Pole Dancing

So, my oldest daughter just asked me if she could take Pole Dancing lessons.

She's 10.

Let's just say that my mouth couldn't have opened any wider if I was getting a cavity filled.

After I collected myself, I asked her what the heck she was talking about (OMGHOWDOESSHEKNOWWHATTHATEVENIS????).

Turns out she saw a Groupon coupon for 1/2 off Pole Dancing lessons when looking over my shoulder at my email. She thought it sounded great, because pole dancing is like the jig right? Like the dancing Polish people do?

Let's just say it took me about ten minutes before I could breathe between fits of laughter.

sigh...

Writing for Dummies

My muse just up and went.  Left.  Gone.  Hit the Road. 

I think we dun broke up. Surely she would have left a note right?  Something?

I'm not sure whether to submit a missing "persons" report or just wait it out.  I know she'll come back.  Right?

I pick up my laptop and just look at the screen. It's kind of pathetic.

I spend hours listening to the music we used to write to. Sometimes, I go back and torture myself and read what we wrote when we were still together. 

I'm so desperate I went down into the dark alleyways to get help.  Writing prompts and spew writing (ya know, where you just write to write in hopes that at some point the words will work themselves into something worth reading?).  I know, I know.  Amateur.  I just needed a fix.  Something to get me through until she comes back.

So far, no muse.  She hasn't even called.  

I'm left questioning myself and my past.  Was what we had even real at all?   

Told ya.  Pathetic.

Hello.

I'll tell ya, this business of writing is funny.  Not so much ha ha funny as strange funny, but ya get my point.  Once I wrapped up Normal and started querying (and I'm doing a terrible job at that... I haven't even sent out 12 queries in 9 months.  LAME!), I've been bitten by the Shiny New Idea bug (SNI) over and over and over.  I have noted, fleshed out and even gotten 10-20K in on some of these ideas (I think I've had at least a dozen since October?), but none of them have really tempted me to write.

 Partly the problem is these inspirations come to me in a flash, a character or of a scene, but not the stuff of a full out novel.  

So, although the inspiration well was dry, I've been forcing myself to write.  I've also been doing a lot of reading.

Ghosties is close to my heart, but I'm torn because I have two roads in front of me, two separate paths I really like for it - but once I decide on one and start writing that way, I'm suddenly convinced the other path is THE path.  I think I'm going to write both and see which one I end up loving.  I admit it's also hard to write because I'm a giant scaredy-cat, and once I get into some of these scenes, they stay with me and freak me out.  That's good though, right?

Then, my hockey chick novel, which originally was 3 SNI's that combined into one, took a crazy turn and has finally captured my full attention.  The characters are rounding themselves out and speaking to me, sometimes even shouting.  Mac (the MC) had a huge secret she finally revealed to me, and now I have hope for her - and her story.  There is a playlist, there is a cast... and it's moving along.  I just hit 12K on it, and have very, very loosely outlined the rest of the novel - so there is somewhere to go.

So, here I am finally settled into a manuscript.  Enjoying writing it.  Getting wordage in.

Low and behold it hit me this morning after a crazy dream, a new SNI.  An epic story - with an actual plot attached.  The characters are so real to me that I instantly was able to search out actors that fit the physical descriptions.  It's full of action and romance so I'm loving it.  I wrote a four page outline (I'm still a pantser, I promise, but I had to get it out of my head and on paper while I had it!!) and then about 2K! 

So.... I crank up The Clash and force myself to decide... "Should I Stay or Should I Go?"