I'll be honest; I take on way too much at the best of times and when I have a relatively short to-do list, I panic. Well, maybe panic isn't the right word... the DH has offered "you get all twitchy. bitchy and kind of nuts."

Thanks honey. ;)

But my June is looking kind of doable. I'm not hyperventilating too much, despite the game show appearance and still not having the revisions done on the current WIP. It's the bane of my existence right now -- I may need to seek therapy (chocolate or retail) to get me over this last hump and start submitting it.

Is it possible to have separation anxiety with a Word document?

And as tempted as I am to start working on the shiny next project, I can't. After all this time I owe this WIP a satisfying rewrite, even if my schedule needs an overhaul.

This is the novel that has taught me the perils of writing by the seat of my pants: stuff gets all messed up and ya gotta fix it all in revisions. Ugh.

Now this doesn't mean I'm a convert to the glory of outlines. I don't think I'm ever going to be the type of writer who can plan every last detail before I sit down to write, but I will approach things with some sort of idea about where I'm headed.

It's just that planning doesn't sound all that exciting. I put it up there with laundry and dusting, which I get the DH to do since I'm the luckiest woman alive. ;)

June is the month when big things will happen. Science trivia questions will be answered (hopefully some by me) and the revisions will reach a successful end.

They better or I'm gonna get all twitchy, bitchy and kind of nuts.

How about you? Do you have a secret for finally getting that project done?

Labels: blahs, goals, writing

The good news: I'm going to be on a science-based quiz show!

The bad news: I'm going to be on a science-based quiz show. LOL

Can you freaking believe it? I, Bonnie Staring, a woman who figured out a way to stop taking science classes after Grade 9, will be a contestant on Discovery Channel Canada's new game show, Qubit.

Hooray!

As I've said many a time before, it can happen people, all ya gotta do is:

1) Show up,
2) Be enthusiastic,

AND

3) Know what color a polar bear's skin is (it's black, by the way).

Of course, they may not broadcast my episode once they tape it, for fear of giving all things scientific a bad name. As with the written test I had to do before qualifying for the "on-camera" round, there are some questions that made me scratch my head and wish I was on So You Think You Can Dance.

Not dancing, mind you, and probably not thinking either. ;)

Turns out there are some scientific concepts that aren't covered in everyday life. Well, maybe they are, but I just don't know the correct terms to describe them. ;)

So now, while I'm putting the finishing touches (finally) on my current novel, I'll also have to sharpen my science skills. Or at least find them.

Can an aspiring romance author win big on a science-based game show? Stay tuned!

Labels: adventures, fun, goals

Forgive me, but it's the first really, really warm day in Toronto -- and that means young women everywhere have forgotten to put on anything.

Labels: adventures, blahs

I just have to share this if you haven't been to the Miss Snark's First Victim blog lately:



It's hilarious but true. For more details (and to order the book), head on over to http://authoresspress.com/

So I guess I should admit that I'm totally procrastinating right now, but at least I know why: I'm afraid to let my WIP go.

This YA novel and I have spent way too much time together, sorting through the details, drama and debilitating typos. ;) The WIP, started way too long ago, needs to be released into the world so that I may focus on the next egg in the novel nest.

Sigh. It's like letting go of those concert shirts that don't fit anymore.

But I have to get to the end and mean it. No more second-guessing or noodling. I'll get to the end very, very soon. And then start the process all over again with the next WIP.

And I'll find the joy in it all somehow. Perhaps through chocolate...

Labels: fun, ideas, writing

This has been a very exciting day for me for two reasons.

The Golden Heart
For those of you not writing romance novels, the Romance Writers of America's Golden Heart novel writing contest is like the pinnacle for all of us unpublished people. To be nominated is an honour and to receive your non-finalling score sheet is an excruciating experience sometimes.

So when I spotted the envelope with a Texas return address, I wondered if I should just stick it in a drawer or let the cat play with it. Not that I haven't done well with previous entries; I mean, I haven't finalled or anything like that, but there's the odd lowball score that makes me kind of cranky.

And, with the way I've been feeling about the current WIP that I'm revising -- which is also the one I entered into the Golden Heart -- I was afraid to know what five anonymous judges thought.

Turns out they liked it. Even with the way it was before (but that's probably because they only saw the first two chapters and not the rotten ending). With a 39/45, my entry was in the top quarter! Squee!

This is also the highest GH score I've received to date, so I'm verra, verra happy.

Qubit
Remember that science game show I did a written test for earlier this week? Well... I qualified to move on to the next round: the videotaped audition.

Can you freaking believe it? Not only did I pass the test, they think I did well enough to try me out on camera! And we all know how shy I am when it comes to being on TV. LOL

Oh. Mah. Gawd. Never in a million years would I have guessed that I had science smarts. The weird thing was how confident I felt after completing the written test, which involved answering 50 questions about, you guessed it, scientific stuff.

There was one question that I did not understand at all. I'm hoping there won't be any like that for the next audition, but odds are they're gonna ask me that one again with the cameras rolling. ;)

So if everyone could send happy science thoughts my way, I'd really appreciate it!

Maybe I should go see the Star Trek movie to help beef up mah brainz.

Labels: adventures, goals, RWA, writing

Instead of editing the dreaded WIP, I've been editing the dandelions in the yard.

It's a pretty good workout, actually, getting down on my hands and knees and taking out all my frustrations on those pesky little (and sometimes huge) weeds.

This afternoon, as I moved to the front yard to do battle, my neighbour and her five-year-old son Lukas ("It's snowing!") pulled into their driveway.

Lukas scrambled out of the car and asked what I was doing.

"Pulling out the dandelions," I said.

"Why?"

I decided to go for the most honest answer: "Because I don't like them."

"Why?" Don't you just love five-year-olds?

"Because dandelions are yellow and the grass is green. I want everything to be green."

He smiled and looked up at me. "Like a forest?"

"Exactly!" I quickly agreed, delighted that I was able to stop the whys so rapidly.

The next thing I knew, Lukas decided to "help" by yanking off all the dandelion flowers, leaving the leaves and roots behind.

He gleefully kept on yanking a few up, showing them to my and dropping them into my weed bucket. His mother apologized and made a move to stop him, but I told her that was okay.

It was too much fun watching him hard at work to ask him to stop. Once he was done, I suggested he go over to his own lawn to "fix those dandelions."

Sure, it took me longer to find all the weeds after his help, but watching him take delight in getting rid of those pesky yellow yard killers was well worth it.

Tomorrow I'll ask him for help with the clover in the side garden. LOL

Labels: adventures, fun

The WIP that should be done by now and I are having some issues. Not only should it be done (yeah, define "done" LOL), but it should be simmering with a nice, tidy synopsis, preparing for the great agent hunt.

But it's not. And there's no stinkin' synopsis yet. The "THE END" is a little further off than I realized. Like about five gazillion miles.

Or I could just be overthinking things, which tends to happen when I spend way too much time alone with Zaphod the kitten.

If only the little guy could edit for me, it would be so much easier. ;)

So I took a Hugh Jackman break today (blame Michelle) and went to see X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

Yes, I went and paid money to see a film I could have downloaded from the Internet. Forgive me for being someone who enjoys sitting in a theatre (well, one that's free of people on cellphones) and eating bad-for-you butter-covered popcorn while watching bare-chested men prance about onscreen.

Okay, there wasn't all that much prancing, but it was nice seeing Hugh in front of a backdrop of exploding things. It really brought out his features.

And, as someone not too familiar with all things X-Men, I enjoyed it. It did feel kind of long, though, and Hugh's hair was the exact same length throughout the film, even when he was in the military.

Yeah, that bugged me. It really shouldn't have, but it was on my mind as I watched Hugh slice and dice some enemies. Le sigh.

While the film distracted me from my evil crankiness of doom, I still had to come back home to the WIP. An intervention is scheduled for tomorrow. A trip to the Dr. Phil house may be in order. I'll keep you posted.

How about you? Did you find Hugh's hair distracting in X-Men Origins: Wolverine?

Labels: adventures, ideas, kitten, writing

Oh. Mah. Gawd. There I was, minding mah own bizness when I noticed that a) there wasn't any snow on the ground; b) the dandelions were taking over; and c) I haven't needed to wear my fuzzy bunny slippers for at least three days.

Must be spring. For real. That means summer is gonna be here next week. ;)

And it's a perfect time for a goal check, if you ask me. So let's see where I'm at:

1. Stay active
STATUS: Oh crap.
Oh dear. I kind of fell off the treadmill and into a tub of ready-to-spread frosting on this one. It's amazing how one missed trip to the gym can turn into a week. Le sigh. Okay, back on the horse for me.

2. Finish two more books
STATUS: Halfway there!
Whoo hoo! I am mere inches away from a big fat "THE END" on my first novel for 2009, and totally ready to start on my second novel for 2009 in about a week.

3. Land a literary agent
STATUS: Not yet.
Must write "THE END" (and rework the stinky synopsis) before I start submitting the novel mentioned above.

4. Do it already
STATUS: On it!
List of things in progress are: auditioning for a game show, going hot-air ballooning, seeing Aerosmith in September (one of my life's to-dos as I am a babe of the '80s) and a bunch of other things. Hooray!

5. Give back
STATUS: On it! (see Goal #6)

6. Declutter
STATUS: On it! (in tandem with Goal #5)
DH and I have gone through boxes upon boxes of items and have donated them to a women's shelter, to Goodwill and to toy drives. The best was donating some items to a neighbourhood school to be used as part of their raffle to raise funds for their breakfast and after school programs. Of course, if I buy some tickets the odds are I'll win my own stuff back. LOL

7. Quality time
STATUS: Needs work
I miss my peeps. And I make it way too hard to gather with others. Le sigh. Must stop using the WIP as an excuse to stay cooped up in the house with the cat.

8. Time off
STATUS: In progress
The one-day off a week is going pretty well if we don't include March and April. ;)

9. Let go
STATUS: In progress
Hey, I can't get it all done in five months. There's way too much to cling to!

10. Laugh more
STATUS: On it!
Thanks to some great books, truly tasteless TV shows and great people I hang with (but not often enough), my laughter quotient is at an excellent level.

And I don't think I'm doing too bad, considering that some of these tasks are totally going against age-old habits of yore.

How about you? How are your goals for 2009 holding up?

Labels: adventures, goals, writing