It's a dark and scary world out there, people. Every to-do list I came across seemed endless, and each time I thought something was done, it really wasn't.

So I stayed away in order to buy some more time.

What ended up happening was I replaced the blogging time with other non-working-on-the-novel stuff. Ugh. Just when I thought my plans to be productive were gonna work, I ended up doing a lot of work for other people. ;)

So, while the bank is happy, my WIP progress is not. Le sigh.

And I feel as though I've missed out on a lot of things because I haven't been checking out all of my fave blogs out there. I'll be dropping by soon, I promise. But first, there's something I have to do:

GO TO NYC!

Squee! My mom and I are taking a girls' trip to NYC to shop, do some sightseeing, shop, check out a show, shop, visit a museum, shop, enjoy a restaurant or two, and then shop some more. This will be my third trip down (and #2 for Mom), so we're pretty excited.

Michelle asked if I was going to go over and see her agent while I was there (I met him on trip #1, which was when I went with her and he took us both out for lunch). Then I thought he might find it kind of creepy that I stopped by to say hello, right around noon -- and brought Mom with me. LOL

Hey, if we're feeling daring after shopping at Canal Street, we just might swing by. ;)

Then I wondered how many unpublished (or even published) authors go literally knocking on an literary agent's door, looking for representation? (Say that five times.)

I've yet to come across (feel free to correct me) submissions guidelines that state "in-person submissions will not be accepted." So I could up the ante with a submission and the stamp of approval of my mother. Even though I haven't let her read the book yet. Details, details.

Oh yeah, that would put me at the top of that agent's slush pile.

Don't get me wrong: my mom is an awesome woman who has supernatural powers when it comes to being an artist, finding a bargain, putting a wardrobe together and decorating, but I don't think a literary agent is gonna give two figs if I show up on their doorstep armed with her and my manuscript.

Then again, they may take one look at her incredible outfit and offer her representation on a fabulous book on fashion.

Yeah, maybe I'll forgo the drop-ins on this trip.

So,I'm back, but off again until next weekend. Have fun!

Labels: adventures, writing

The month of September has presented me with a full harvest of opportunities, so I am taking advantage of as many of them as possible by limiting any non-writing activities like TV watching, bathing, grocery shopping and, you guessed it, blogging regularly.

Labels: blahs, writing

In my Internet meanderings (hey, it was a holiday weekend, I'm allowed!), I came across this interesting bit of news:

According to Dr Dirk Glaesser, Head of Risk and Emergency Planning at the UN
World Tourism Organisation - 20 people die every year because of shark attacks.
At the same time, an unnoticed fact goes by, that 150 people die every year as a
result of coconuts falling on their head! Which one is the most dangerous?
Coconuts are the symbol of holidays whereas Sharks are the fear of every beach
holiday. Ian Yeoman, Trends Analyst writes that many destinations take sensible precautions when it comes to sharks, i.e., safety notices, patrols and bylaws, whereas no one bothers about coconuts as they are not perceived to be a danger to tourists or tourism. It’s all about risk and perception.

You can find the rest of the article here: http://str.hsyndicate.com/news/index.html

I can just imagine it now: DH and I walking hand-in-hand along the beach, thinking that we're in paradise, when a cabana boy comes running out of the bar area screaming: "Coconuts!"

Would we run? Probably not. Knowing our luck, we'd stop in our tracks and look up. ;)

But I liked what Mr. Yeoman said about risk and perception. I think that's what gets a lot of writers (and readers) messed up when it comes to that whole goal. motivation and conflict thing.

As writers, it's our job to ensure that a reader understands that while something may not appear to be that frightening/important/challenging in the today's world, it's frightening/important/challenging for the character living in the world we created. It's about belief. Most readers are looking to be drawn into a world where things may not be as they expect them to be, but few will accept a world where they spend more time shaking their heads than rooting for your characters.

So, even though statistics claim that coconuts are more dangerous, I think I'm better off sticking to having a shark as the scary element waiting for the unaware tourists to dip their toes in the ocean.

Dah-dum-dah-dum-dah-dum...

Labels: adventures, ideas, writing