Yesterday was one of those days where you check to make sure your fly is up 1000 times b/c people keep looking at you funny.
Today, however, is brilliant. 77 degrees, zero humidity, blue skies. I'm about to go lay in the picnic area of our apartment complex with my notebook and try to get another chapter on paper.
I leave you with one of my favorite summertime meals:
1 yellow squash
1 tsp rosemary
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 pkg baby spinach
1/4 cup raw walnut halves
Fresh feta, crumbled
Slice the yellow squash into thin circles (no peeling required). Put in a bowl with olive oil & rosemary and mix until squash is coated. Place in skillet at medium-to-high heat and turn over until golden brown. Set aside to cool.
Mix baby spinach, raw walnut halves, and crumbled feta. When squash is cooled enough, add in. Mix it all up with a tasty, summery dressing like Annie's Naturals Lite Raspberry Vinaigrette.
Best enjoyed with a glass of crisp Sauvignon Blanc :)
Enjoy your weekend!
P.S. My husband wondered aloud the other day during a commercial of Charlie St. Cloud if Zac Efron makes Vanessa Hudgens wear her costume from Sucker Punch whenever they hang out.
Frankly I think it's funny that my husband even knows those two are dating.
7.31.2010
7.28.2010
7 Reasons Why: Saying I Do
The topic of weddings came to mind recently after my best friend shared a story about attending a wedding as the date of a Boy Behaving Badly (BBB). How badly? For one, there was an attempt at motorboating the M.O.B. on the dance floor. (No, I'm not making this up, and it's just the tip of the iceberg, people. Tip. Of. The. Iceberg.)
So I got married last September. For those of you who are not married, planning a wedding kind of sucks. There are many details to sort out and people pulling you in different directions, and the whole time you kind of just want to hide out on your couch under a big blanket with a pint of Ben & Jerry's and a superbly bad Lifetime movie featuring women in dysfunctional relationships who will never have to worry about planning a wedding. Which you can't. Because you have to worry about fitting into your wedding dress and B&J will definitely sabotage this.
In hindsight, I have realized that the process of planning a wedding is eerily similar to the process of writing a book. Don't believe me? Check out the 7 Reasons Why:
1. Stress isn't in the planning, it's in the procrastination.
The most stressful part of wedding planning is going over your checklist and looking at all the stuff you have left to do. Actually getting those tasks done really isn't stressful at all. Flowers? I pulled some photos online of what I was looking for, went to a florist by my office on a lunch break, and an hour later had something I was happy with and fit in my budget.
A lot of times I procrastinate instead of writing because I'm actually scared. Scared I'll never be able to fix that plot hole uglifying Chapter 6. Scared I'm going to open up my document and my brain will go completely blank. Basically scared of failure. But once I actually get my BIC on (butt-in-chair, for you non-writers), I'm always happy I did. Whether it takes me hours to get one conversation right, or I whip out ten pages, I always feel good about the fact I accomplished something.
2. There will be moments where you lose sight.
I was never one of those girls who daydreamed about their huge, Princess Diana wedding. But I also knew I wouldn't be satisfied doing one of those City Hall deals. A girl needs a little bit of romance. However, at times I found myself swinging wildly from one end of the spectrum (Would it really be that much more expensive if we bump up the guest list another 25 people?) to the other (I can't %$@*ing take it anymore--let's just elope already!). In the end I had to remember what was important: marrying the love of my life with the people we cared about around us.
We writers tend to undermine our goals in a variety of ways, from comparing our work to other, usually more experienced writers, to indulging in wild fantasies where we write our first novel, land an agent, and sell it in less than half a year. Sometimes we have to ground ourselves to remember what is important. Right now, for me, that includes improving my craft and writing a saleable book that will attract the attention of an agent.
3. You start second-guessing your vision.
I didn't plan on getting married in a church. I haven't stepped foot in a church since my grandfather's funeral 5 years ago. Yet somewhere along the path of venue selection, I debated having my ceremony in an Episcopal church. (neither my husband nor I are Episcopalian) Maybe it was pressure from my mother to figure religion in there somewhere. Maybe it was just the general sense of crazy that wedding planning brings with it. I don't know.
I recently blogged about this problem in writing. 100 pages in and suddenly you're questioning everything, from the small details (why did I name her Zoey? she's not quirky enough to be named Zoey!) to the big-picture stuff (I don't think this character should get into that car accident in chapter 3, after all). The big-picture stuff can't be taken lightly, as they will have huge repercussions on story arcs, possibly changing what the books is about altogether. So you have to ask yourself: Am I changing this because it makes it a better story? Because it better helps me achieve my vision for this book? Or am I feeling the pressure to make this change because I'm afraid that agents/editors would like it better?
Ultimately any decision you make has to hold true to your vision and not allow yourself to be influenced by outside pressures. That doesn't mean completely ignoring your audience (eg, cursing is not appropriate for MG audiences). But first and foremost you're writing this story for yourself. And if you love it, someone else out there will probably love it, too.
For the record, we ended up having both our ceremony and reception on the rooftop of a cute little hotel on Park Ave. It was lovely and I couldn't picture having done it any differently.
4. Not all advice is good advice.
Thankfully I have extremely wonderful and helpful friends and family and did not encounter the problem of bad or unwelcome advice. However, I was approached at a wedding event by a man trying to sell me on the idea of makeup airbrushing everything from my shoulders up. Yeah, I could just see the look on Hubby's face if I stepped into the aisle and various freckles/tattoos were missing. Not to mention the salesman looked like he was made out of wax. Definitely some kind of Botox overload happening up in that piece.
Be open to criticism/critique feedback, but don't follow it blindly. Even industry professionals will have varying opinions on the same piece of work. Book publishing, just like book reading, is subjective. If it doesn't feel right in your gut, or you think it contradicts your above-mentioned vision, you don't have to follow it.
5. You're gonna have to dig deep.
In terms of weddings, I'm talking about using either your wallet or your creativity. If you can't afford nice flowers, you're better off going with something less traditional but understated and simple, like white tea lights. Giant bouquets of pink carnations scream cheap. You just can't fake elegance.
You can't fake anything in writing, either. Writing a book--correction, a good book--isn't easy. If you think it is, you're probably doing it wrong. The results you want won't just happen on their own. Put in the work.
6. Perfect isn't going to happen.
You WILL wake up with a giant zit on your face the morning of your wedding. Thank God for foundation!!
You should make every effort to clean and polish your manuscript before sending it out into the Big Wide World. But the great thing about writing is, there's always room to grow. With every sentence we write, we're improving (hopefully) our craft. So don't fall apart if your critique partners come back with feedback that is anything other than "don't change a thing!" If they do, they're probably not very constructive crit partners.
7. It's totally worth it.
My wedding really was the happiest and one of the most emotional days of my life. I cried through like half the ceremony. All of the stress, the details, the planning--none if it mattered anymore. The only thing that mattered was me and Hubby.
I can only hope that one day I will feel this way (or close to it haha) when I sell my first book. But even putting that aside, just completing a manuscript holds its own sense of accomplishment. The satisfaction that you somehow took 60,000 words and made a story out of them. Not everyone can do that, and even fewer can do it well. So give yourself a pat on the back! But don't take too long, because now it's time to get cranking on those rewrites... :)
So I got married last September. For those of you who are not married, planning a wedding kind of sucks. There are many details to sort out and people pulling you in different directions, and the whole time you kind of just want to hide out on your couch under a big blanket with a pint of Ben & Jerry's and a superbly bad Lifetime movie featuring women in dysfunctional relationships who will never have to worry about planning a wedding. Which you can't. Because you have to worry about fitting into your wedding dress and B&J will definitely sabotage this.
In hindsight, I have realized that the process of planning a wedding is eerily similar to the process of writing a book. Don't believe me? Check out the 7 Reasons Why:
1. Stress isn't in the planning, it's in the procrastination.
The most stressful part of wedding planning is going over your checklist and looking at all the stuff you have left to do. Actually getting those tasks done really isn't stressful at all. Flowers? I pulled some photos online of what I was looking for, went to a florist by my office on a lunch break, and an hour later had something I was happy with and fit in my budget.
A lot of times I procrastinate instead of writing because I'm actually scared. Scared I'll never be able to fix that plot hole uglifying Chapter 6. Scared I'm going to open up my document and my brain will go completely blank. Basically scared of failure. But once I actually get my BIC on (butt-in-chair, for you non-writers), I'm always happy I did. Whether it takes me hours to get one conversation right, or I whip out ten pages, I always feel good about the fact I accomplished something.
2. There will be moments where you lose sight.
I was never one of those girls who daydreamed about their huge, Princess Diana wedding. But I also knew I wouldn't be satisfied doing one of those City Hall deals. A girl needs a little bit of romance. However, at times I found myself swinging wildly from one end of the spectrum (Would it really be that much more expensive if we bump up the guest list another 25 people?) to the other (I can't %$@*ing take it anymore--let's just elope already!). In the end I had to remember what was important: marrying the love of my life with the people we cared about around us.
We writers tend to undermine our goals in a variety of ways, from comparing our work to other, usually more experienced writers, to indulging in wild fantasies where we write our first novel, land an agent, and sell it in less than half a year. Sometimes we have to ground ourselves to remember what is important. Right now, for me, that includes improving my craft and writing a saleable book that will attract the attention of an agent.
3. You start second-guessing your vision.
I didn't plan on getting married in a church. I haven't stepped foot in a church since my grandfather's funeral 5 years ago. Yet somewhere along the path of venue selection, I debated having my ceremony in an Episcopal church. (neither my husband nor I are Episcopalian) Maybe it was pressure from my mother to figure religion in there somewhere. Maybe it was just the general sense of crazy that wedding planning brings with it. I don't know.
I recently blogged about this problem in writing. 100 pages in and suddenly you're questioning everything, from the small details (why did I name her Zoey? she's not quirky enough to be named Zoey!) to the big-picture stuff (I don't think this character should get into that car accident in chapter 3, after all). The big-picture stuff can't be taken lightly, as they will have huge repercussions on story arcs, possibly changing what the books is about altogether. So you have to ask yourself: Am I changing this because it makes it a better story? Because it better helps me achieve my vision for this book? Or am I feeling the pressure to make this change because I'm afraid that agents/editors would like it better?
Ultimately any decision you make has to hold true to your vision and not allow yourself to be influenced by outside pressures. That doesn't mean completely ignoring your audience (eg, cursing is not appropriate for MG audiences). But first and foremost you're writing this story for yourself. And if you love it, someone else out there will probably love it, too.
For the record, we ended up having both our ceremony and reception on the rooftop of a cute little hotel on Park Ave. It was lovely and I couldn't picture having done it any differently.
4. Not all advice is good advice.
Thankfully I have extremely wonderful and helpful friends and family and did not encounter the problem of bad or unwelcome advice. However, I was approached at a wedding event by a man trying to sell me on the idea of makeup airbrushing everything from my shoulders up. Yeah, I could just see the look on Hubby's face if I stepped into the aisle and various freckles/tattoos were missing. Not to mention the salesman looked like he was made out of wax. Definitely some kind of Botox overload happening up in that piece.
Be open to criticism/critique feedback, but don't follow it blindly. Even industry professionals will have varying opinions on the same piece of work. Book publishing, just like book reading, is subjective. If it doesn't feel right in your gut, or you think it contradicts your above-mentioned vision, you don't have to follow it.
5. You're gonna have to dig deep.
In terms of weddings, I'm talking about using either your wallet or your creativity. If you can't afford nice flowers, you're better off going with something less traditional but understated and simple, like white tea lights. Giant bouquets of pink carnations scream cheap. You just can't fake elegance.
You can't fake anything in writing, either. Writing a book--correction, a good book--isn't easy. If you think it is, you're probably doing it wrong. The results you want won't just happen on their own. Put in the work.
6. Perfect isn't going to happen.
You WILL wake up with a giant zit on your face the morning of your wedding. Thank God for foundation!!
You should make every effort to clean and polish your manuscript before sending it out into the Big Wide World. But the great thing about writing is, there's always room to grow. With every sentence we write, we're improving (hopefully) our craft. So don't fall apart if your critique partners come back with feedback that is anything other than "don't change a thing!" If they do, they're probably not very constructive crit partners.
7. It's totally worth it.
My wedding really was the happiest and one of the most emotional days of my life. I cried through like half the ceremony. All of the stress, the details, the planning--none if it mattered anymore. The only thing that mattered was me and Hubby.
I can only hope that one day I will feel this way (or close to it haha) when I sell my first book. But even putting that aside, just completing a manuscript holds its own sense of accomplishment. The satisfaction that you somehow took 60,000 words and made a story out of them. Not everyone can do that, and even fewer can do it well. So give yourself a pat on the back! But don't take too long, because now it's time to get cranking on those rewrites... :)
7.27.2010
Sucker Punch
Hubby played the trailer for Sucker Punch for me last night. Visually it looks like it's going to be amazing, and the more I think about the concept, the more intrigued I am to see Zack Snyder's latest creation. Hopefully it is more Watchmen and less 300. But I have a feeling it's going to rock. Because girls kick ass.
(p.s. did you ever think Vanessa Hudgens could pull off this outfit? yeah, me neither!)
(p.s. did you ever think Vanessa Hudgens could pull off this outfit? yeah, me neither!)
7.24.2010
Some "Bad Boys" Really Are Bad
Ahh, the Quintessential Bad Boy (QBB). Did he start with James Dean? Or have women always been infatuated with the guy who likes to straddle that line between light and dark?
Here's another question: what if he doesn't straddle that line? What if he is firmly planted on the dark side?
This is precisely the problem I've run into with The Revengeful.
I've got a QBB who's pretty bad. Okay, okay. He's straight-up evil. But he's also my MC's romantic interest--because she doesn't realize his um...darker tendencies. At first.
Of course my grand plan was to make her come to her senses by the end of the book. He's bad, right? He's gotta go! And at first this plan was going swimmingly. Up until recently, I've been concentrating on the back end of the book. When he's all evil and stuff. Suspense! Action! My MC kicking ass and taking names! (and getting her own ass kicked on occasion)
But recently, when I went back to work on the first half of the book, I ran into a problem. How was I going to make my MC fall in love with this guy when I knew he was bad? How could I avoid having every bit of his dialogue tinged with my negative feelings for him? I had to put myself in my MC's shoes. And it worked. A little too well, in fact.
My MC started to fall in love with him, but I started to fall in love with him, too. Suddenly he went from being this 1-dimensional bad guy to a character with real depth. It was like I was writing two separate books. And then I started to question--is this guy really so bad? Maybe I don't have to make him so evil...maybe just bump him down to standard QBB status.
Uh oh. I think as women/girls--or even human beings in general--we do this in real life a lot. We want to see the good in someone, we want to believe that even in the worst case, there is still something salvageable. That there is always a chance for redemption.
I think Becca Fitzpatrick did an incredible job of this in Hush, Hush. Patch is not what you'd call a stand-up guy. He's overtly sexual, almost aggressively so--I mean, he fell to Earth because of Lust, so no surprise there. And hello--his primary goal in the first part of the book is to kill Nora. Yet somehow, by the end of the book, you're rooting for their relationship. Or at the very least for some action that requires something higher than a PG-13 rating.
(side note: anyone else excited for Crescendo?)
So now I'm torn. I love the romance of redemption, but part of me also thinks that forgiveness comes a little too readily. And not everyone deserves it.
So what say you: is there always an opportunity for redemption? Or must some QBBs simply be kicked to the curb?
More importantly, how will The Revengeful end?
Even I don't know the answer to that. But time will tell.
Here's another question: what if he doesn't straddle that line? What if he is firmly planted on the dark side?
This is precisely the problem I've run into with The Revengeful.
I've got a QBB who's pretty bad. Okay, okay. He's straight-up evil. But he's also my MC's romantic interest--because she doesn't realize his um...darker tendencies. At first.
Of course my grand plan was to make her come to her senses by the end of the book. He's bad, right? He's gotta go! And at first this plan was going swimmingly. Up until recently, I've been concentrating on the back end of the book. When he's all evil and stuff. Suspense! Action! My MC kicking ass and taking names! (and getting her own ass kicked on occasion)
But recently, when I went back to work on the first half of the book, I ran into a problem. How was I going to make my MC fall in love with this guy when I knew he was bad? How could I avoid having every bit of his dialogue tinged with my negative feelings for him? I had to put myself in my MC's shoes. And it worked. A little too well, in fact.
My MC started to fall in love with him, but I started to fall in love with him, too. Suddenly he went from being this 1-dimensional bad guy to a character with real depth. It was like I was writing two separate books. And then I started to question--is this guy really so bad? Maybe I don't have to make him so evil...maybe just bump him down to standard QBB status.
Uh oh. I think as women/girls--or even human beings in general--we do this in real life a lot. We want to see the good in someone, we want to believe that even in the worst case, there is still something salvageable. That there is always a chance for redemption.
I think Becca Fitzpatrick did an incredible job of this in Hush, Hush. Patch is not what you'd call a stand-up guy. He's overtly sexual, almost aggressively so--I mean, he fell to Earth because of Lust, so no surprise there. And hello--his primary goal in the first part of the book is to kill Nora. Yet somehow, by the end of the book, you're rooting for their relationship. Or at the very least for some action that requires something higher than a PG-13 rating.
(side note: anyone else excited for Crescendo?)
So now I'm torn. I love the romance of redemption, but part of me also thinks that forgiveness comes a little too readily. And not everyone deserves it.
So what say you: is there always an opportunity for redemption? Or must some QBBs simply be kicked to the curb?
More importantly, how will The Revengeful end?
Even I don't know the answer to that. But time will tell.
7.17.2010
Title
I've settled on a name for my WIP! Actually, I've been warring between two different ones for some time. But ultimately I decided on The Revengeful.
This makes it "official" I am dropping Charm Bracelet. I stopped querying some time ago, was just holding out to hear back on a full request. But ultimately, I could have done better. I rushed the end. I didn't do enough rewrites. In short, it's not a piece I would want anyone to see. I'm simply not that proud of it.
This one feels...different. But I promised myself I would take my time with it, not screw up a good thing. Frustrating at times (like last weekend, when I had to rewrite a chapter--twice), but hopefully worth it.
This makes it "official" I am dropping Charm Bracelet. I stopped querying some time ago, was just holding out to hear back on a full request. But ultimately, I could have done better. I rushed the end. I didn't do enough rewrites. In short, it's not a piece I would want anyone to see. I'm simply not that proud of it.
This one feels...different. But I promised myself I would take my time with it, not screw up a good thing. Frustrating at times (like last weekend, when I had to rewrite a chapter--twice), but hopefully worth it.
An Open Letter to Tony Hayward, BP CEO
Dear Mr. Hayward,
Considering the $$$ it will take to clean up that disaster in the Gulf, I suggest you stop wasting it on TV commercials. They're not working--we still think you are a d-bag.
Sincerely,
Jill
Considering the $$$ it will take to clean up that disaster in the Gulf, I suggest you stop wasting it on TV commercials. They're not working--we still think you are a d-bag.
Sincerely,
Jill
7.16.2010
Birdz & the Beez Part Deux, or, 30 Is the New 13
I've always had what I would call an "athletic" body. Mother Nature definitely didn't bless me with any Christina Hendricks-type goods:
Yowzas.
Maybe it has something to do with being a gymnast the first 18 years of my life.
Well, I turned 30 this year and suddenly I'm kicking a few curves. I know, I know--I thought I was pregnant at first, too. Nope. Then it hit me. I'm going through a second puberty.
It's the only way to explain it. The addiction to YA, the fact that the CW11 ranks in my top 3 favorite TV channels (this could also have something to do with the fact that network channels are clogged with crap like Minute to Win It and America's Got Talent--how is that compelling TV?). Also, inexplicably, the fact I still more-than occasionally break out (btw Mother Nature, enough with that joke already. It's getting old. Very old.)
Yeah, I've got your number, MN. You think you're playing some funny little trick on me, like showing up with a gift box in those Tampax ads? You think a little dose of teen angst is going to take me down? You're talking to someone who grew up in the Grunge Era--when it was cool to dress like you were homeless/a heroin addict, and we idolized musicians that let us down. Hell, my generation invented angst.
The joke's on you, because I get to avoid all the sucky parts this time, like having my Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret moment or dealing with pubescent boys who don't know how to channel their hormones. This time, if I'm having a particularly angsty day, I can eat all the ice cream I want without worrying if I'm going to snap the uneven bars in half at practice the next day. Or better yet, I can have a glass of wine. And instead of hanging out at the mall with my meager babysitting earnings, I can spend my 30-year-old salary down in SoHo. (ha! this makes my life sound way more glamorous than it actually is) And guess what? Somewhere between 13 and 30, I learned how to dance without looking like a robot. And I don't have to do it at a club that's hosting an all-ages night.
So bring it.
Maybe it has something to do with being a gymnast the first 18 years of my life.
Well, I turned 30 this year and suddenly I'm kicking a few curves. I know, I know--I thought I was pregnant at first, too. Nope. Then it hit me. I'm going through a second puberty.
It's the only way to explain it. The addiction to YA, the fact that the CW11 ranks in my top 3 favorite TV channels (this could also have something to do with the fact that network channels are clogged with crap like Minute to Win It and America's Got Talent--how is that compelling TV?). Also, inexplicably, the fact I still more-than occasionally break out (btw Mother Nature, enough with that joke already. It's getting old. Very old.)
Yeah, I've got your number, MN. You think you're playing some funny little trick on me, like showing up with a gift box in those Tampax ads? You think a little dose of teen angst is going to take me down? You're talking to someone who grew up in the Grunge Era--when it was cool to dress like you were homeless/a heroin addict, and we idolized musicians that let us down. Hell, my generation invented angst.
The joke's on you, because I get to avoid all the sucky parts this time, like having my Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret moment or dealing with pubescent boys who don't know how to channel their hormones. This time, if I'm having a particularly angsty day, I can eat all the ice cream I want without worrying if I'm going to snap the uneven bars in half at practice the next day. Or better yet, I can have a glass of wine. And instead of hanging out at the mall with my meager babysitting earnings, I can spend my 30-year-old salary down in SoHo. (ha! this makes my life sound way more glamorous than it actually is) And guess what? Somewhere between 13 and 30, I learned how to dance without looking like a robot. And I don't have to do it at a club that's hosting an all-ages night.
So bring it.
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