I can't believe it's almost Thanksgiving. The year has whipped by and I can't say I have much to show for it. No new books, though I'm still working. A battle with depression that, I think, I'm winning. Still, I have so much to be thankful for. It helps to remind myself of this.
The youngest girl in the pic is one of the biggest thankfuls I have in my life. My sister is my best friend, confidant, partner in crime, travel buddy, secret keeper, crafting companion, and someone I can't imagine being without. I can tell you when the above pic was taken I wasn't feeling any of it. LOL!
My next thankful is my sweet little kitten, Maeve. She's so soft and so cuddly and makes even crappy days better.
I'm so thankful for my fabulous friends!!! No matter if you live near or far, if I see you often or hardly at all, you are so much in my heart and thoughts.
Wine!!!! I don't think I need to say more. Do I???
Coffee and/or tea!! I think these 2 beverages have probably saved lives on some days. Seriously, I'm truly thankful for the readers who buy my books. Without you I'd be writing in a vacuum and that's no fun. I'm thankful for the ability to write. And I'm really thankful for other writers who produce such amazing reads. I'm thankful for music, which I love so much (other than country, I don't like country music). And art and drama and dance, none of which I can do, but I enjoy experiencing. I'm also thankful for the ability to be thankful. To understand where and how my life is blessed and to appreciate those blessings. Now, run and check out what some of my amazing friends are thankful for. Jessica Bronwyn Kris Kellie Jessica D Paige Kayleigh If you celebrate, have an awesome Thanksgiving and, if not, just have an amazing week. See you next Wednesday!! -- Gwen
I love the topic of this post, since I could probably list the mistakes from every book I've ever written. Thankfully, I don't make the same mistakes, but new fabulous ones each time. Oh wait, need to share Wednesday Male Hotness
Aaaaaand you're welcome. Okay, focus people, I'm down here. Anyway, mistakes. My first pubbed book was called Quest for Fire and I really loved the story. And, when looking back, parts of it are really good. But a book can't stand on parts alone. So here's the mistakes I made: First, the book was written as a entertainment piece for me and a friend while we were slogging through our teaching Master's program. It was never intended to be a book for mass consumption. So there's a number of inside jokes and story plots that just don't make sense. I was such a newbie author I never considered any of this. Now I write with the express purpose of putting the story out there. Also, I read and reread what I've written over and over again to make sure the story holds up. I also have fabulous editors I trust, which helps immensely. I listen to them and take the advice they give. Next, one of the character's wasn't very likable unless you understood the inside jokes. Huge problem. What made it worse was the fact of how I chose to craft the story. Some of her actions and decisions just didn't make sense. I chalk that up to the fact that the book wasn't meant to be read by anyone, plus school was stressful. The stress and anger came out in Abby's actions. Yeah, I've learned not to use my character's as a release valve.
I think I'm more confident in my writing and my voice. I also know where I make mistakes and where I need to improve. I have a document where I keep all the repetitious words and phrases I use. When I think the MS is ready to go to the editor, I pull it out and go through the book one more time. Often I catch myself on the first draft now so I can avoid, but never entirely. Thankfully, I have the rights to the book back so I plan on fixing, updating and releasing it sometime in the future. I still love the story and the characters and I know the book will be better for all the changes I plan on making. Now run over and check out what the other Bloggers have to say on the topic. Jessica Bronwyn Kris Jessica D Kayleigh See y'all next week! -- Gwen
Our fab topic this week is all about our fave people on social media. Yeah, anyplace that will net me Wednesday Male Hotness I am all for.
For the most part, I don't follow a huge bunch of people on social media. I figure the more I goof off, the more time is sucked away from writing, but I do have a few people that I love to catch up on. These are in no particular order, so here we go. 1. The Try Guys from Buzzfeed - if you've never viewed their videos you are so missing out. The four men are hilarious and will try just about anything from sexy Halloween costumes to pregnancy to survival. I usually find myself laughing out loud as I sit in my room.
2. Matthew Santoro - he has his own YouTube channel and does "educational" videos that usually end up making me laugh. His content is varied and can cover anything from the strangest deep sea creatures to the 10 most deadly plants on Earth. Whatever the subject there's usually 10 and he counts the down.
3. The Inked Boys - I follow them on Facebook and on their site. The pic above will give you an indication of why they're in my fb feed. LOL! Yep, hot mens pics. Need I say more?? 4. Facebook Peeps - I love keeping up with all my friends on facebook. Most of them live far away from me so social media is the only place I can keep in contact. You will find the links to most my peeps at the bottom of this page since they're also part of the Random Bloggers. These are the same people I follow on Twitter too. 5. Jenny Trout - I love this woman. First, she's amazing and so funny, plus I really enjoy how she puts words together. If you've neither read her blog or her books you are missing out. I suggest you heard on over and check her out. Yep, that's about it. I don't have a ton of places or spaces that I go to other than YouTube. I watch music videos there or look up DIY projects. I have an Instagram account, but don't do tons with it. I know I should, but yeah . . . I don't. Maybe the other bloggers have better stuff, I bet they do. They're way cool.
