just kicked back and relaxed, talked a bit, watched a movie on TV. Tonight we're going out for a nice dinner. I haven't decided if I want steak or some good bbq ribs though haha.
My new novel (Crystalvein) is coming along fairly well, I'm really enjoying the story and the idea behind it. I'm doing a lot of research for it though so it's not going fast.
I learned a lot from writing Dragon Eye and working on editing it. I see where I made major mistakes, minor mistakes, and those 'what the hell was I thinking' mistakes. So hopefully this next novel will have a better first draft. With Dragon Eye, I really enjoyed writing it, but I'm really hating editing it. The more I work on it, the more I wonder if it would ever be worth finding an agent for. It stinks lol. I have some good scenes, but then I have some 'um...huh, what?' scenes. It needs a lot of work. And I do mean, a LOT.
Speaking of which...off I go to the wonderful world called EDIT.
grabbing my red pen, again,
Shell
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Just The Right Age
(This letter goes to Mom instead of myself.)
Dear Mom,
Happy Birthday to You,
Happy Birthday to You,
Happy Birthday Dear Mom,
Happy Birthday to You!
How old are you? Well, you're just the right age! That's right, you're just the right age.
I hope that you have a wonderful birthday today. Oh, Psycho says 'mrrrroooooeeeww mrrrooooooeeewww' which I think is kitty for Happy Birthday!
Love you Mom!
Shell
Dear Mom,
Happy Birthday to You,
Happy Birthday to You,
Happy Birthday Dear Mom,
Happy Birthday to You!
How old are you? Well, you're just the right age! That's right, you're just the right age.
I hope that you have a wonderful birthday today. Oh, Psycho says 'mrrrroooooeeeww mrrrooooooeeewww' which I think is kitty for Happy Birthday!
Love you Mom!
Shell
Friday, April 17, 2009
Shipwrecked
Dear Shell,
Well it's time for another prompt. I've been busy with editing, writing, reading and exercising so I haven't had much time to blog. I did work on a prompt though recently that I'll post here.
Writing Prompt: You are shipwrecked on an island with 3 items. What are those three items and what will you do with them?
The waves lapped at my feet as I sat on the beach staring out at the ocean, at the crystal-blue sparkling ocean that had so recently been a boiling, angry, almost black monster. A monster that had wrapped its watery arms around the ship, twisting the steel and pulling the ship and her frightened passengers into the depths.
All of the passengers were now held in the cradle of the ocean, rocked to an endless sleep down below the deceptively beautiful surface. All the passengers except me.
The monster had rolled me along the surface, tossing me into the air then briefly pulling me under before throwing me onto the sandy beach of this seemingly deserted island.
Several items had washed up on the shore with me. I reached down and picked up the first item, a small pocket knife. the pocket knife had several attachments on it. Tiny dull scissors, a nail file, and a small flat-head screwdriver in addition to the normal 3 blades. Knowing it could come in handy, I tucked the knife into my pocket.
I picked up the second item, a rather large umbrella. Upon opening it, I saw that what I had thought was a jumble of colors was actually a picture of a red, blue and yellow parrot sitting on a leafy green branch. I thought about the umbrella for a moment then realized I could use it as part of the shelter I would build. I closed it and set the umbrella carefully behind me where the waves couldnt reach it.
The third item lay partially buried in the damp sand. I tugged on the edge, pulling it out of the sand. It was a Frisbee. "What good is a Frisbee going to be?" I spoke out loud, even though I knew no one could hear me. I sighed, turning the black plastic disc around in my hands. My fingers traced the gold letters that ringed the outer edge.
My gaze drifted back to the sparkling blue water then I turned and looked at the trees behind me. My eyes followed the trunk of a tree up and up, til I saw the fruit hanging from the branches. I glanced at the Frisbee again. I knew now how I would use it.
Hoping there's more than just coconuts on this island,
Shell
Well it's time for another prompt. I've been busy with editing, writing, reading and exercising so I haven't had much time to blog. I did work on a prompt though recently that I'll post here.
Writing Prompt: You are shipwrecked on an island with 3 items. What are those three items and what will you do with them?
The waves lapped at my feet as I sat on the beach staring out at the ocean, at the crystal-blue sparkling ocean that had so recently been a boiling, angry, almost black monster. A monster that had wrapped its watery arms around the ship, twisting the steel and pulling the ship and her frightened passengers into the depths.
All of the passengers were now held in the cradle of the ocean, rocked to an endless sleep down below the deceptively beautiful surface. All the passengers except me.
The monster had rolled me along the surface, tossing me into the air then briefly pulling me under before throwing me onto the sandy beach of this seemingly deserted island.
Several items had washed up on the shore with me. I reached down and picked up the first item, a small pocket knife. the pocket knife had several attachments on it. Tiny dull scissors, a nail file, and a small flat-head screwdriver in addition to the normal 3 blades. Knowing it could come in handy, I tucked the knife into my pocket.
I picked up the second item, a rather large umbrella. Upon opening it, I saw that what I had thought was a jumble of colors was actually a picture of a red, blue and yellow parrot sitting on a leafy green branch. I thought about the umbrella for a moment then realized I could use it as part of the shelter I would build. I closed it and set the umbrella carefully behind me where the waves couldnt reach it.
The third item lay partially buried in the damp sand. I tugged on the edge, pulling it out of the sand. It was a Frisbee. "What good is a Frisbee going to be?" I spoke out loud, even though I knew no one could hear me. I sighed, turning the black plastic disc around in my hands. My fingers traced the gold letters that ringed the outer edge.
My gaze drifted back to the sparkling blue water then I turned and looked at the trees behind me. My eyes followed the trunk of a tree up and up, til I saw the fruit hanging from the branches. I glanced at the Frisbee again. I knew now how I would use it.
Hoping there's more than just coconuts on this island,
Shell
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
PsychoKitty
Dear Shell,
As you know, in February we lost Junior, our beloved companion. I still expect to see him just around the corner, or expect him to jump up and cuddle with me on the couch late at night while I write. I really miss my Junior.
Our other cat, PsychoKitty, misses him too. It took her awhile to realize that she could eat out of the food bowl without having to wait for him to finish first. She would sit at the bowl and just wait, occasionally looking around for him, before she would finally eat. Now, she's getting kind of pudgy as she's learning she can eat all she wants from the bowl.
Psycho has earned her name, many times over, through the years that I've owned her. Nine years ago, I rescued her from the animal shelter. She was six months old, beautiful long gray and white fur, pure white whiskers and golden eyes. When I first brought her home, she was scared of everything and anything. The slightest movement or noise and she would hide for the next two hours. In the past few years, she's become much more sociable and loving. Fast movements still startle her but she doesn't hide for hours now.
Since we lost Junior, Psycho has become clingy and very vocal. We use an Internet voice chat to talk with some of our friends who live in other states, and they can hear her in the background meowing. Our friend Rob says she sounds like she is trying to meow and purr at the same time. When we're on the phone, the person on the other end can hear her loud and clear. We can even hear her across the house! I think about the only time she is not meowing, is when she's sleeping. But she'll wake up out of a deep sleep meowing at times.
We've been letting her sleep in the bedroom at night with us so she wont be lonely and she's pretty good about just curling up at the foot of the bed, between J and I, and sleeping there all night. She has decided though that she is my alarm clock. When she decides it's time for me to wake up, she lets me know. It doesn't matter if i came to bed at 8am and it's now 9am, she gets in my face and starts her loud, loud meow. And she doesn't stop until I finally wake up and pet her. Which makes her meow louder for a minute or two before she calms down and curls up again.
She wants to be wherever we are at all times. If we're in the living room, she's trying to cuddle up on our lap or chest. Computer room? that's time to curl up on J's lap! Or she'll lay on top of our computer towers and just hang out. Sometimes she'll curl up on the extra computer chair and sleep. Bedroom? she's curled up in a ball on one side of the bed or the other, until both of us are in there, then she's at the foot of the bed again.
Speaking of the Psycho... she just realized I left her alone in the living room and has come running through the house meowing to find me. She is sitting next to me now, letting me know she needs more attention.
Shell
As you know, in February we lost Junior, our beloved companion. I still expect to see him just around the corner, or expect him to jump up and cuddle with me on the couch late at night while I write. I really miss my Junior.
Our other cat, PsychoKitty, misses him too. It took her awhile to realize that she could eat out of the food bowl without having to wait for him to finish first. She would sit at the bowl and just wait, occasionally looking around for him, before she would finally eat. Now, she's getting kind of pudgy as she's learning she can eat all she wants from the bowl.
Psycho has earned her name, many times over, through the years that I've owned her. Nine years ago, I rescued her from the animal shelter. She was six months old, beautiful long gray and white fur, pure white whiskers and golden eyes. When I first brought her home, she was scared of everything and anything. The slightest movement or noise and she would hide for the next two hours. In the past few years, she's become much more sociable and loving. Fast movements still startle her but she doesn't hide for hours now.
Since we lost Junior, Psycho has become clingy and very vocal. We use an Internet voice chat to talk with some of our friends who live in other states, and they can hear her in the background meowing. Our friend Rob says she sounds like she is trying to meow and purr at the same time. When we're on the phone, the person on the other end can hear her loud and clear. We can even hear her across the house! I think about the only time she is not meowing, is when she's sleeping. But she'll wake up out of a deep sleep meowing at times.
We've been letting her sleep in the bedroom at night with us so she wont be lonely and she's pretty good about just curling up at the foot of the bed, between J and I, and sleeping there all night. She has decided though that she is my alarm clock. When she decides it's time for me to wake up, she lets me know. It doesn't matter if i came to bed at 8am and it's now 9am, she gets in my face and starts her loud, loud meow. And she doesn't stop until I finally wake up and pet her. Which makes her meow louder for a minute or two before she calms down and curls up again.
She wants to be wherever we are at all times. If we're in the living room, she's trying to cuddle up on our lap or chest. Computer room? that's time to curl up on J's lap! Or she'll lay on top of our computer towers and just hang out. Sometimes she'll curl up on the extra computer chair and sleep. Bedroom? she's curled up in a ball on one side of the bed or the other, until both of us are in there, then she's at the foot of the bed again.
Speaking of the Psycho... she just realized I left her alone in the living room and has come running through the house meowing to find me. She is sitting next to me now, letting me know she needs more attention.
Shell
Monday, March 23, 2009
Finding Fairyland - Book Review
Dear Shell,
This weekend I went to a book signing for a fellow Red Hot Writers member. Barry Poupard is the author of two books geared toward children. He wrote them specifically for two young girls, Julia and Laura, ages 8 and 12.
Finding Fairyland is Julia's story. In this book, Julia is a young girl who believes that fairies do exist, and that if you try hard that you can find a way to fairyland. Armed with the knowledge she gained through researching fairies and with her best friend by her side, she heads out to find the way in.
Finding Fairyland 2 is Laura's story. While she is the older sister and is a teenager in the story, she still believes in fairies as well. Normally older sisters are the ones who get to do everything first, so when Julia has her adventure in fairyland before she does, it makes Laura more determined to also experience the magic. She sets out to find her own way into fairyland.
Finding Fairyland 1 and 2 are cute stories. I was drawn into the adventure along with Julia and Laura. The stories also had messages or lessons behind them that were subtle yet stood out enough that hopefully a young child reading or listening to the stories would pick up on. Maybe the messages/lessons were not intentional, but they are there.
Messages such as:
you do not need to be just like everyone else to be liked (when Julia lost her former best friend then found a new friend),
that if you are polite and respectful to others they will usually be polite and respectful back to you (the golden rule, do unto others..),
you shouldn't treat someone different just because they look different,
its better to walk away when someone tries to hurt you instead of returning the hurt back to them.
Overall the books are a good read. I could easily imagine myself reading them out loud to a young child. I think girls as young as 4 would enjoy hearing the stories. I would recommend them to anyone with young girls between the ages of 4 and 12 (younger boys might like them but not sure about boys closer to being teenagers). They can be found on Amazon.com or from Bleau Gardens in Flushing, Michigan.
Shell
This weekend I went to a book signing for a fellow Red Hot Writers member. Barry Poupard is the author of two books geared toward children. He wrote them specifically for two young girls, Julia and Laura, ages 8 and 12.
Finding Fairyland is Julia's story. In this book, Julia is a young girl who believes that fairies do exist, and that if you try hard that you can find a way to fairyland. Armed with the knowledge she gained through researching fairies and with her best friend by her side, she heads out to find the way in.
Finding Fairyland 2 is Laura's story. While she is the older sister and is a teenager in the story, she still believes in fairies as well. Normally older sisters are the ones who get to do everything first, so when Julia has her adventure in fairyland before she does, it makes Laura more determined to also experience the magic. She sets out to find her own way into fairyland.
Finding Fairyland 1 and 2 are cute stories. I was drawn into the adventure along with Julia and Laura. The stories also had messages or lessons behind them that were subtle yet stood out enough that hopefully a young child reading or listening to the stories would pick up on. Maybe the messages/lessons were not intentional, but they are there.
Messages such as:
you do not need to be just like everyone else to be liked (when Julia lost her former best friend then found a new friend),
that if you are polite and respectful to others they will usually be polite and respectful back to you (the golden rule, do unto others..),
you shouldn't treat someone different just because they look different,
its better to walk away when someone tries to hurt you instead of returning the hurt back to them.
Overall the books are a good read. I could easily imagine myself reading them out loud to a young child. I think girls as young as 4 would enjoy hearing the stories. I would recommend them to anyone with young girls between the ages of 4 and 12 (younger boys might like them but not sure about boys closer to being teenagers). They can be found on Amazon.com or from Bleau Gardens in Flushing, Michigan.
Shell
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Coupons, Savings, And ...Fun?
Dear Shell,
I've posted before in the past that I hate grocery shopping, it's so expensive. I still hate grocery shopping. But I'm getting better at it.
Last week, my friend Ceri and I were talking about grocery shopping, the high prices, and figuring out ways to bring our costs down. She linked me to a really good website/forum. (i'll see if i can get it to link). http://www.hotcouponworld.com/forums/index.php
Then we sat and talked about coupons and store ads for awhile. I had a rather large stack of coupon ads, so I went through and cut coupons out for items we use. Then I found an ad for Kroger's, which happens to be only a few miles away from our house.
They had a pretty good sale going on, buy any 10 items (from a list of items) and get $5 back. Plus most of those items were also already on sale. I also had coupons for most of the items on the 'buy 10' list. So I had several items from that list that I ended up paying only .25 or less for. And several items I got free. And then I got $5 back on top of it all!
Plus I found deals such as:
Quaker Oatmeal - Normal Price: $3.19 each. Sale: buy 2 for $4. Coupon: $1 off 2. Paid: $3 total for 2 boxes. Savings: 1 box free, .19 off the other.
Crest pro-health toothpaste, 4.2oz size - Normal price: $3.54 each. Sale: buy 2 for $4. Coupon: $1 off 1 (and i had 2 coupons). Paid: $2 total for 2 tubes. Savings: 1 tube of toothpaste free, $1.54 off the other.
I think I got two rolls of paper towels for .24 each.
Overall, i saved 40%. Grocery bill before sales and coupons: $183.81. Grocery bill after sales and coupons: $107.26. A savings of $76.55.
This week, Meijers has 'buy 10 items for $10, get 11th item free'. I've glanced through the ad, and there are several items on the list that I have coupons for. I need to get Krogers ad out of the mailbox still to see what their deals are. Kroger and Meijer are across the street from each other, so it won't cost more than a few cents extra in gas money to hit both grocery stores. And we have a good cooler that I can use to keep cold stuff cold while I run into the other store. Walmart is also on the way home from Kroger/Meijer, so if there's something I know is way cheaper at Walmart (that I can also combine with a coupon)... nothing stopping me from running through there as well!
We don't need a lot this week, just fill in a few items that I didnt pick up last week because they were more expensive at Kroger than Walmart so I planned to hit Walmart for those items, and then never made it there last week haha.
Well, I need to head up to the mailbox to get the store ads and toss the envelope with extra coupons in the mail to make its way to Ceri's house.
Shell
I've posted before in the past that I hate grocery shopping, it's so expensive. I still hate grocery shopping. But I'm getting better at it.
Last week, my friend Ceri and I were talking about grocery shopping, the high prices, and figuring out ways to bring our costs down. She linked me to a really good website/forum. (i'll see if i can get it to link). http://www.hotcouponworld.com/forums/index.php
Then we sat and talked about coupons and store ads for awhile. I had a rather large stack of coupon ads, so I went through and cut coupons out for items we use. Then I found an ad for Kroger's, which happens to be only a few miles away from our house.
They had a pretty good sale going on, buy any 10 items (from a list of items) and get $5 back. Plus most of those items were also already on sale. I also had coupons for most of the items on the 'buy 10' list. So I had several items from that list that I ended up paying only .25 or less for. And several items I got free. And then I got $5 back on top of it all!
Plus I found deals such as:
Quaker Oatmeal - Normal Price: $3.19 each. Sale: buy 2 for $4. Coupon: $1 off 2. Paid: $3 total for 2 boxes. Savings: 1 box free, .19 off the other.
Crest pro-health toothpaste, 4.2oz size - Normal price: $3.54 each. Sale: buy 2 for $4. Coupon: $1 off 1 (and i had 2 coupons). Paid: $2 total for 2 tubes. Savings: 1 tube of toothpaste free, $1.54 off the other.
I think I got two rolls of paper towels for .24 each.
Overall, i saved 40%. Grocery bill before sales and coupons: $183.81. Grocery bill after sales and coupons: $107.26. A savings of $76.55.
This week, Meijers has 'buy 10 items for $10, get 11th item free'. I've glanced through the ad, and there are several items on the list that I have coupons for. I need to get Krogers ad out of the mailbox still to see what their deals are. Kroger and Meijer are across the street from each other, so it won't cost more than a few cents extra in gas money to hit both grocery stores. And we have a good cooler that I can use to keep cold stuff cold while I run into the other store. Walmart is also on the way home from Kroger/Meijer, so if there's something I know is way cheaper at Walmart (that I can also combine with a coupon)... nothing stopping me from running through there as well!
We don't need a lot this week, just fill in a few items that I didnt pick up last week because they were more expensive at Kroger than Walmart so I planned to hit Walmart for those items, and then never made it there last week haha.
Well, I need to head up to the mailbox to get the store ads and toss the envelope with extra coupons in the mail to make its way to Ceri's house.
Shell
Monday, March 16, 2009
Get Out Of My Head!
Dear Shell,
Here I am, knee-deep in revisions on Dragon Eye, and my mind keeps wandering away to another world. Or rather, it keeps wandering away from that fantasy world that I created and trying to sneak back into the world we know so well. My mind is telling me that I have another story to write, one based in this world, not in the fantasy one where my characters wait patiently for me to change their lives...again.
I think it is because I have finished the first draft of Dragon Eye that my mind feels that it is free to wander into another story. It tells me that it can revise, polish, and fine-tune Dragon Eye while still exploring and telling a different story.
Of course, my mind tried to drag me away several times during the writing of the first draft. It forced me to create seven different files with the beginnings of seven different novels, plus notes to go with them. But it was not very insistent with those stories. It was happy once the basic idea was written down and then set safely aside for another day.
And now, does it open one of those files? No, now it insists THIS story is the one that needs to be told. My mind has offered up options for the beginning, and has stated how one of the chapters near the end should be. But it has not told me what the ending should be. Maybe the ending does not exist yet.
Curious now? Maybe you're sitting there thinking I'm crazy. I wouldn't blame you. But remember this, a writer is one of the few that can claim to have voices in their head telling them what to do, without being thought insane and being locked away. Those voices are the characters that we can't resist, the characters that tug at our heart strings, that send chills down our spines, that cause gales of laughter or buckets of tears. Those are the voices we love to see in print, that we love to cuddle up with on the couch as we lose ourselves in the world that the writer created.
The stories are there, they beg to be written. We just need to be strong enough to pick up that pen and write.
Grabbing her pen,
Shell
Here I am, knee-deep in revisions on Dragon Eye, and my mind keeps wandering away to another world. Or rather, it keeps wandering away from that fantasy world that I created and trying to sneak back into the world we know so well. My mind is telling me that I have another story to write, one based in this world, not in the fantasy one where my characters wait patiently for me to change their lives...again.
I think it is because I have finished the first draft of Dragon Eye that my mind feels that it is free to wander into another story. It tells me that it can revise, polish, and fine-tune Dragon Eye while still exploring and telling a different story.
Of course, my mind tried to drag me away several times during the writing of the first draft. It forced me to create seven different files with the beginnings of seven different novels, plus notes to go with them. But it was not very insistent with those stories. It was happy once the basic idea was written down and then set safely aside for another day.
And now, does it open one of those files? No, now it insists THIS story is the one that needs to be told. My mind has offered up options for the beginning, and has stated how one of the chapters near the end should be. But it has not told me what the ending should be. Maybe the ending does not exist yet.
Curious now? Maybe you're sitting there thinking I'm crazy. I wouldn't blame you. But remember this, a writer is one of the few that can claim to have voices in their head telling them what to do, without being thought insane and being locked away. Those voices are the characters that we can't resist, the characters that tug at our heart strings, that send chills down our spines, that cause gales of laughter or buckets of tears. Those are the voices we love to see in print, that we love to cuddle up with on the couch as we lose ourselves in the world that the writer created.
The stories are there, they beg to be written. We just need to be strong enough to pick up that pen and write.
Grabbing her pen,
Shell
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Who Is She?
Dear Shell,
Last night I was doing some research for writing tips and ideas. I came across an excerpt from one book (which I'll probably be picking up this weekend) where the author gave several sentences as ideas where you were to pick one then write for 20 minutes. The author said you could change the subject character from male to female, or vice versa, change colors, or change other minor details as long as the main point of the sentence was still there. I wrote down a few of the ideas and decided to try one last night.
Who is She?
She was sitting there at my kitchen table when I came in, eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. She had long black hair that was braided and fell in a straight line just past her waist. Her dress was a pale blue with a white ribbon along the empire waist and white lace at the edge of her high collar, at the end of each wrist-length sleeve, and most likely along the hem of the dress as well but that part of her was hidden by the table.
She also had the saddest eyes I've ever seen; light green with a hint of tears glistening in them.
I sat across from her, across from this unknown female sitting in my kitchen. She didn't speak to me, she just continued looking at me with those sad, sad eyes while eating her sandwich. I didn't speak to her either, although by now most people would have demanded to know who she was, how she had gotten in, what she was doing there. They may even have called the police to come and take her away. Maybe some would ask why she had made a peanut butter and jelly sandwich when there was a perfectly good ribeye steak in the refrigerator waiting to be grilled. Others might even be curious enough to ask her why she was so sad.
I didn't ask any questions though. I simply waited for her to finish eating her sandwich.
She smiled at me after she finished her meal, then stood up and walked out of the kitchen. I could see now that yes, there was white lace at the bottom of her pale blue dress as well. I didn't hear the front door open yet I knew that she had left.
I tried to think of how I would explain my unexpected visitor to others. I guess I would start with, "Well, the ghost was eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich."
Shell
Last night I was doing some research for writing tips and ideas. I came across an excerpt from one book (which I'll probably be picking up this weekend) where the author gave several sentences as ideas where you were to pick one then write for 20 minutes. The author said you could change the subject character from male to female, or vice versa, change colors, or change other minor details as long as the main point of the sentence was still there. I wrote down a few of the ideas and decided to try one last night.
Who is She?
She was sitting there at my kitchen table when I came in, eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. She had long black hair that was braided and fell in a straight line just past her waist. Her dress was a pale blue with a white ribbon along the empire waist and white lace at the edge of her high collar, at the end of each wrist-length sleeve, and most likely along the hem of the dress as well but that part of her was hidden by the table.
She also had the saddest eyes I've ever seen; light green with a hint of tears glistening in them.
I sat across from her, across from this unknown female sitting in my kitchen. She didn't speak to me, she just continued looking at me with those sad, sad eyes while eating her sandwich. I didn't speak to her either, although by now most people would have demanded to know who she was, how she had gotten in, what she was doing there. They may even have called the police to come and take her away. Maybe some would ask why she had made a peanut butter and jelly sandwich when there was a perfectly good ribeye steak in the refrigerator waiting to be grilled. Others might even be curious enough to ask her why she was so sad.
I didn't ask any questions though. I simply waited for her to finish eating her sandwich.
She smiled at me after she finished her meal, then stood up and walked out of the kitchen. I could see now that yes, there was white lace at the bottom of her pale blue dress as well. I didn't hear the front door open yet I knew that she had left.
I tried to think of how I would explain my unexpected visitor to others. I guess I would start with, "Well, the ghost was eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich."
Shell
Friday, February 27, 2009
Sad News
Dear Shell,
Last night around 6:40pm, my buddy, my companion, my little furry-footed friend Junior passed away. He was almost 14 years old. He had short gray fur and yellow eyes. And the sweetest, most loving personality. He loved to curl up on my lap when I'd sit on the couch and write. Or he'd jump up and sleep on my computer tower if i was on the computer. Most of the time, he had to be in whatever room we were in.
When J got home from work, Junior would meet him at the door to greet him. He'd curl up on J's chest or next to him on the couch when we'd watch TV. And he loved to sit on J's lap while J was doing stuff on the computer. He'd just stretch out and close his eyes and purr, or he'd watch the monitor to see what was going on.
When I got Junior, he was a handful. Literally. He was 5 weeks old, just this little tiny kitten with fuzzy gray fur that would fit in one hand. He popped up through the floor, through a dryer vent hole, in an old mobile home I was living in right after high school with some friends. I quickly grabbed him, and he proceeded to try to rip my skin apart with his tiny little claws (which by the way, even on a 5 week old kitten...are sharp!!). It took 2 days, and then I could reach into the box where I kept him and he would purr and cuddle with me.
He comforted me through many of life's trials: My parents divorce, losing my best friend from high school (she went mentally nuts and we couldnt keep the friendship going), he was there when I went through an abusive relationship (emotionally not physically). Junior suffered through many moves until I finally bought the house we're in now.
He had a paw in things on getting me and J together. J and I are both cat lovers, and Junior was such a lovable cat that he drew J in and hooked him. :)
Last night, I was sad, then angry, then felt guilty. I know we did everything we could for him, but there's always the 'what if' in the very back of our minds when something sad happens. And the anger, i dont know who I'm angry at, I just felt so much anger. I wanted to throw something or break something.
J is taking it hard too. Junior was his buddy.
Junior, I love you baby. We are going to miss you, but we are glad you are no longer in pain. We will try to comfort ourselves and each other with the thought of you playing and having fun, without any pain, while you wait for us at the Rainbow Bridge.
Missing her Junior,
Shell
Last night around 6:40pm, my buddy, my companion, my little furry-footed friend Junior passed away. He was almost 14 years old. He had short gray fur and yellow eyes. And the sweetest, most loving personality. He loved to curl up on my lap when I'd sit on the couch and write. Or he'd jump up and sleep on my computer tower if i was on the computer. Most of the time, he had to be in whatever room we were in.
When J got home from work, Junior would meet him at the door to greet him. He'd curl up on J's chest or next to him on the couch when we'd watch TV. And he loved to sit on J's lap while J was doing stuff on the computer. He'd just stretch out and close his eyes and purr, or he'd watch the monitor to see what was going on.
When I got Junior, he was a handful. Literally. He was 5 weeks old, just this little tiny kitten with fuzzy gray fur that would fit in one hand. He popped up through the floor, through a dryer vent hole, in an old mobile home I was living in right after high school with some friends. I quickly grabbed him, and he proceeded to try to rip my skin apart with his tiny little claws (which by the way, even on a 5 week old kitten...are sharp!!). It took 2 days, and then I could reach into the box where I kept him and he would purr and cuddle with me.
He comforted me through many of life's trials: My parents divorce, losing my best friend from high school (she went mentally nuts and we couldnt keep the friendship going), he was there when I went through an abusive relationship (emotionally not physically). Junior suffered through many moves until I finally bought the house we're in now.
He had a paw in things on getting me and J together. J and I are both cat lovers, and Junior was such a lovable cat that he drew J in and hooked him. :)
Last night, I was sad, then angry, then felt guilty. I know we did everything we could for him, but there's always the 'what if' in the very back of our minds when something sad happens. And the anger, i dont know who I'm angry at, I just felt so much anger. I wanted to throw something or break something.
J is taking it hard too. Junior was his buddy.
Junior, I love you baby. We are going to miss you, but we are glad you are no longer in pain. We will try to comfort ourselves and each other with the thought of you playing and having fun, without any pain, while you wait for us at the Rainbow Bridge.
Missing her Junior,
Shell
Monday, February 9, 2009
The First Draft
Dear Shell,
Well it is official. My first draft of Dragon Eye is done. It's very rough and needs a lot of work. I have a couple of plot holes that need to be filled (they were from the Nano days where we were supposed to just write and write and write without worrying about editing). I also have a small problem with mixing up past and present tense in certain areas. But nothing should be too hard to fix.
So my next step is to let it sit a few days. Just walk away from it and work on something else. Then I'll go back, with a notebook beside me, and I'll read the whole novel from start to finish. Then I'll take my comments/suggestions that I wrote in my notebook as I read through, and start to fix the problem areas.
I think the storyline is pretty good. But it could be much better.
After I get the second, or maybe third draft finished, then I'll print out a copy to share with someone to read in its entirety. See if the story catches and holds their attention, see if something needs work.
After it's finished? Then I'll start working on my queries and synopsis, and start looking for an agent. And... work on the next novel in progress!
Shell
Well it is official. My first draft of Dragon Eye is done. It's very rough and needs a lot of work. I have a couple of plot holes that need to be filled (they were from the Nano days where we were supposed to just write and write and write without worrying about editing). I also have a small problem with mixing up past and present tense in certain areas. But nothing should be too hard to fix.
So my next step is to let it sit a few days. Just walk away from it and work on something else. Then I'll go back, with a notebook beside me, and I'll read the whole novel from start to finish. Then I'll take my comments/suggestions that I wrote in my notebook as I read through, and start to fix the problem areas.
I think the storyline is pretty good. But it could be much better.
After I get the second, or maybe third draft finished, then I'll print out a copy to share with someone to read in its entirety. See if the story catches and holds their attention, see if something needs work.
After it's finished? Then I'll start working on my queries and synopsis, and start looking for an agent. And... work on the next novel in progress!
Shell
Monday, February 2, 2009
Red Hot Writers
Dear Shell,
Tonight was the first meeting of the Flint Red Hot Writers. We gathered at a bookstore that appears to be a central location for most of the members of the group. We set up in the cafe of the bookstore, which unfortunately serves Starbucks coffee, but they have other drinks as well so I will most likely stick with those in the future.
Our first meeting went well. We had four of the members show up. We got the introductions out of the way, discussed how we felt the meeting should go, then got right into critiques for two of the members. Both stories were well written and captured our attention.
I did not have anything to share for our first meeting. Well, technically I could have shared. I had one copy of the first 12 pages of my novel. But due to printer issues at home and printer ink issues at my mom's, I was unable to make enough copies to share with the whole group. I will have copies for our next meeting though.
It felt great to get out and meet new people who have a common interest. I came home and felt very upbeat and ready to jump into writing more on my novel tonight.
Get the red pen ready,
Shell
Tonight was the first meeting of the Flint Red Hot Writers. We gathered at a bookstore that appears to be a central location for most of the members of the group. We set up in the cafe of the bookstore, which unfortunately serves Starbucks coffee, but they have other drinks as well so I will most likely stick with those in the future.
Our first meeting went well. We had four of the members show up. We got the introductions out of the way, discussed how we felt the meeting should go, then got right into critiques for two of the members. Both stories were well written and captured our attention.
I did not have anything to share for our first meeting. Well, technically I could have shared. I had one copy of the first 12 pages of my novel. But due to printer issues at home and printer ink issues at my mom's, I was unable to make enough copies to share with the whole group. I will have copies for our next meeting though.
It felt great to get out and meet new people who have a common interest. I came home and felt very upbeat and ready to jump into writing more on my novel tonight.
Get the red pen ready,
Shell
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Time For Another Excerpt - Dragon Eye
Dear Shell,
This excerpt is near the end of the book, at the start of the final battle.
“So we meet again.” her voice was musical, almost mesmerizing. She crossed over to the doorway leading to the parlor. “Come, relax.” She beckoned them to follow her.
Nyissa glanced at Airisti, then Dakther, before turning to follow the sorceress into the parlor.
“Sit.” The command came from the shadows near the hearth.
Nyissa crossed the parlor and sat carefully on the edge of a chair. Dakther and Airisti stood to each side of the chair, their gazes fixed on Bessiyra.
“I have been struggling with the decision of how to deal with the three of you. I cannot let my brother get his hands on you. That is his wish, you know, to have control of you and the dragon.” her eyes skimmed over Nyissa’s face, flitted to Airisti then back. “Only he is under the impression that Airisti is the dragon.”
Airisti sighed, “All of this is fascinating, really it is, but all the same we are tired of dealing with your childish games, Bess.”
Bessiyra’s gray eyes grew stormy, “My name is Bessiyra, not Bess. Not that you’ll need to remember it. I have decided your fate. You die tonight.”
“I don’t think so, Bess.” Airisti sneered. “It is the three of us against you. Nyissa has accepted the dragon, she is stronger than you could even imagine.”
A slight smile appeared on Bessiyra’s face as she rose from her seat. “Three against one? Yes, that would be disturbing odds for me. But lucky for me, I am not alone.” She waved her hand, the enchantment and the fortress faded away.
Nyissa felt the chair beneath her moving and shifting, it became a cold, hard boulder beneath her. The rasp of swords being drawn from their scabbards could be heard all around them.
Shell
Monday, January 5, 2009
It's Time to Party like it's 2009
Dear Shell,
The calendar officially flipped over to 2009 a few days ago. In the moments before the calendar flipped over, many promises were made across the nation. People promising to change, to do better, to be a better person in the new year. Diets were outlined or refined with the promise of 'this year I'll stick with it'. Goals were set, some almost impossible but still set down on paper or in thoughts filled with hope.
It is January 5th now, and I know, without knowing all those people, that most of those goals have already been set aside as impossible "what was i thinking", diets have already been blown "its still the holidays... i can have that", and people haven't really changed much in 5 days.
The past year though, 2008, was a year of many changes. Some good, some bad. A lot of bad actually.
There were many celebrity deaths: some were self-inflicted, some were accidents, some were unexpected, and some were just plain old age. We lost Heath Ledger, George Carlin, Bernie Mac, Beverly Garland, and many others.
The economy kept getting worse and worse. Companies cut down on the number of employees, creating a smaller and smaller workforce. Other companies just completely shut their doors and said "sorry, we don't exist anymore". Unemployment rates continue rising, foreclosures continue rising. The last time I checked, Michigan still had the highest unemployment rate in the nation, over 9%. That's what we get for being a mostly automotive-based state in a time where people don't have jobs to afford the cars that are built here.
2009 brings in a new president as well: President Barack Obama. In the future, when our kids and grandkids are learning history and about their past presidents, one of the things that'll stand out about Obama is that he's our nation's first black president. Honestly, I don't care what color he is, I care about what he can do for our nation. I hope when my kids or grandkids are learning about him, they learn about more than just the color of his skin. I hope that they learn about the good that we all hope he'll do for our nation. I hope that he can help our nation turn around, get back on it's feet, get our people back to work. That's what I'd like to see him known as in the future, the President who cared and helped our nation back on its feet.
Well this post went in a different direction than I had planned, so I will leave it here for now and will post what I had intended to post at a later date.
Shell
The calendar officially flipped over to 2009 a few days ago. In the moments before the calendar flipped over, many promises were made across the nation. People promising to change, to do better, to be a better person in the new year. Diets were outlined or refined with the promise of 'this year I'll stick with it'. Goals were set, some almost impossible but still set down on paper or in thoughts filled with hope.
It is January 5th now, and I know, without knowing all those people, that most of those goals have already been set aside as impossible "what was i thinking", diets have already been blown "its still the holidays... i can have that", and people haven't really changed much in 5 days.
The past year though, 2008, was a year of many changes. Some good, some bad. A lot of bad actually.
There were many celebrity deaths: some were self-inflicted, some were accidents, some were unexpected, and some were just plain old age. We lost Heath Ledger, George Carlin, Bernie Mac, Beverly Garland, and many others.
The economy kept getting worse and worse. Companies cut down on the number of employees, creating a smaller and smaller workforce. Other companies just completely shut their doors and said "sorry, we don't exist anymore". Unemployment rates continue rising, foreclosures continue rising. The last time I checked, Michigan still had the highest unemployment rate in the nation, over 9%. That's what we get for being a mostly automotive-based state in a time where people don't have jobs to afford the cars that are built here.
2009 brings in a new president as well: President Barack Obama. In the future, when our kids and grandkids are learning history and about their past presidents, one of the things that'll stand out about Obama is that he's our nation's first black president. Honestly, I don't care what color he is, I care about what he can do for our nation. I hope when my kids or grandkids are learning about him, they learn about more than just the color of his skin. I hope that they learn about the good that we all hope he'll do for our nation. I hope that he can help our nation turn around, get back on it's feet, get our people back to work. That's what I'd like to see him known as in the future, the President who cared and helped our nation back on its feet.
Well this post went in a different direction than I had planned, so I will leave it here for now and will post what I had intended to post at a later date.
Shell
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