On Monday, I won tickets to go see Sara Evans in concert. I phoned into the local radio station and won tickets, allowing me to go to a concert last night. Now, I'm not normally a stingy person, but I certainly wouldn't have paid $25 to go see a concert--that's just not what I'd choose to spend my money on. Anyway, because I won the tickets, I went to the location of the concert, the Rockingham County Fair. After a deluge, and the concert being postponed for 45 minutes for fear of the audience being struck by lighting while sitting on metal stands listening to country music, the actual performance began. I was impressed, though glad I didn't spend $25 to hear an hour of singing which I could have heard on a cd and not gone quite as deaf.
Anyway, the point of this ramble is that, as an author, one of the best things you can do to grab the attention of readers, and web-surfers alike, is to offer free things, give-aways, contests, etc. on your website. Since I don't have much published, I have little to no web traffic. However, once things start rolling, I will be giving away books, etc. because it's just nice to give back to the people who support you.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Overwhelmed
I've been at the new job exactly four days and I am feeling so overwhelmed, my stomach is acting up again. You know: the rumbles that act like a fault line in your body, the rumbles that make the voice in your head go "Oh, hmmm...where's the closest bathroom? Like, now?"
Yeah, that's been me for the past two days. Luckily I have learned breathing techniques that keep me safe until I get home (usually). Granted, I have to drive faster than four miles over the speed limit, which could be life-threatening, but, I do what has to be done.
I mean, why am I so nervous in the first place? I've taught for three years. I've taught MIDDLE SCHOOLERS for three years. High school students CAN'T be worse than middle schoolers--can they?
I think the biggest problem I have is just the material: getting comfortable with it, knowing what I'm doing, where I'm going, so I don't have to stop and interrupt a class when I have the earthquake in my stomach that needs to be dealt with and I can't find the bathroom.
I wonder if this is how Stephenie Meyer feels like before she faces a roomful of fans. All these people are here to see moi? Gulp.
So tomorrow through Monday evening I have to get myself under control. I have to find some confidence, I have to find some relaxation techniques. I have to get my head in the game without getting the rest of my body in the game, too!
Ugh. New jobs are stressful!
Yeah, that's been me for the past two days. Luckily I have learned breathing techniques that keep me safe until I get home (usually). Granted, I have to drive faster than four miles over the speed limit, which could be life-threatening, but, I do what has to be done.
I mean, why am I so nervous in the first place? I've taught for three years. I've taught MIDDLE SCHOOLERS for three years. High school students CAN'T be worse than middle schoolers--can they?
I think the biggest problem I have is just the material: getting comfortable with it, knowing what I'm doing, where I'm going, so I don't have to stop and interrupt a class when I have the earthquake in my stomach that needs to be dealt with and I can't find the bathroom.
I wonder if this is how Stephenie Meyer feels like before she faces a roomful of fans. All these people are here to see moi? Gulp.
So tomorrow through Monday evening I have to get myself under control. I have to find some confidence, I have to find some relaxation techniques. I have to get my head in the game without getting the rest of my body in the game, too!
Ugh. New jobs are stressful!
Monday, August 11, 2008
Phew!
I tell you what, starting back up at school, even without the kids there, is a tiring, stressful time. Not to mention the diet, the teething 1 year old, the constant uncleanliness of my house, the tiles that need doing, the garden that needs weeding, the mulch that needs spreading, the rain barrels that need finishing.
Where, oh where, am I to find the energy to write?
Oh, I won tickets to go see Sara Evans in concert on Wednesday! I'm so excited!
And, with that, I'm leaving my suds in the bucket and my clothes hanging out on the line.
Goodnight!
Where, oh where, am I to find the energy to write?
Oh, I won tickets to go see Sara Evans in concert on Wednesday! I'm so excited!
And, with that, I'm leaving my suds in the bucket and my clothes hanging out on the line.
Goodnight!
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Procrastination
Wow, I've only been doing the daily blog for three days and I've already missed one. I'm such a slacker. I find that when I set myself up to do something I find whatever I can in the world to do but that. I've really got to work on that. I'm hoping getting back into school will give me the structure I need to follow through with things, especially my writing. I should have Gemma almost finished and yet, here I am, mid-August with the same amount typed that I had at the middle of July. It's quite disappointing. Never going to get anything published this way! Arg.
I've just got to get off my butt, stop being discouraged my "nice" rejections that say they loved my story and I should have no problem publishing it somewhere else. I need to get back into scouring Writers Market to find places to submit to.
Come on, Joy, get off your ass!
I've just got to get off my butt, stop being discouraged my "nice" rejections that say they loved my story and I should have no problem publishing it somewhere else. I need to get back into scouring Writers Market to find places to submit to.
Come on, Joy, get off your ass!
Friday, August 8, 2008
Breaking Dawn Clarifications
I suppose I should clarify a few things about my Breaking Dawn Comments made yesterday.
While I found major issue with Mrs. Meyer's new book, I could not help but be fascinated, once again, by her writing style and voice. She has such unique voices for each of her characters.
I am one of those people who do not read chapter titles in the table of contents. I like to be surprised as I go through a book, like opening Christmas presents. I don't want hints. I want to be surprised and WHAMed in the face when I'm opening them. The same rule applies to books.
When I got to book two and was in Jacobs head, I was in heaven. He's so feisty, so intense, so raw. My heart broke for him, I wanted him to imprint on someone, or fall in love with someone, or at least shag the devil out of Leah. Meyer's treatment of Jacob in BD was fantastic. I loved his voice, his chapter titles had me laughing out loud at each turn.
Bravo, Mrs. Meyer, on your Jacob treatment. I just had another plot in mind for book four...then again, that's why they pay you the big bucks and I'm stuck writing blogs and procrastinating on my own books...!
While I found major issue with Mrs. Meyer's new book, I could not help but be fascinated, once again, by her writing style and voice. She has such unique voices for each of her characters.
I am one of those people who do not read chapter titles in the table of contents. I like to be surprised as I go through a book, like opening Christmas presents. I don't want hints. I want to be surprised and WHAMed in the face when I'm opening them. The same rule applies to books.
When I got to book two and was in Jacobs head, I was in heaven. He's so feisty, so intense, so raw. My heart broke for him, I wanted him to imprint on someone, or fall in love with someone, or at least shag the devil out of Leah. Meyer's treatment of Jacob in BD was fantastic. I loved his voice, his chapter titles had me laughing out loud at each turn.
Bravo, Mrs. Meyer, on your Jacob treatment. I just had another plot in mind for book four...then again, that's why they pay you the big bucks and I'm stuck writing blogs and procrastinating on my own books...!
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Oops...hello again
Sorry for the rant below without any warning. I've been at the beach, designing my website, starting my new job, tiling my floor, and getting ready for a yard sale on Saturday. To top it all off, I feel highly let down by Stephenie Meyer and am not in a good blogging place right now :) Hopefully things will get better tomorrow and I am vowing to write a blog a day for the next two weeks (we'll see how that goes!).
Thoughts on Breaking Dawn
So, after much anticipation and gnawing of teeth about waiting for my pre-ordered Amazon copy to come in the mail, I finally finished Breaking Dawn. Like millions of others out there, I was/am completely obsessed with the Twilight series. I've read the first three books numerous times, and although I have problems with the dependence Bella seems to have on Edward and Jacob, I got past it. I still remember the power of first loves, and the loves that take hold after a broken heart. I am not so far past my high school years to not understand that pull.
However...however, Breaking Dawn goes beyond what is necessary in terms of the ideals Ms. Meyer puts on relationships and individualism. Bella, although the "girl next door," clumsy, not the most popular, not able to fit in (please--who does in high school?). Not only does Bella not find herself, but even after being married to Edward, having sex with Edward, and having a baby (what? Who the hell saw that coming?), she's still not satisfied. She continues to need Jacob, someone who lied to her, forced himself on her, and who continues to give her ultimatum after ultimatum.
Sure, I figured Bella would become a vampire, but I was really hoping Stephenie Meyer was going to be able to find a way to keep Bella human. I mean, everyone has character flaws--it's what makes us loveable, and it's what keeps life interesting. Perfect people can only be interesting for so long, and Edward had struggled for three books to keep her human. Why does she feel the need to cave in now?
As a writer, I have been told time and time again not to take the "easy" way out. Unfortunately, I feel (and from the fandom, it seems a lot of other people do, too) that Mrs. Meyer did just that. She had so many people (fans, publishers, editors, promotional gurus) to please that she forgot her cardinal rule of writing for herself. If she could have pulled back and looked at the story without the buzz of the publishing world in her ears, maybe she would have heard the ring of falseness coming from her anuscript.
Where's the struggle? Where's the point where someone has to sacrifice something in order to get what they want? Bella's wishes are served up on a silver platter--Edward, sex, baby (still can't get over that), Jacob, Cullens, not having to deal with the Italian vamps again. There is absolutely no struggle at all. She even gets to keep Charlie, one of the determining factors that held her human for so long.
I cannot get over the feeling of letdown I have from reading this book. I was hoping for some struggle, some major life change, but everyone seemed to get what they want without much struggle. There wasn't even any death at all. I thought certainly as I read about the Volturi that someone I had grown to care about in Twilight, New Moon, and Eclipse was going to have to suffer. Like Bella constantly thinks, no one can be that happy. There has to be some balance to her life, and the way Mrs. Meyer serves it up, there is no balance. There is no struggle, no disappointment. I think Mrs. Meyer would have done better to leave it at the trilogy it shone best as.
All is well in the land of Forks. Unfortunately, it doesn't sit well with me as a reader or a writer.
However...however, Breaking Dawn goes beyond what is necessary in terms of the ideals Ms. Meyer puts on relationships and individualism. Bella, although the "girl next door," clumsy, not the most popular, not able to fit in (please--who does in high school?). Not only does Bella not find herself, but even after being married to Edward, having sex with Edward, and having a baby (what? Who the hell saw that coming?), she's still not satisfied. She continues to need Jacob, someone who lied to her, forced himself on her, and who continues to give her ultimatum after ultimatum.
Sure, I figured Bella would become a vampire, but I was really hoping Stephenie Meyer was going to be able to find a way to keep Bella human. I mean, everyone has character flaws--it's what makes us loveable, and it's what keeps life interesting. Perfect people can only be interesting for so long, and Edward had struggled for three books to keep her human. Why does she feel the need to cave in now?
As a writer, I have been told time and time again not to take the "easy" way out. Unfortunately, I feel (and from the fandom, it seems a lot of other people do, too) that Mrs. Meyer did just that. She had so many people (fans, publishers, editors, promotional gurus) to please that she forgot her cardinal rule of writing for herself. If she could have pulled back and looked at the story without the buzz of the publishing world in her ears, maybe she would have heard the ring of falseness coming from her anuscript.
Where's the struggle? Where's the point where someone has to sacrifice something in order to get what they want? Bella's wishes are served up on a silver platter--Edward, sex, baby (still can't get over that), Jacob, Cullens, not having to deal with the Italian vamps again. There is absolutely no struggle at all. She even gets to keep Charlie, one of the determining factors that held her human for so long.
I cannot get over the feeling of letdown I have from reading this book. I was hoping for some struggle, some major life change, but everyone seemed to get what they want without much struggle. There wasn't even any death at all. I thought certainly as I read about the Volturi that someone I had grown to care about in Twilight, New Moon, and Eclipse was going to have to suffer. Like Bella constantly thinks, no one can be that happy. There has to be some balance to her life, and the way Mrs. Meyer serves it up, there is no balance. There is no struggle, no disappointment. I think Mrs. Meyer would have done better to leave it at the trilogy it shone best as.
All is well in the land of Forks. Unfortunately, it doesn't sit well with me as a reader or a writer.
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