It's Wednesday, Right? My ROW80 Update

If you are stopping over from the A to Z Challenge, please click here to see my Kick it or Kiss it = K post. You don't want to miss it.

I want you all to sit down, close your eyes, take a deep breath. Do you feel centered, lighter? Now, say it with me, "It is Wednesday. I did not miss the ROW80 check in."

Now, are we all on the same page?

My kids were off school Monday. So Tuesday was Monday, Wednesday was Tuesday, and today is... you guessed it, Wednesday!

The simplest things can throw me off, so I appreciate my A Round of Words in 80 Days (ROW80) friends going along with me on this.

Speaking of the simplest things, I have a character that does NOT like her name. I've tried several out, and she's not having it. I'm finding it very distracting. I've never had this happen before. For several pages, she was one name. She didn't like it, so I changed it (it helped that she put a new name in my head which I suddenly started using--I had to go back and change it throughout). Then the stinker did it to me again. I'm getting sick of Find and Replace.

I don't want to continue to stop and rename her, but I'm afraid if I don't, I'll have an editing nightmare on my hands later. I once read a book where the character was Molly for half the book and Mollie for the other half. So distracting!

Any suggestions for this character? Should I just put XXXX and see what she wants at the end?!?

My ROW80 Update

My original Round 2 goals can be found here.

Writing: Thanks to my new girlfriend and her inability to embrace a name, I've been at a standstill with a pitiful 158 words since Sunday. 158. Really? I can write more than that in a note to one of my kids!

Editing: I have a 62,000 word editing project due Monday. I'm halfway and making great progress. This is a third edit, so it's moving along. I just don't want to miss anything, as my client is ready to go to print. My other editing project is at the printer, and I can't wait to see the galley copy!

Blogging: I'm loving the Blogging from A to Z Challenge. Please check out some great participants here. I'm particularly proud of my Isn't It Ironic? and Kick It or Kiss It posts this week.

Social Media: Slowly catching up, but I was awful the last couple of days. I hope my A to Z and ROW80 friends will forgive me. I'm going to make it up to you!

Reading: I'm reading faster than I can review. I am one of those people who needs to review a book within one to two days of reading it, or I start to lose details. I still need to review Bird by Bird (Anne Lamott) and Ape House (Sara Gruen). Hope to get to those today, before I forget what I'd like to say.

Exercise: Ran 5 miles today (with hills!) and did strength training on Tuesday. Or at least I think it was Tuesday. Eating is getting better, too. If only I could figure out how to combine an hour-long run and writing or reading. I haven't embraced audio books, maybe I should. Thoughts?

I'm off to encourage others...

Kick it or Kiss it = K: Blogging from A to Z

"It's all about ass, isn't it?

You either kick it... or you lick it."

This is one of my husband's favorite movie quotes. It's from Fat Man and Little Boy, starring Paul Newman.

I haven't seen this particular movie, but I love Paul Newman and will watch anything with him in it. He always struck me as a great guy, who managed a lot of charity work and a long-lived marriage even as Hollywood royalty.

From Wikipedia

I think about this quote often. It's memorable, although a bit off color, and so true. In life, we can either face problems head on and kick it or decide to fight another day and kiss it, play nice.

In the south, we have a saying... Kill 'em with Kindness. I prefer to avoid confrontation and conflict unless the situation warrants. As a mom, I kick it much more than I ever did as a single woman. My children bring out the Mama Bear in me.

Thanks to my Southern upbringing, even when I kick it I prefer you feel like I'm still kissing it. It's hard to fight back when someone is telling you exactly what they think of you with a honey or two thrown in for good measure.

In writing, I relate best to a character who kisses it until he/she can't take it anymore and then they hand out a well-deserved and climactic butt-whooping. As long as the story supports the character's actions, I'm all for strength and owning it. Too much strength too soon or too much taking it for too long, and I'm a frustrated reader. Although I'll admit, if I have to choose between too strong or too weak, I'll go too strong hands down.

We will all face a time in our lives when there's no option but to kick butt and take names. Save it for when you need it. Otherwise, I truly believe you catch more flies with honey.

When is the last time you had to kick it?

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Again, thanks for joining my journey from A to Z. Please visit again for my thoughts on L through Z. Please check out other A to Z participants here.


Also, a special birthday wish to my baby sister and our web and blog master, Dana Silverthorne Newbrough.

You are an amazing sister, friend, and now mom to two beautiful girls. I love you!

Jumbled Up Js = J: Blogging from A to Z

As I was trying to focus on a J post, J words begin jumping into my brain. None of them jumpstarted an entire post, so I broke down my J thoughts into categories.

My Favorite J Name
Jacqueline "Jackie"
It's my oldest daughter's name. My husband is one of four boys, so we assumed we'd have a boy. We loved Jack Bach. It sounded so official and important. When we found out we were having a girl, Jackie made sense.

My Favorite J Activity
Jigsaw puzzles
It's my middle daughter's favorite activity, and one of the few things she'll sit down to do.

My Favorite J Saying
"Naked as Jaybird"
Growing up, my dad always said this. When I was young, I asked him why anyone would walk across the street naked. I was confusing this with jaywalking.

My Favorite J Destination
Jamaica
My husband and I honeymooned there in 1995.

My Favorite J Pastime
Journaling
I think everyone should do it! Even if you are not a writer, it is free therapy and a way to let it all go.

My Favorite J Author
Judy Blume
Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret was an important part of my teenage years. I could "ask" questions of Judy Blume that I couldn't ask my parents.

My Favorite J Disney Character
Jasmine (Aladdin)
Our girls named our dog after Jasmine. It quickly became Jazzy (my favorite J dog of course).

A Few Other J Faves
Jello over Jam
Jesus' teachings
Joy, Jubilation (especially Jumping for Joy)
Jewelry
Junie B. Jones (my kids made me put it!)

J Things I Could Do Without
Jello
Jelly Beans
Jagermeister (there's a long college story to support this)
Jealousy
Jiggly (when it can't be contained by shapewear)
Juice
Judgement

A J Thing I've Never Done
Jury Duty
I move so much that they've never found me. Of course, now they will.

What's your favorite and least favorite J?

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I'm glad you joined the continuing saga of my Blogging from A to Z Challenge. I hope you'll be back for K through Z.

For other great A to Z posts, please visit here.

Isn't it Ironic? = I: Blogging from A to Z

It's like rain on your wedding day.

It's a free ride when you've already paid.

It's the good advice that you just didn't take.

Who would've thought... it figures.

Alanis Morissette

From Wikipedia

It's like a character in the biggest scene

Refusing to do what I need.

It's a plot line that comes to me
When I'm buying groceries.
Of course when I don't have... paper.

It's like replacing something you've lost 
and finding it that very same day.
It's finally having time to write all I want.
And no words will come... whatever.

Or, more specific to A to Z...

It's like finding Elegance during G
and having many ideas for Z during B.
It's the perfect Muse
When we are all in the U's.
A to Z, next time won't you sing with me.

Okay, a poet (or songwriter) I am not. But I do find irony fascinating. Rarely does a day go by without it.

On a more personal note, my husband and I tried for 18 months to have our first child. We didn't worry about getting pregnant again easily. So when she turned one, guess what our gift was? A positive pregnancy test for number two. Isn't it ironic?

We also thought there was a bit of irony in the title of our book, Depression Cookies. I have a sugar addiction, so there's nothing depressing about cookies to me.

From Wikipedia: a situation is often said to be ironic if the actions taken have an effect exactly opposite from what was intended.

However, the more I looked into defining irony, the more confusing the concept became. Some people take their irony very seriously.

Wouldn't it be ironic if I wrote a whole post misusing irony?!

Harrowing Headaches = H: Blogging from A to Z

Life contains so many harrowing headaches, but the ones I'm referring to today involve writing. I love to write, to see a string of words come together to make a story, but sometimes there's a bumpy road on the way to a book's destination.

Source

Some Writing Headaches

Beginning/Ending
Many will argue which is the bigger headache. But both are important and bring pressure. You need to grab readers quickly, but you also don't want to leave them with a bad taste in their mouths.

Characters With a Mind of Their Own
I try to bend characters to my story and my will. Every now and again, a character will have no part of it. Then you face two roads: force a showdown or see where they lead. (I try to follow most of the time.)

Genre Classification
Do you cross genres or stay true to one? I tend to avoid labels, so this one is particularly tough for me. For more of my thoughts on this, read my I am Woman Hear Me Road, for Shoes? post.

Editing
For my G post, I discussed the importance of grammar and editing. But when do you stop? I truly believe you can edit from now until the end of time. At some point you have to own it and let it go.

Summary/Blurb
I loved the premise of our novel, Depression Cookies. In fact, I could talk about it all day long and in great detail. But I found narrowing down 543 pages into a reader-catching blurb near to impossible.

Cover
Your only shot at that coveted first impression. Although I do wonder if the cover's power is slightly diminished by Amazon. It was one thing when people browsed covers in a bookstore, not so sure people browse covers online. Am I wrong?

Dreaded Writer's Block
Or what I like to call... Life. Sometimes, no matter how great the idea or the passion, the words will not come.

At least these headaches lead to a better product in most cases, so maybe the post should have been called Helpful Headaches. Of course, the only way to ease the headache is to face it head on, no pun intended.

What headaches do you find in the writing process?

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I hope you'll be back for some more Blogging from A to Z fun. Tomorrow is Isn't It Ironic? = I.

Family & Writing Time: ROW80 Check In

Happy Easter! I've enjoyed several days of family time, and I'm ready to focus on writing and other projects. (I shouldn't get too amped up, though, since my girls are home tomorrow.)

This past week was spring break, and we were in Arizona with my mom and dad until late Thursday night.

Bachs and Mom & Dad in Sedona, Arizona

My 11-year-old (12 next month!) daughter read my book, Depression Cookies, over break. She also read Melissa Luznicky Garrett's The Spirit Keeper. She asked if she could review both, to be like her Mom. I was touched and had such a great time helping her with her review of The Spirit Keeper here. Next up is my book. She's already told me she liked it, so I'm not too nervous.

I hope everyone was surrounded by loved ones this Easter!

My ROW80 Update

Writing: I'm shocked. I thought I'd have nothing to report with kids, vacations, holiday preparations, etc, but I did manage two hours of writing Friday and Saturday. I'm almost at two hours today as well. Some of that was blog writing, but I also worked on my WIP. *fist pump*

Editing: Back to editing tomorrow. I was on an editing vacation, although I did work on a piece that was "in production" and couldn't wait. Tomorrow I'm back to the nonfiction book I've come to love. Should be the final edit. I can't wait to see it in book form!

Blogging: Blogging from A to Z has been a fun challenge. It's my first time. In the last few days I've written my Eulogy, talked about Fantasy & Flights of Fancy, and highlighted Grammar. Tomorrow I'm tackling the Harrowing Headaches of Writing. Fun!

Social Media: SCORE! I was under two hours a day. Flip Side: I'm SO far behind on visiting ROW80 and A to Z blogs. I'll be catching up this week, gradually.

Reading: I'm reading Sara Gruen's Ape House for my book club, and I'm about 50 pages from finishing. A great read so far. I also finished Lamott's Bird by Bird.

Exercise: Lots of walking and even squeezed in a five mile run yesterday! I'm going to leave it at that (notice I didn't mention food. Come on, it was Easter!).

For more information on ROW80, please visit A Round of Words in 80 Days.

Grammar = G: Blogging from A to Z

I'm in editing mode lately. I like rules, love them in fact. Creating stories brings me a lot of joy, but I like to do it by honoring words and rules. Funny thing about grammar rules... they often change or become obsolete.

Sadly, this can happen just from repeated misuse. I noticed irregardless was defined in several online dictionaries. Irregardless. Is. Not. A. Proper. Word. (And yes, this sentence is an example of style over rule.)

I'm a strange breed. My favorite subjects in school were English and Math. I read everything I could get my hands on, but I loved systematically solving a difficult math problem. I found the perfect combination of interests in college when I took an internship at IBM to work in their finance department and write their corporate newsletter. Words and structure together... heaven.

I respect authors who own styles, who play fast and loose with the rules (as long as they are consistent). But the story has to be amazing to convince me to turn away from "the rules." Cormac McCarthy's The Road is such an example. The first fifty pages made me crazy, but the story won me over in the end. Note: there is no style that will make me accept misspelled words or using the following incorrectly: lose/loose, then/than, they're/their/there, its/it's, accept/except, and your/you're. Consider this a top six list.

As an editor, I respect the author's final wishes. One rule I think should never be played with is consistency. I'd rather see the same mistake repeated consistently throughout, to know the author owned it, than see it change throughout the book.

But I'm a grammar snob. Are you?

Note: Just because I'm a grammar snob does not mean I have superhuman skills. I constantly find errors in my work, even after several edits. I can absolutely look past a few errors in several hundred pages of material. It only starts distracting me when I can spot errors every few pages.

The first edition of our novel, Depression Cookies, had 32 errors in 543 pages. This after several rounds of edits, including a college English professor and a professional editor. Mom and I reissued a corrected edition. We couldn't sleep at night.