Teresa Robeson

National Grammar Day

2012-03-05T09:17:00.001-05:00

So yesterday, March 4, was National Grammar Day. Not nearly as tasty as National Doughnut Day, but with only a fraction of the calories, it's a much more healthful day for you.

I think my sci-fi critique group is under some strange impression that I'm a grammar guru. Not so. As someone with ESL (English as a Second Language), I make my fair share of gaffes, though apparently not the same gaffes as native speakers do.

But, like many people, I do have my language botch-up pet peeves. One of them is the mispronunciation of words. The famous one, of course, is people saying /new-ku-ler/ instead of /new-kleer/ for "nuclear", but the one that bothers me equally - because I watch WAY too much House Hunters on HGTV - is /reel-la-ter/ instead of /reel-ter/ for "realtor". (Do those slash marks make me look like a linguistics major? Well, I was.)

Come on, people! Do you see the "a" after the "l"? No? Then don't pronounce an "a" after the "l". Simple.

What's your favorite language/grammar pet peeve? Is that an oxymoronic phrase, favorite pet peeve?

Today's post was brought to you by the question mark...helping inquiring minds go one annoying step further.

"There is no such thing in anyone's life as an unimportant day." – Alexander Woolcott

The only thing I'm pretty good at

2012-02-27T08:51:00.002-05:00

...is, apparently, writing haiku for the birding crowd.

Continuing my winning streak at the WildBird Magazine Twitter haiku contests, I got another guide book. Yay! We love bird guidebooks (as you can see from a post on my homesteading blog), and this was one we didn't have yet.

Thank you, again, Amy (@WBeditor on Twitter) and your wonderful staff, for enjoying my 140-characters poetry! When I'm feeling down with yet another rejection, I can say that at least birders appreciate my talent. Birders are some of our favorite people anyway. ;)

"There is no such thing in anyone's life as an unimportant day." – Alexander Woolcott

Introspective introverts

2012-02-20T10:12:00.001-05:00

"Hello, my name is Teresa, and I'm an introvert."

I've known for a long time that I'm an introvert. A lot of people don't believe it though since, when I'm forced to be in a group setting, I appear gregarious and un-shy. Well, guess what? I'm just faking it when I do that. Apparently, I fake out-going-ness as well as Meg Ryan fakes an orgasm in When Harry Met Sally.

There's not really a whole lot in studies published on introversion/extroversion that is news to anyone who has him or herself pegged as one or the other. Still, it's somewhat interesting to re-hash this stuff when the news cycle once again comes around to covering the topic as though it were ground-breaking.

Case in point: the recent article in Time magazine and the subsequent piece on NPR.

If you've not self-diagnosed your social bent yet, take the quiz at the link above. Even though I know what I am already, I took this one because I enjoy quizzes (yes, I'm sick that way; whenever we have to fill out questionnaires, hubby always hand them to me to deal with). It was easy...I just checked "yes" all the way down...well, maybe with the exception of "I can concentrate easily". That's not so easy at my age with a forgetful brain and a family who feels no qualms about interrupting me.

The statement that resonated most with me was: "I prefer not to show or discuss my work with others until it's ﬁnished."

The Gotham classes and my critique groups have mostly cured me of that peculiarity, but it used to be that I would never show anyone my writing, except the editors that I submitted my writing to. I wouldn't even show them to people after they were published. Whenever friends and family asked if they could read my writing, I'd usually mumble something about, yes, they could find them in such-and-such magazine.

Except for that little bit of neurosis, though, I would not trade being an introvert for the world (especially not the world in the sorry state that it's in now). I love being by myself, the quiet, and the solitude of recharging my spirits.

So, my friends, what are you - introvert or extravert?

"There is no such thing in anyone's life as an unimportant day." – Alexander Woolcott

Wacky research

2012-02-13T09:32:00.002-05:00

One of the more fun things about writing is doing research. For shorter stories, or a quick, one time tidbit, the internet is indispensable. I really don't know how writers used to do it before the World Wide Web and search engines. They must have been slaves to the library.

I found myself looking up expensive Italian men's shoes the other day...along with demon names, and the Dutch word for "sweetheart". What, you can't see the commonality? Heh.

not *these* shoes

What the most unusual thing you've researched?

"There is no such thing in anyone's life as an unimportant day." – Alexander Woolcott

Tech savvy I ain't

2012-02-06T10:10:00.001-05:00

I was doing some Disqus editing and ended up deleting all the comments on this blog instead. I tried to do a recovery but I think I botched it up even more.

Great. Just great.

I feel like my FIL who never learned how to program a VCR. If you ask me what a VCR is, I'm be liable to throw my 8-track player at you. :P

I guess the only thing left to do is hobble off on my walker with dignity. *sigh*

"There is no such thing in anyone's life as an unimportant day." – Alexander Woolcott

The power of music

2012-01-30T09:39:00.000-05:00

A question that writers and other artists get asked often, or will answer anyway even if they're not asked, is what type of music they work by.

I used to play some music - often classical, sometimes rock - when I was painting, but I almost never played music when I was writing.

One of the main reasons I don't listen to music when I write is that I love to sing. If I'm listening to rock, or other singable tunes (and I loooove me my Nat King Cole), I'm 99% certain to sing along. Even if I'm listening to classicals, I will end up whistling along....or, even worse, start conducting.

Singing or whistling or conducting isn't conducive or helpful to writing.

Recently, while doing laundry, a tune popped into my head and I began to whistle it. One minute, I'm my current pushing-50 self taking down laundry, next minute, I'm having teen spring fever, itching to get out of my horrible high school so I can attend university.

The song was Steve Winwood's While You See a Chance. It came out sometime in my junior or senior year. While it wasn't like I was a huge fan of the song, it transported me back to the time in my life when I heard it often. And there I was again, feeling all antsy and uncomfortable with myself as I did back when I was 17, 18.

That was when I realized that the other main reason why I can't listen to songs while writing: if I listen to songs I know, I can't stay inside my story. Heck, I can't even stay inside my present, very real, and very satisfying life. Music, like scents, for me, immediately transport me to a different place and time and, usually, a huge wave of homesickness washes over me, even if that place and time was not nearly as happy as my current state (such as the example above: I really hated my high school).

Does this happen to you or can you work well with music?

"There is no such thing in anyone's life as an unimportant day." – Alexander Woolcott

DailySF - How do I rate thy stories? Let me count the ways

2012-01-23T09:37:00.001-05:00

Coming off a week of particularly excellent tales from Daily Science Fiction (the week of January 9-13, 2012, but I write my posts in advance now and set them for future publication), I got to thinking about the ratings for stories from DailySF.

I've been subscribing to DailySF since last summer, I believe. It's enriched my life in many ways.

So, some time ago - unfortunately, my faulty memory prevents me from remembering dates - DailySF started a rating system: you can give a story from 1 to 7 rockets. Cute, no?

Anyway, I have never rated a story lower than 4 stars (which is still a passing grade). My reasoning is that if the story passed muster with the good folks at DailySF, editors Michele and Jonathan, and any editorial assistants they might have, then the story has to be half-way decent.

My criteria or system for docking rockets is:
1) if I finished reading the story and my first reaction is "huh?"
2) if I find any glaring technical - grammar or science, etc. - faults
3) if I have other instances in the story where I also go "huh?", or if it just didn't sit right with me for reasons I can't articulate

You can see that by my system, I can't give a story anything lower than four stars. I've seen people give some of the stories fewer than 4 stars on DailySF's Facebook page, and I'm not sure how they justify that. Being an introvert and one who doesn't like to engage in confrontations, even of the friendly sort, I, of course, never ask them.

If you are a fan of speculative fiction, do yourself a huge favor and subscribe to Daily Science Fiction. The subscription is FREE for goodness sake! How many things in life are that good and also free, besides air and water (which is not free, but is practically free given its value versus what we pay the water company for it)?

Well, so much for keeping my posts short.

"There is no such thing in anyone's life as an unimportant day." – Alexander Woolcott

To do or not to do

2012-01-16T09:30:00.002-05:00

One of my favorite Martin Luther King, Jr. quotes is "We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools."

Sometimes, though, it's hard to live with others because we all do things that drive each other crazy.

"If you don't shut up, I will have to punch you."

In the arena of social media, I have some advice for myself (and anyone else who seems him/herself in these) to help us live together more harmoniously:

1) Stop making obscure and provocative remarks. It's like that old advice for when you're angry: count to ten before you say anything. I know if I did that, I'll find that I really needn't be saying anything at all. Instead of going to Facebook or Twitter and announcing something just to get people to say "are you ok?" or whatever, write it down in my journal instead. I'm guessing the need to make obscure and provocative posts stems from a passive-aggressive personality...thanks, mom, for passing that trait along. :P
**Hey! I'm not the only one who thinks that's annoying - see top peeve at the poll at Real Simple.

2) Don't be subtle. I get subtle jokes only if I'm operating at 98% and I, and most people I know, aren't usually operating at that level of capability. If I'm going to be subtle, chances are people won't get the joke. Or the hint. And then I'll just get annoyed at people when it's me I should be mad at.

3) "Like" more. The "Like" button is easy to use and generally appreciated by the recipient. So even if a particular person has rarely acknowledged my posts, I can still be nice and "Like" their statuses and posts - this also lets me check "random acts of kindness" off my daily to-do list. Now if only Twitter has a "like" button...

Hope you're having an introspective and socially-conscious Martin Luther King, Jr. Day!

"There is no such thing in anyone's life as an unimportant day." – Alexander Woolcott

Nothing like a badge

2012-01-09T09:27:00.006-05:00

...to show "Fail!" in a stylish way.

My buddy Tom continues with his generosity. This time, he made a NaNo Loser icon that he's letting me proudly display!

Soooo, who's up for Camp NaNo with me?

"There is no such thing in anyone's life as an unimportant day." – Alexander Woolcott

Tackling 2012

2012-01-02T09:30:00.002-05:00

...like Frenzy obviously plans on doing:

Or superhero style, like Green Lantern. :)

My buddy Tom sent me his vintage (Gen 1) Transformer action figure and its weapons. As if that wasn't enough to make my heart go pitter-patter, he also gave me a hand-painted Green Lantern ring. I'm so psyched to wear it out and have people give me thumbs-ups as an acknowledgment of our secret Brother/Sisterhood of Geeks.

Or maybe I'm being too optimistic. I thought people would be giving me thumbs-ups for my Firefly shirt, but that never happened. Once, though, when my Firefly theme-song went off on my cellphone at the library, a gal who worked there said to me, "I love your ringtone!" There's hope.

Did you get any cool gifts this holiday?

"There is no such thing in anyone's life as an unimportant day." – Alexander Woolcott

Maybe I should become regular?

2011-12-26T09:00:00.000-05:00

And before you think I'm being TMI, rest assured that I mean posting on my blog, and not, you know, the other thing.

I need to come up with a game plan of topics to write about...52 of them, in fact, since I should - *should* - post once a week, on a set day. Even if nobody else is reading, it's a good exercise in meeting deadlines and forming dedicated writing habits.

The key, I believe, is to follow that famous rule: K.I.S.S. In my case, it'd be Keep It Short, Stupid. Or maybe it's Keep It Short & Sarcastic. That works too.

I think the only thing that doesn't work is the Feast or Famine method. I'm also not a fan of the Inundate the Reader method (which is where a post goes on for waaay too long and has no photos). I will try not to do either of those to you.

Do you have any goals for your blog for the coming year?

Have a fun New Year's if you're doing anything, and may 2012 be a fulfilling year for you!

"There is no such thing in anyone's life as an unimportant day." – Alexander Woolcott

NaNo Fail...again

2011-12-19T09:05:00.001-05:00

Yes, I admit it. It was a bad idea after all.

Last year, my mother died at the end of October, so we had to fly to Vancouver where I helped my sister and dad deal with all the funeral arrangements and that pretty much messed up the rest of November.

No, doing NaNoWriMo wasn't the bad idea, although November tends to be one of the more busy months of the year in general. The bad idea was "bringing several aspects of my writing life together." That totally blew up in my face.

On the other hand, maybe the problem was really the bending the fabric of space-time. Maybe I rended the fabric instead. Besides, any SF aficionado knows that bad things always happen when you mess with space-time - whether bending, rending, or even ironing.

Whatever the cause, the outcome was editor-spit ugly.

The moral of the story is, at least for me: don't mix together several areas of my writing life. It's like cooking: unless you're Iron Chef Morimoto, you shouldn't try to create a dish with bear meat, agar-agar, and durian. When I say "you", I mean "me." I'd never dream of telling you what to do!

The other moral is: try Camp NaNo in June or August instead of the regular NaNo in November. Unless it's a bumper strawberry year for us, and I have to make enough jam for a small country, June is a pretty quiet month.

Did you do NaNoWriMo last month? Did you win? Will you do Camp NaNo?

"There is no such thing in anyone's life as an unimportant day." – Alexander Woolcott

GoodReads Giveaway: Dark Inspiration

2011-12-05T21:42:00.000-05:00

It's your lucky day! Yup.

Russell James is giving away two copies of his terrific debut novel, Dark Inspiration on GoodReads! This is the novel that I couldn't put down, which hasn't happened in a while.

Because I bought the ebook, I actually worked out on the treadmill carrying my MacBook since I was reading it via the Kindle App. I don't recommend exercising while holding your (expensive) computer, but it was so worth it!

Russell's giving hard copies of the book so you won't have to do what I did. Get to GoodReads and enter to win one of those copies!

"There is no such thing in anyone's life as an unimportant day." – Alexander Woolcott

Want to have an Enchanted Conversation?

2011-11-27T20:01:00.000-05:00

Once upon a time, Kate Wolford started a delightful online magazine called Enchanted Conversation for all of us fairytale lovers who had grown up but can't let go of our addiction (as proof, with some of my first money earned as an adult, I bought volumes by Hans Christian Anderson, the Brothers Grimm, and Andrew Lang...one of my personal favorites...and they grace my shelves as they had for the past 30 years).

Alas, Enchanted Conversation is closing its doors, but I have been incredibly lucky to be chosen to do a guest blog post. It's up right now! Go on, you know you wanna read it. It has food, childhood memories, fire hazards, brave hero gone nut-soid, his beautiful wife, and a couple of magical moon bunnies. Almost as exciting as The Princess Bride! Ok, not really, but it's a cute story if you like multicultural myths. :)

I know many of us will miss Enchanted Conversation and the twists on fairy tales that it offered, but I wish Kate the best in her new venture, Nostalgia. Edited. and invite you to join her there where she has lots of fun things planned!

"There is no such thing in anyone's life as an unimportant day." – Alexander Woolcott

How to inspire Teresa

2011-11-19T21:35:00.000-05:00

...which is me, in case you hadn't noticed where you are on the internet.

While other writers may have muses, I have only my foggy brain and killer wit to inspire me. And probably not the latter either. I'm a writer; I make things up and think I'm funny.

So, this foggy brain o' mine is not exactly good at coming up with great ideas at a moment's notice. But thanks to my Spec-Fic critique group's ~~slave-driving~~ dedicated leader, Russell, I'm expected to produce a story for the group to critique once every seven weeks. Where the heck am I supposed to come up with that many stories a year? Sure, I could edit some stories and re-submit to the group, but since I'm not writing novels, seeing the same short story more than three times in a year can get pretty boring.

What to do? What to do? While perusing my over-stuffed bookcases, I found this little gem:

So I flip through it, having no memory of buying it, and a lightbulb goes on! Heeey, I write Speculative Fiction; I should write a short story on every topic in that book. Perhaps in alphabetical order?

It beats standing on street corners and panhandling for ideas, or trying to win the idea lottery.

I think I'm going to do it. I love giving myself challenges that make me pull my hair out. I know how to have fun!

What about you? If you write, how do you come up with ideas one after another?

"There is no such thing in anyone's life as an unimportant day." – Alexander Woolcott

Refreshing, rejuvenating, remarkable retreat

2011-11-07T17:17:00.000-05:00

The only "re..." word that I can't use is "relaxing."

I just spent the weekend at a writers retreat offered by the Indiana chapter of SCBWI and my head is a-swimming. Kristi Valiant and Alina Klein did an incredible job organizing this event. I hadn't been to an SCBWI event in probably 6 or 7 years; I think I've been missing out.

There were roundtable discussions on doing revisions, marketing, and networking. There were also extremely helpful critique sessions - the critique group I was assigned to was nothing short of amazing and comprised of Alina, Julia Karr, and Christi Atherton.

While the work I turned in for this retreat was less than stellar, the group helped me re-think the story, and helped me split it into three different potential book ideas! Three for the price of one: how's that for getting my money's worth?

I settled on one of the potential ideas and have begun to work on it. These lovely and talented ladies promised me they'd critique a couple of chapters for me when I have those done, even though they're no longer bound to help me. I am one lucky gal, and I look forward to many, many years of friendship with them.

But now, it's back to *real* writing.

If you're a writer and haven't gone to a retreat or conference, I heartily recommend saving the money to attend one!

p.s. yes, I am totally lame and didn't take a single photo even though we were staying at a pretty state park.

"There is no such thing in anyone's life as an unimportant day." – Alexander Woolcott

It can't be NaNoWriMo time already?!

2011-10-30T23:22:00.000-04:00

As a couple of Facebook friends said, "it isn't possibly November yet." Where did the year go? Last year at this time, we were in Vancouver busy with my mother's funeral. I wrote a total of a few hundred words for NaNoWriMo before giving up and giving in to grief and stress.

I've been doing NaNo since 2007, and have never planned a story for it (in the spirit of the original NaNo...read founder Chris Baty's No Plot? No Problem! book to know what I mean), but this year I am going to bend the fabric of space-time and bring several aspects of my writing life together and work on a story I have already partially planned out. Being a purist never was very useful unless the only thing you want to accomplish is feeling smug. And being smug never paid the bills.

If you feel like you have a novel in you, join me in NaNo! I'm "writer64" there if you want to be my buddy. Don't forget to stock up on the caffeine of your choice!

"There is no such thing in anyone's life as an unimportant day." – Alexander Woolcott

Post 26 ~ In which Teresa changes her mind yet again

2011-10-23T21:20:00.000-04:00

Yes, I have a special fondness for A.A. Milne's lovely Winnie the Pooh books.

I see it's been an entire month since I said something on this blog. It's not my fault; it was the Woozles' fault. No, wait; it is my fault. Isn't there a blame fairy who can wave a wand and absolve me?

Although I'm not so deluded as to think that there's anyone actually waiting for me to post something (I had 6+ years to build up a following in my other blog and nobody's there waiting for me to post anything either), if anyone is really dying to read something from me, s/he can always hop over to my regular blog http://homesteadnotes.blogspot.com/ that I actually update more than once a month. It has nothing to do writing or art, although it does have a lot to do with the other equally important things in my life, such as what to name our tractor.

But what is my change of mind? Well, I've thought about it for a while now (nearly three freakin' months), and decided that you don't need, and probably don't want, to hear my opinions on different writers and agents' blogs. I'll bring up ones I come across and love as I come across them. If I don't love them, I won't bring them up. Simple!

However, I think any good blog/website needs to "give" something to readers, whether it be killer content - Nathan Bransford's blog is a fine example of this - or in-depth and specific useful content, such as Jim Kelly's website where he analyzes his writing for would-be writers.

I just don't know yet what I can give the readers that is unique and desirable. I've decided, of course, that it wasn't blog/website reviews. So, what now? Maybe you can tell me? What would you like to see here?

Just to remind myself that life is not all about wringing my hands and writing-fails, I want to mention that I won another haiku contest from WildBird Magazine on Twitter:

It's a terrific addition to our huge collection of bird guides. Go follow editor Amy if you're on Twitter and like birds or fun writing contests. :)

"There is no such thing in anyone's life as an unimportant day." – Alexander Woolcott

Hooray for my critique group!

2011-09-23T21:13:00.000-04:00

Because I'm pathetic (and swamped...homeschooling does take up time), I still haven't gotten around to writing my first blog review.

But, I think it's much more exciting to talk about my Spec-Fic critique group's success! Paul has a beautiful short story up at Yesteryear Fiction - hurry to read it; it's only up for a couple more days. And Russell's horror novel, Dark Inspiration, is available for pre-order at Amazon.

"There is no such thing in anyone's life as an unimportant day." – Alexander Woolcott

Ceci n'est pas une "post"

2011-09-15T22:13:00.000-04:00

Just wanted to sneak in that I won a little haiku contest on Twitter offered by the good folks at Wild Bird Magazine. :) Got me a nifty book called "Cooking With Birds"!

"There is no such thing in anyone's life as an unimportant day." – Alexander Woolcott

How the heck did I get so busy?

2011-09-01T19:27:00.000-04:00

It's a good busy though, mostly: I'm doing a lot of writing and editing/critiquing! I'll be going to the IN-SCBWI's November retreat, and need to get a synopsis done and some pages written (and written reasonably well). This, of course, on top of the regular stuff for my two critique groups.

While we homeschool year-round, we do start up certain things come September. I'm freaking out a little at the thought of running high school chemistry labs with my older son. Plus, nobody told me I had to play counselor in addition to facilitator. Ack!

If you're looking for something a bit more interesting to read than my panicked paragraphs above, you can head over to my regular blog (I say that as though this blog doesn't get enough fiber, or fibre as the Canadian part of me want to write) and read about pasta-making!

Oh, who am I kidding? The ~~three~~ two people who read this blog already read my other blog...so never mind. Carry on until I can finally get to some decent content, like blog-reviews. :)

"There is no such thing in anyone's life as an unimportant day." – Alexander Woolcott

Life gets in the way

2011-08-19T11:43:00.001-04:00

...and doesn't even bother signaling.

The plan was to post a blog review, or at least another blog post, before this much time had elapsed. However, a relative - one of hubby's uncles who was always very good to us - passed away, so we tidied up affairs at home in a hurry and drove out to the east coast for the visitation service. While we were out that way, we also stopped in to see one of our other favorite relatives, an aunt and uncle who live in the lovely town of Frostburg in western Maryland.

As my sister joked, the only time one gets to catch up with the distant cousins and other not-so-close relatives is at funerals and weddings. It's a sad truism, I'm afraid, with families being scattered all over the country and globe these days.

So, the blog review has to wait because I've also missed out on the amazing WriteOnCon and I want to go catch up on the events from the past week. :}

In the meantime, there's an interesting article from Writer's Digest on whether you should post your novel online for free. My SF critique group has discussed this before. It's always interesting to read more perspectives on it.

"There is no such thing in anyone's life as an unimportant day." – Alexander Woolcott

NPR's Vote for Top 100 Sci-Fi and Fantasy Titles

2011-08-08T09:04:00.005-04:00

My plans for procuring a MacBook Air has been thwarted for now, but I've downloaded the Kindle to the Netbook in the meantime, and have been loving it! I've started reading Michaela Roessner's Walkabout Woman on it, and am looking forward to other e-books (that I'll talk about as the time comes).

But, hey! Did you hear about NPR's Vote for Top 100 Science Fiction, Fantasy Titles piece? I've voted for my favorites (hello, Asimov and Willis!), and urge you to give a nod to your favorite authors and books. :)

I'd love to know who your favorite authors are!

Next up, I hope: my first blog review...

"There is no such thing in anyone's life as an unimportant day." – Alexander Woolcott

Blogger hiccup

2011-08-07T22:36:00.002-04:00

In the process of changing my background, somehow it seems that all the comments made on my posts have been deleted. Wacky.

"There is no such thing in anyone's life as an unimportant day." – Alexander Woolcott

Planning ahead

2011-08-02T23:06:00.000-04:00

I confess that planning is not my forte. My mom never gave me the organization gene; I got my dad's flakiness instead. If I didn't have an external deadline to light a fire under my butt, I'd probably never accomplish anything.

However, it's never too late to teach this old dog new strategies, so I hope to train myself to plan ahead to do more interesting posts on this blog. For example, I hope to share and review blogs and websites that might be useful to writers and artists.

And now that I've worn my plan on my sleeve (please don't hate me for making jokes of metaphors...my favorite one is from a fellow ESLer who liked to say "get my sh*t in a row"...you know I mean you, JF), I'll have the 3 people who read my blog to shame me if I don't do as I say.

Anyhoos, here's something for the crafters - no reviews yet; my brain is not back from vacation - I don't sell on Etsy (anymore), but this is a terrific article for all those who want to be the next huge Etsy discovery:
6 Etsy Tips for Beginners
Hmmm, maybe I should try and sell these babies now that I'm done putting on the earring hooks (photo take pre-hooks)...

Do you make crafts? Do you sell your creations or do you just craft so that you keep your hands from strangling people instead? Oh, am I projecting? Share your link if you have a shop so I can check it out!

"There is no such thing in anyone's life as an unimportant day." – Alexander Woolcott

What does summer mean?

2011-06-26T18:40:00.000-04:00

Summer means that your portion of the Earth's hemisphere is tilted toward the sun.

Summer means saying good-bye to a long time friend who has been with my husband's department since before we had our first child. I made her a necklace to remember us, and southern Indiana, by. The geode was found on our property. We'll miss Elaine very much.

Summer means lots of good reading. The list from Nancy Pearl on NPR looks fun!

And Summer means taking a break, so I'm going to enjoy a glorious blogging and Facebook break...in honor of summer, of course, and not because I'm lazy! (OK, I am kind of lazy.)

What does Summer mean to you and are you enjoying it?

“There is no such thing in anyone’s life as an unimportant day.” – Alexander Woolcott

I want to be funny!

2011-06-19T22:00:00.000-04:00

Funny funny, not strange funny...although that's not such a bad thing either. I want to write humor like this:

Could go well with my speculative fiction bent, don't you think? Maybe I want to be the next Terry Pratchett when I grow up. It's too late to become the next hot supermodel (hot supermodels don't usually carry AARP memberships) so I'll have to rely on my wits instead.

Oh, I am so doomed.

But, hey, I finally submitted a story! I've only submitted one other story in the past 7 years - and that got a lovely rejection letter. And I have another story almost ready to submit. Yay me! Maybe I can finally erase the big S (for Slacker) off my forehead.

Totally unrelated, because that's just the kind of ADD person I am, sometimes, I have a hankering for Roxy Music, and then I crave me some More Than This. That song brings me back and always has such a lovely, magical feel.

Other people's good news

2011-06-07T22:03:00.000-04:00

Just wanted to give a shout-out to some very talented folks:

Firstly, the amazing Paula Yoo has her novel, Good Enough, out in paperback today! I've started reading it and have been alternating between giggling my head off and nodding in agreement to some of the things she says about being the Perfect Korean Daughter (a lot of what she says applies to being a first gen Chinese immigrant too).

Secondly, the captain of my spec-fic critique group, Russell, has a horror novel in the works - it's been bought by a publisher and has a killer cover art!

Distracted much?

2011-06-05T16:53:00.000-04:00

I've self-diagnosed as ADD. No, I'm not a psychiatrist, but I bet I could play one on TV!

Been busy trying to put the finishing touches on a story to be submitted to Nightfall, but have been distracted by too many other things: email replies to friends (long overdue emails), reconciling the checkbook, working on the homeschooling and the charitable donations budgets, doing labs with my younger son, planning for homeschooling in new school year (we homeschool year-round, so it's not a huge deal, but having a road-map of where we want to go and how we want to get there is still a good idea), etc, etc.

Really, though, I need to concentrate on the story first. One day, soon, I hope to have something to crow about on the writing front again so I can compete with our stupid rooster...crowing, that is, not writing.

In the meantime, here are some interesting articles I came across. Did you know that over a third of students entering college need remedial help? That's just sad. Hubby already knew it, I'm sure, since he teaches at a university, but it spurs me to work hard to make sure our kids are well-prepared for higher ed (plus know their gardening and survival skills so that they're not purely studious).

And related to my trying to budget, The Simple Dollar has a terrific article. Most of his articles are really good, of course, but some are more poignant and relevant to me than others.

Ok, back to writing...

Varied interests - too many

2011-05-29T22:42:00.000-04:00

I love that in an email from Amazon, the books that were recommended to me ranged from Principles of Electrodynamics to The Complete Photo Guide to Crochet to Soldering Made Simple. But, sometimes, more and more often as I age, I feel like that little Neanderthal kid in a Far Side cartoon who raised his hand in the classroom of modern humans and asked to be excused because his brain was full. Ouch.

Speaking of too many things, I've simplified my life somewhat, giving up all my soaping paraphernalia to my sister (as I mentioned in my other blog). My sis is very happy to try her hand at a new biz. Her husband is happy that she's doing something she's enthused about and isn't stuck in her old miserable job anymore. My husband is happy that I've gotten rid of one hobby and all the equipment that went with it. And I'm happy that I now only have 14 instead of 15 things I split my time doing.

Really, I just want to focus on my writing right now. With two terrific critique groups to guide me and cheer me on, I would be remiss if I didn't re-start my writing career. I hope to be as prolific as our asparagus plants!

Still, I can't focus on just one thing (because I'm ADD, I swear), so I hope to continue sketching, and I need to get a thumbnail sketch to my dear friend Michelle for a piece of art I promised to do for her!

In case anyone else wants to do art too, here's a fun project: Drawing Day!

A wonderful new blog!

2011-05-19T13:33:00.000-04:00

My speculative fiction critique buddy, Kelly, recently started a new blog, and I don't think I'm being biased when I say that it is one terrific blog. She has lots of wonderful ideas planned for it, and I am looking forward to them all! Check it out at Welcome to KapeHorn!

Picture books, here I come!

2011-04-30T22:37:00.000-04:00

So Paula tells me that I don't have to write 7 stories; I only need to try writing 7 stories. ;) And she put in so many smiley faces that I was convinced. So, I will give it a go. I do need something for my next SCBWI critique group meeting, after all.

If you have ever had a hankering to write a picture book story, or seven, I would say do it, do it, do it! Keep me company! Go to http://paulayoo.com/ and sign up so you'll have a chance to win fun prizes. Don't forget to follow Paula ( http://twitter.com/paulayoo ) and her cute cat Oreo ( http://twitter.com/oreothecatyoo ) on Twitter like I do!

NaPiBoWriWee?!

2011-04-29T22:08:00.000-04:00

The funny and talented Paula Yoo has been running the National Picture Book Writing Week since 2009, in the spirit of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). The goal, in her own words, is
"To write 7 picture books in 7 days."

I've been wanting to try this for a couple of years now, but it didn't work out last year and I'm not sure it will this year either as my favorite sister (it's ok; she's my only sister so nobody gets jealous) will be here for a visit, arriving in the middle of the week.

But you never know. My insanity could take over and I might do it just to prove that I can. Besides, Paula has generously offered some tempting prizes!

I would also totally do it if someone dared me to. ;)

My neglected hobby

2011-04-15T12:14:00.000-04:00

I haven't had much time to make soaps lately, but this was my attempt over the holidays to make a "Candy Cane" soap. The smell was amazing...like a real candy cane, but better!

I need to make some time to make more soaps...maybe when my sister is visiting. Can't wait!

A good book is not hard to find

2011-04-12T16:20:00.000-04:00

...unlike the hypothetical "good man". Here are some of my recommendations on how-to write books .

The first few are for those who want to pen children's lit:This is a general book that I remember being very good (it's been a number of years since I read it):
Ah, and grammar books - I have, and love, Strunk & White, of course, but these are my current favorites:
This next book I got from the library but I intend to buy a copy because any book that talks about how "anxious" is different from "eager" gets an enthusiastic thumbs-up from me!
Sherrie in my SCBWI critique group recommended this; while not as funny as the above two, it looks to be an excellent book:
The last couple are for the science fiction writers and fans. Feeling Very Strange is not really instructional although the intro is enlightening as it tries to define slipstream, and the stories are terrific reads:
This one is put forth by the editors of Asimov's Science Fiction magazine; I don't think I need to say more. :)
Do you have favorite writing books? Please share!

Critique groups - like your second family

2011-04-04T13:13:00.000-04:00

I'm a lucky, lucky gal.

For years, I worked alone in my writing. Occasionally, I would let hubby read my manuscripts before I sent them off to a publisher, but mostly, I proof-read my own work and then it was all between me and the editor (and all those wonderful, hard-working interns and first readers in between, of course). It worked well enough for the short, sweet poetry I wrote for children.

But, times change, things change, and I guess I, too, change. I now belong to, not one, but two (count 'em) critique groups! Neither is my doing, of course. Left to my own devices, I'd still be writing alone...or not writing at all, as had been the case the past few years. As Dora Goss mentioned in her author's reading at ICFA, writing is one thing that nobody will ever make you do, and too often, I let other things in my life take over when I should be writing.

The first critique group I got involved with is one with fellow SCBWI members - two truly lovely ladies, Sherry and Jo. If it weren't for the persistence of Sherry in persuading me to join them, I'd not be inspired to give writing for children another go after a 6 or 7 year hiatus. Our backgrounds are different, but we get along great, as though we've been long time friends. I hope our group will continue for many, many years.

The second group I'm involved with came about with the efforts of a classmate of mine from both the SFI and SFII class from Gotham Writers' Workshop. Russell helms the group as the fearless Skipper and we're the hopeful writer-castaways on the island of Creating/Editing...or something like that. I also hope that this group will last a long time - as long as Gilligan and his compatriots were on the island.

Now that I'm with these two groups, I can't imagine how I once worked alone. I've not submitted anything to be looked over in the SCBWI group yet, but I have been critiqued by the SF crew in one or both of my classes and they are one skilled bunch of writers who provide exceptional feedback.

And also now that I'm with these groups, I can heartily recommend joining a critique group to other writers. They'll provide you with the tough love and some gentle hand-holding that good friends or family would. I wish you as much success in finding one that you click with as I have had!

ICFA, baby!

2011-03-25T15:49:00.001-04:00

Thanks to the urging of my amazing teacher, Michaela Roessner, from the Gotham Writers' Workshop SFII class, and the fortuitous timing of hubby's Spring Break week, I attended my first ever ICFA!

To say it was an incredible experience would be like saying that da Vinci was pretty good at drawing. I hadn't had this much fun since Europe '86, plus, bonus, I didn't have to watch for Chernobyl produce. This conference, on the awesome scale (and I do mean awe-inspiring, not the recent bastardization of the word), beats out even the SCBWI one when I met Jane Yolen or the other SCBWI one when I won a door prize.

At the ICFA, some of the über talented - and friendly - authors I got to meet include Connie Willis, Terry Bisson, James Patrick Kelly, John Kessel, Ted Chiang, F. Brett Cox, Jeanne Beckwith, Theodora Goss, and the two lovely people who took me under their wings and showed me around, Andy Duncan and his wife, Sydney Duncan.

Other writers I had the pleasure to see briefly were David Lunde, Jay Lake, Rachel Swirsky, Peter Straub, Ellen Klages, Eileen Gunn, Nalo Hopkinson, Kathleen Goonan, Owl Goingback, Lisa Rowe Fraustino, and Mike Allen.

One of the highlights was attending the Guest of Honor panel: from left to right - Andy Duncan, Andrea Hairston, Connie Willis, and Terry Bisson (not shown: a certain harmonica-playing raccoon)
The camera's flash appeared not to have remembered to turn itself on, so I apologize for the darkness of the photo.

While I still want to go to one of the Cons one day, I'm really glad that this was the first SF conference I attended since it combines SF with academia, a setting I'm more familiar with through hubby.

But just so you don't think I'm all about SF and writing, here's a gratuitous shot of one of my favorite things: food (because, really, I'm all about food)! These are the famous UBC cheese scones; I made them yesterday for lunch, and they are perfect with the jalapeno jelly that my friend Robin gave us.

Has it been that long?

2010-11-16T04:39:00.000-05:00

I think my problem is that I update my "day-to-day life" blog and neglect my creativity one. :}

So what have I made this past year? Well, I've on a jewelry kick, so I've made many ceramic beads for turning into jewelry. This is one of my favorites:

I made skull-and-crossbones soaps again for Halloween:

Also in ceramics, I made more leaf motif dishes because I just love the way they look:

I think I'll be making more soaps for gifting this holiday season. Haven't decided yet what I want to make though. Come back and see what I end up creating!

Things I've been making

2009-11-02T06:28:00.000-05:00

I have as much fun in ceramics as the kids. Below are a bead and a plate that I created recently.

Sea Turtle pendant

Small ceramic red bud leaf dish

Leaf plates

2008-11-12T09:54:00.000-05:00

The boys and I made eramic leaf plates and platters which look lovely year-round, and not just for the fall. Our decorating style tends to be light and airy and has nature's colors, so we know first hand that these plates really complement a natural, rustic, or woodsy home. And they are just funky enough that they will do well in pretty much any other more "fun" decor too!

Poke Leaf Platter by my older son last year:

This year, we made a red-bud leaf plate, a sycamore leaf plate, hickory 3-leaf platter, and a poke leaf plate. I think I posted pictures of some of those on my regular blog.

Ceramic plates and platters

2008-11-04T06:25:00.000-05:00

The boys and I learned to make "quilted" Wabi-Sabi style plates in ceramics. Here are some of our creations:

Platter by my older son - approx 14"x10.5

Platter by my older son - top view

Plate by my younger son - approx 8.5"x8.5"

Plate by my younger son - top view

Teresa's Soap Dish - 8"x4.5"

Teresa's small plate - 7"x5"

Nifty Notecards

2008-10-11T10:13:00.000-04:00

Notecards are wonderful - they let you keep in touch the old-fashion way, but are small enough that they don't feel daunting like writing a whole page letter would.

These are photo notecards featuring my photography of various nature, animal, and still-life scenes:

I also make notecards made with handmade paper, which in turn are made from junk-mail, and featuring my or my son's photography (many from around the homestead). The handmade paper can be unscented or lightly scented, and sometimes we embed dried plants or wildflower seeds.

Below features the following papers: Chamomile Blues which is a blue-tinted paper, scented with Chamomile fragrance oil, and is flecked with bits chamomile which we grew and dried; "Romancing the Red" is red-tinted, scented with Romance fragrance oil, and has wildflower seeds embedded; and "There's a Tomato Leaf in My Garden" is tinted green and scented with Tomato Leaf and Green Garden fragrances. As well, it has petals from a wildflower from our yard. Also available, but not pictured are the "Sun and Sand" series, which is a yellow-tinted paper lightly scented with a delightful Seashore fragrance.

Similar to the above cards, but on a smaller scale are the mini-notecards below. They can also be used as attractive gift tags.

Sushi Soaps

2008-09-13T06:53:00.000-04:00

They're finally done! Except for the container and the plastic grass divider, everything else is soap - the sushi, the wasabi, and the pickled ginger slices. All the soaps have a tantalizing and refreshing Wasabi fragrance.

Each Sushi Soap is about the size of a Futomaki roll, approximately 2 ounces.

I ended up making 3 sets of soaps, one of which has been given as a gift.

This is how I packaged it up to ship, with a piece of tissue paper inside so the wasabi and ginger won't fly around.