Witchy Chicks

Favorite Christmas Films

2009-12-09T03:25:00.000-08:00

I DVR my favorite holiday movies and television shows through the season, and then watch them like a favorite box of chocolates savoring them one at a time. Lately, I've been using them as bribes for myself. Finish this proposal and you can watch "It's a Wonderful Life." Finish that one and you can see "Home Alone" (that movie still makes me laugh). I've put together a list, in no particular order, of some of my favorites. I'm sure I'm missing a few, so I hope you'll add some of yours too.

Here we go:

1. It's A Wonderful Life: This film reminds me that we should always view life as a gift we've been giving. It's not about the suffering. It's about the joy.
2. Home Alone: The first time I saw this film in a theater I laughed so hard I couldn't breathe. It still makes me smile.
3. Miracle on 34th Street: I like both the 1947 version with Maureen O'Hara and Natalie Wood, and the Elizabeth Perkins and Mara Wilson version. There's something so hopeful about it.
4. A Christmas Story: I must admit that when I was younger I didn't like this film much, but I love it now. I don't know why I didn't like it before, but now I can appreciate the writing and the acting so much more. And it's laugh out loud funny.
5. White Christmas: The singing and dancing in this film just make me smile. Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen are just wonders.
6. The Bishop's Wife: I didn't discover the 1947 version of this film with Cary Grant and Loretta Young until five years ago. Now it's a staple in my holiday viewing repetoire.
7. A Christmas Carol: I like most every version of this film, but the 1951 version with Alastair Sims is a favorite. Though, "A Muppet Christmas Carol" is a close second.
8. A Christmas in Connecticut: Barbara Stanwyck headlines this film about a columnist who write about her perfect life with a husband and child in Connecticut, but she has neither. It's a fun comedy.
9. The Grinch Who Stole Christmas: The 1966 animated version with Boris Karloff is my absolute favorite.
10. Rudolph, The Red Nosed Reindeer: This special makes me smile, but it also has a great message for kids that it is okay to be different. I love it!
11. Frosty the Snowman: The 1969 version with Jimmy Durante puts me in the holiday spirit faster than just about anything else.
12. Love Actually: This is one of my all-time favorite films. It shows all the stages of love and it's set in the Christmas season.
13: Serendipity: I know this is far from the perfect film, but I love it any way. John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale are two of my favorite actors, and the movie is brainless fun for me.
14: A Charlie Brown Christmas: It isn't Christmas for me until I see that lame little tree with the ornaments.
15: All of the Harry Potter Movies: I watch them in a marathon, usually at least twice during the season. Yes, I know technically they aren't holiday films, but they are so much fun.

So tell me some of your favorites of the season!

Happy Holidays!

-Candy

Holiday stories I've known and loved

2009-12-08T01:30:00.000-08:00

Many of the holiday stories I've known and loved are movies. Oh, sure, many of them started out as books (and yes, I did, in fact, read the books at one time), so I'm including both movies and books.

Here's my top ten list.

1. How the Grinch Stole Christmas. And it has to be the TV version with Boris Karloff and, even though I own the DVD, I don't watch that, I watch it on TV WITH the commercials. That's how I first saw it and that's how I watch it now. I love it. I sing You're A Mean One, Mr. Grinch pretty much from now until New Year's. It's a classic holiday story (remind you of Scrooge, anyone?).

2. An Affair to Remember. Another annual event for me. I can't resist Deborah Kerr and Cary Grant. I especially love the final scene on the ship where she's got curlers in her hair. And then when he starts wandering the apartment and he sees the wheelchair - I always cry. Plus I love the music. Again a kind of Scrooge story.

3. The Polar Express. Loved the book, but the movie in 3D just blew me away. It was the very last movie I saw with my dad before he got sick and the four of us - my brother and his partner, my dad and me - sat in the front row with our mouths open. No Scrooge here, though.

4. My favourite version of the Scrooge story - nope, not the original Alistair Sim version, but the 1988 Scrooged version with Bill Murray. It was funny and smart and Bill Murray at his best. I still watch it every year, though I have to admit I often watch the original version late at night sometime during the season. Oh, yeah, and this one? I do read the book almost every year.

5. The Sound of Music. This was a holiday tradition in our family - the one night a year we got to stay up late and watch TV. I still watch it every year and I know every single word to every single song, though I can't carry a tune. A couple of years ago, my mom's baby sister (who is a year younger than me and a participant in this family tradition) and I went to the Vogue Theatre for the singalong version. It was great. I'd do that every year if it was in town.

6, 7 and 8. These all go together in my mind. Heidi. I know it's not a Christmas story exactly, but it's the first book I remember getting as a Christmas gift and so I re-read it, along with Pippi Longstocking and Katydid, every holiday season.

9. Frosty the Snowman, the version we saw as kids with Burl Ives singing all the songs. I love this version - it feels so old-fashioned yet fresh every single year.

10. Robbie the Reindeer. This is an English TV Christmas special and I can still remember the first year I saw it - I laughed to hard I fell off the couch. Truly. It's drop dead funny and it's a lovely story - with that classic British humor.

So what are your favourite holiday stories?

Kate

Silent Nights

2009-12-07T05:34:00.000-08:00

It’s the holiday season, full of hustle and bustle, festivities and family, shopping and baking and decorating and wrapping and…Whew. I’m already tired.

I bet you are, too.

In my spiritual tradition, the time of year from Samhain (Halloween) to Imbolc (Groundhog’s Day-Eve) is known as the Cave Time. It’s a time of rest and renewal, a time to honor the body’s need for deep stillness, extra sleep and deep contemplation. Animals are hibernating, plants are dormant, rivers are frozen over, Mother Earth sleeps under a blanket of snow.

And we run around like headless chickens with Martha Stewart complexes.

Counter to our body’s natural inclinations, we spend two-thirds of the Cave Time being Extremely Busy Doing Important Stuff. Now, I’m not dissing on the holidays – I love them - and no one wants to miss out on the fun, including me. That’s why I’m suggesting that you get out that day planner and pencil in some down time between social events and shopping sprees, business meetings and the kids’ school concert.

Depression skyrockets around the holidays and yes, much of that has to do with loneliness and family dysfunction and the crazy demand for the mythical “perfect Christmas” that leaves so many of us burned-out, disappointed or – worse – feeling like failures. But I think part of the problem also lies in our denial of our basic, animal nature and the need to curl up somewhere dark and quiet, to let go and let be. Thanks to social expectations and our own internal pressures, we're constantly forcing ourselves to be out and on, even when we want (or need) to be in and off.

Balancing our holiday noshing with vitamins, continued exercise and healthy food choices and our busy schedules with appropriate amounts of sleep is hard enough. Adding in the spiritual/emotional nurturance we all need at this time of year might seem impossible. But it’s really not. It’s as simple as saying no, as recognizing when you – and your family - have had enough. It’s as simple as putting on a pair of PJs as soon the sun sets and saying “Hello, couch. I’ve missed you.”

Why not give yourself and your family a present this year? Schedule at least one night every week as a Silent Night. No activities, no gift-wrapping. Share a simple, comforting meal from the oven, crock pot or your favorite take-out place. Light a fire or some candles, plug in the tree lights if you want. Turn off the phone and the computer, put away the to do lists. Pop a favorite, fun film in the DVD player or put some quiet music in the stereo. If you’re really tired, give yourself permission to crawl into bed early with a book or to simply fall asleep.

I know, this all sounds a little subversive, a little anti-social. But if anyone protests – if anyone objects – tell them you’re embracing your inner Grizzly. If they continue to pester you, show them your teeth…and the door.

Contrary to popular belief, taking time out isn’t selfish. It’s self-preservation. Yes, this is the time of giving, but you’ll have nothing left to give if you’re running on empty. If you still feel weird about the idea – if you need someone else to give you permission to take care of yourself – let me do the honor, right here and now.

Go on, I dare you. Reclaim some of your Cave Time. Trust me, your holidays will be all the merrier – and healthier – for it, too!

Lisa

Believing Is Seeing - Favorite Holiday Memories

2009-12-05T05:02:00.000-08:00

When people ask me when I started writing and decided to become a writer, I always tell them that I've been writing professionally since 1984 but that I knew I'd be a writer at age 9 when a story I wrote about a witch received wide acclaim (there may have been 96 students in my entire grade school ;)) as "well written and wonderfully told."

The truth is I was a writer - and director and producer and costume designer / set designer and make-up artist - since long before I turned nine, long before I could even put much in the way of words to paper or read well. In fact, I probably turned writer-etc., the Christmas before my 5th birthday (I'm a mid-January baby), when my third sister was six months old. That would have been the year I first wanted to give my parents something for Christmas but couldn't buy anything. Our family was always big on making things for each other and well...

That year I made a Christmas pageant with me and my little sisters playing all the parts.

I don't know or don't remember what inspired me. Possibly dance recitals, possibly just watching the Mickey Mouse Club, possibly nothing more than being me. :D But every year after that and most of the way through high school, I planned a Christmas pageant of one sort or another as our gift to mom and dad. Frequently there was a new baby to play the Christ child (there are eight of us, the first seven of us separated only by eighteen months to two years between each kid).

The year I was almost 9 there were enough of us kids that I was starting to get production conscious. Or perhaps a little more of my personality was starting to show through. Anyway, we upped the ante and added songs, dances, more elaborate costumes and skits to the annual Christmas pageant and performed it for my dad (because it was difficult to keep such things from mom when she was home with us all the time.)

We'd start rehearsals the minute school was out for the holidays (Catholic school had its advantages back then because it let us out earlier to keep the season holy *grin*), and if we had snow days right before Christmas we'd work on them, too. Frankly I suspect this whole thing was a godsend for my mother who had way too many of us underfoot at one time during the days when we'd want to go downtown and stand outside Santa's booth on mainstreet to talk to him or pester about putting up the tree or Christmas cookies or have colds or...

Christmas has become many things throughout the years as we've grown up, but one thing remains the same - when it comes to the Daly family Christmas party, there's still a Christmas pageant of one sort or another, resurrected by my siblings who apparently remember the days spent waiting for Santa as fondly as do I.

And we all still believe.

A wonderful holiday season and joyous blessings to you all!

Terey

Cathy's Journal--A Southwestern Christmas

2009-12-04T04:53:00.000-08:00

A southwestern Christmas (these are Christmas photos taken at our house. Not at all traditional, but cool, huh?)---it's taken on a new meaning in the lives of me and my DH. Before, Christmas was a typical Colorado mountain Christmas---filled with fresh boughs of pine, the scent of snow on the wind and dazzling sights and sounds. It's our holiday of choice and I celebrate it with a vengence! I decorate the house, and the yard, and just about anything that will stand still long enough! LOL! But Christmastime also meant winter chores that simply don't exist here:

*Chop wood and fill wood crib. Check. No, wait. no fireplace, and no NEED. The coldest it's EVER gotten here since I arrived six years ago is 19 degrees. Hardly a reason to install a woodstove.

*Put winter pack in car for breakdowns in snowstorms (down coat, blanket, flashlight, chains, poptop canned food, hand/foot warmer packs, extra gloves for when the others freeze up, etc.) Chec... No, wait. No snow and maybe 5 days of below freezing ALL WINTER. I actually had put put on the A/C in my car last week!

*Stock up on water and propane bottles for when (not if, but WHEN) the blizzard knocks the power out. Che... Hmm, no can't remember that ever happening.

*Get snowshovels out and put by front and back door to dig out for overnight snows. Ch... Pfft! "Snow" in central Texas is an inch, maybe less, and shuts down the town. I mean SHUTS DOWN THE TOWN! The county owns no plows. They buy no sand, nor salt. The need to scrape a windshield puts people in an actual tizzy. I couldn't find a scraper to BUY when mine finally bit the dust.

*Buy permit and go out to cut a pine to decorate. C... Pine? Maybe a mesquite, or a cedar (which would look a little odd.) But a pine? Not even the local groceries have fresh pines. They're already dropping needles the moment they arrive.

Fortunately, some of my favorite Christmas events are still the same and I continue to relish them:

*Christmas cards! I LOVE Christmas Cards. I go out of my way to send out interesting cards. This year's card was from Ducks Unlimited (yes, the goose is a stuffed toy. There's even a tag hanging off the tail feathers). It reminded me so much of our dogs that it makes me laugh every time I see the card. The inside of the card said "May all of your holiday wishes come true." It made me realize that the dog on the front's fondest wish would be to CATCH the toy. So, Hubby and I decided it would be cute to let all of our dogs catch the toy, and we took a picture to show that wishes DO come true! Of course, there's the traditional letter, and the somewhat non-traditional page of photographs that tell the story of our year. It used to be just pretty photos that Hubby took (he's a photographer), but since I've been writing, a lot of it is about the books---covers, and awards and conventions I've attended.

*Angel Gifts! One of my favorite things about the season is buying things for other people. Since I don't have that many people to buy for, I buy gifts for kids who might not otherwise HAVE a Christmas. Of course, I go overboard because my theory is "everyone should have one Christmas that is memorable." If they ask for a pair of shoes, they get two, or three. If they ask for a doll, they might get a doll, plus all her clothes, plus the house where she can live. Etc., etc. It's my absolute favorite thing and wrapping them is even MORE fun!

*Mistletoe. Who knew that central Texas has traditionally been one of the main harvest areas for the mistletoe you find in the little plastic bags in your grocery? While the berries are poison, there's nothing, and I mean NOTHING goats and deer love better than mistletoe in full bloom. Of course, right before berries are blooms, and when it's blooming with little yellow flowers, the goats all stand under the trees (mistletoe is actually a parasite on many trees down here. It has to be removed or it'll eventually kill the trees.) and wait for us to cut it down. It's cute when they come running with their little tails wagging.

So, I've given up some things, and kept some others, and have adapted and now sort of enjoy some of the uniquely southern things about Christmas. Tiny little snowmen on sidewalks made from snow littering the hoods of cars (in the years we have snow at all), and cold, clear nights where the stars go on forever. That's my Christmas in the Southwest.

What's yours like? How do our other southern readers celebrate? I'd like to know!

De-Stressing For the Holidays Henfest

2009-12-03T01:01:00.000-08:00

Happy Holidays, everyone! We're in the full swing of them, aren't we? Parties, gift-shopping, decorating, well-wishing, planning for family get-togethers and holiday travel. Whew! And along with all the good comes a pinch of bad—stress. My topic for today is de-stressing during this month. It's a good subject for me since I spend a lot of time trying to de-stress in general.

Here are a few of the ways I de-stress during the holiday season:

1.) I do my best to let go of expectations.

The holidays come with all kind of baggage we've picked up from our childhood and from popular culture. Christmas, Hanukkah, Yule or Kwanzaa should be this way, a little sub-conscious voice might whisper. It should have this and look like that. Everyone should behave this way. But, of course, when we set high expectations and they're not met, there's disappointment.

I try to let go of all that and allow the season to be whatever it's going to be. After all, people don't always act that way you expect them to, and we don't always have the resources to make the holiday look the way we think it should. That's okay. By letting go of expectations you make room for new possibilities.

2.) I plan ahead and make lists.

I believe very strongly in lists, mostly because my memory is not deserving of a gold star. :) For the holidays I plan out the menus in advance, make my shopping lists (along with a budget) in advance and try to get as much work done early that I can. This relieves stress since there are always those last minute things that pop up that I didn't plan for. Those little last minute zingers don't freak me out as much if I've planned ahead, since I've managed to get the bulk of my other preparations done already.

Yes, I'm one of those annoying people who gets all their shopping done early. ;)

3.) I don't spend money I don't have.

The adults in our family draw names every year. That means we each must only buy for the children and one adult. That cuts down on the expense and stress of Christmas shopping considerably. Still, I make out a budget for everyone I need to buy for and stick to it. Going into debt for the holidays is no way to start out the New Year.

I think it's important to take the commercialism out of the holiday as much I can. For me the holidays are about being close to my family, spending time with them and doing nice things for them--but that doesn't necessarily mean going into debt buying them presents. You can get creative in how you show people you care about them without spending gobs of cash.

Does your sister have three kids and no time for herself? Maybe offer to babysit for an afternoon so she can relax and read a book. As a mom, I know what an awesome present that would be. Or instead of buying your mom a new TV, you could go through her old photos and create a special scrapbook for her.

4.) I have created a holiday charity tradition for my child.

Along the same lines of taking the commercialism out of the holidays, I have created a special tradition of charity for our family by donating a box of much needed supplies to a Social Welfare Institute in China. You can, of course, tailor a tradition that best suits your family – maybe volunteering in a soup kitchen or buying a Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner for a local family in need.

We also take an afternoon to pick up an Angel Tree Kid from the Salvation Army and buy him or her gifts. This de-stresses me by giving me a glow of the positive—feeling like I've done another person a good turn is just as much a present to myself.

5.) I delegate responsibilities.

In my family I'm the holiday go-to lady. Holiday celebrations like Thanksgiving and Christmas are hosted at my house. I do it because I love my family and I love to cook, but I do delegate by asking each person to contribute something. It might the dessert, a side dish, or a bottle of wine. It takes a little of the pressure off.

6.) I practice mindfulness.

You don't have to be Buddhist to practice mindfulness, which simply means sinking into the moment and appreciating it. It's being mindful of where you are and what you're doing, instead of being lost in the tornado of your thoughts.

Stop once awhile and just breathe. Every time I do it, I find my jaw is locked with tension and I must concentrate on relaxing it. You'll be surprised at how much stress relief just a few moments of concentrating on your breathing can provide. It slows you down, centers you, and, yes, makes you happier. :)

And 'tis the season to be HAPPY, right? Not stressed.

What are some of the strategies you use to de-stress during the holidays?

Happy Holidays!!

Decorating for the Holidays

2009-12-02T09:39:00.000-08:00

I admit—I love to decorate the house for the holidays. We celebrate Yule, or the Winter Solstice, being pagan, but so many of the traditions of decoration go back to those roots that we feel perfectly at home with our Yule tree and lights and so forth. I have most of the decorations up for the holidays, but a few still have to go up so for this post I’ll use past years’ pictures and on my own blog, later this month, will be showing you this year. Not a lot of difference except that we have a new tree (the old one went bye-bye, it got very tired and droopy), and we’ve had to adjust where we put things because of the kittens.

Yes, three younger cats have made for much havoc, though nobody’s climbed the tree yet. I found special ornament hangers that prevent them from knocking the ornaments off the hooks and also the hangers are beautiful and sparkly in their own right and lend a pattern to the tree that we really like. So far, they’ve worked really well, and nobody’s climbed the tree (amazing!). Last year was the one year we didn’t have a tree—the kittens were too young for it to be safe, we felt. It’s good to see the lights again and to pull out our yearly ornaments and remember the years we’ve spent together—both the good and bad—during decorating.

Our tree goes up the night of Thanksgiving—in fact, it’s become a tradition for our friends, whom we share Thanksgiving with (I love hosting it every year)—to help us haul out the tree and set it up. It’s gotten so they don’t even ask, they just assume—it’s one little rather fun tradition that’s become a bond between us. Sam and I spend the next three days—Friday, Saturday, and Sunday—doing most of the decorating through the house.

The mantel has always been a fun place, though this year it’s a little bare, due to the kittens being frantically attached to knocking anything off that goes up there. But the stockings are still up (though below the mantel this year) and I’m finding other ways to decorate it.

I always deck out the main foyer with garlands and lights—to me coming home to a warm glow of sparkling lights seems cozy and homey and comforting.

We also have a bear tree—our Gund bears have their very own tree and we decorate it every year, and then all the Gund bears gather around it, along with the Holly King, and watch the lights on the tree. Usually the Bear Tree goes on the entertainment hutch, but unfortunately, the kittens have found their way up there (our senior gurlz never attempted it), and the chance of the Bear Tree going unmolested up there is about as good as my feet not being attacked under the covers at night: not a chance in hell. So the Bear Tree has moved to one of the bookshelves this year they can’t get on to.

Every year we throw an open house for our close friends. This is a time to relax, to enjoy good food, talk about the year gone by and what we’re hoping for in the year to come. One year, in 2006 after a devastating wind storm that left everybody in the cold and dark for days and totally trounced this area with near-hurricane force winds, our power came back on the night before the party. I made up a big pot of hot soup and we called friends telling them it was still on, and if they needed a warm place to sit, or a hot shower, come over—we were open for business.

Decorating for the holidays is a tradition I don’t like to miss—the sparkles, the lights, the familiar ornaments, they all spell home for me, and taking them out, putting them up has become a ritual of its own, as well as being a ritual for the season. On the evening of the Winter Solstice, Sam and I open our presents and then hold our private Yule ritual—this year it will be a blessing of the family, invoking the Goddess Bast to guard over the new members of our feline family and to grace them with her protection and love. And of course, we will observe the ritual, annual death of the Holly King as the Goddess gives birth once again to the Oak King, who takes over the rule of the waning half of the year.

Do you decorate for the holidays, and do you have any special traditions during this time of year?

Yasmine

December Means

2009-12-01T09:30:00.000-08:00

Cleaning off shelves and spaces around the house so you can fill them again with holiday decorations and that 12-foot tree you saw in the lot. Well, maybe not 12 feet. My husband had enough trouble putting up our 10-foot tree one year and said never again. Something about wires, bolts in the wall and a ladder to put the decorations near the top. But it looks so pretty when the lights are lit and the colorful packages are arranged underneath.

Holiday scented candles scattered around so the house will smell like candy canes, fresh pine, sugar cookies, and maybe a bit of spice in there too.

Or standing outside saying "but honey, the lights really need to go higher." On our block the men like to decorate the outside when a female neighbor puts up her lights since she always wears shorts. Still, it gets them working!

And the mall. Yes, we have on line shopping, but it’s still fun to brave the mall to see the decorations there. I always enjoyed the animatronics carol singing bears at ours. You look for the perfect gift. The one that screams a family member or friend’s name. When that happens to me for a friend’s gift I have a family member looking at me skeptically saying “Are you sure she’d want this?” and I’d be so positive, “Definitely.” And I was always right. :}

Baking a variety of cookies, whipping up candies and perhaps digging out some tried and true recipes that never go wrong for the season. I have some that I make without fail and always make more than enough to share.

Thanks to the post office we don’t have to stand in long lines to mail out packages, and they’re picked up at the home.

There’s even more to add to our holiday mix – the music that has us singing along and movies that make us alternately laugh and cry.

Our CD player is loaded with holiday music and I switched over the music on my iPod so I can listen to it in my SUV and I also dug out our holiday DVD collection that I always add to every year.

And family and friends. Last month, we gave thanks for them and this month we celebrate with them.

It’s also a season that can go all year long.

Just one tiny reminder – take the tree down. Do you really want a Charlie Brown tree dying in that corner? And after awhile Jingle Bell Rock will get on your nerves.

So from January 1 on just celebrate the color and energy and the meaning. Okay?

Linda

Post holiday henfest

2009-11-30T01:30:00.000-08:00

It's weirdly appropriate (or inappropriate, as the case may be) that I'm the one writing the post-holiday henfest. Some of you may not know this, but I live in Vancouver. The Vancouver that's in Canada, not in Washington.

The inappropriate part of this is that I've already celebrated Thanksgiving - weeks and weeks ago. The first weekend in October I did all the same things everyone does on Thanksgiving - I cooked a turkey (it was perfect) and all the trimming. I spent it with my family and friends and, of course, had one person who just had to argue about something. Amazing how many holiday movies hold more than just a grain of truth, isn't it?

The weirdly appropriate part of this is a combination of things. First, like everyone in Canada, I watch a lot of US television stations so I've been enjoying the run-up to the holiday with all the rest of you and certainly enjoying the football (I'm a huge Saints fan) and I even watched most of the Macy's parade on the big day.

Second, and probably most importantly, many of my friends are American and so I celebrate with them. I know what they're doing for the holidays, who they're doing it with, what they're cooking, where they're going. I watch for the weather where they're going to be and how the roads are between their homes and their holiday destinations.

What I'd like to know is what one thing most means Thanksgiving to you? It doesn't have to be deeply meaningful or insightful. It might even be funny (Terey, that's gotta be you!). Just the one thing that sticks with you.

For me, it's the fact that I make stuffing the way my dad did and his dad did. I got the recipe from my dad and he got it from his, who quite likely got it from his. (I make Yorkshire pudding from my mum's recipe though it never works for me - I think I don't have the courage to have the oven hot enough.)

What is it for you?

Kate

But

Happy Thanksgiving & See You On The 30th!

2009-11-22T00:01:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving From The Witchy Chicks!
Most Bountiful Blessings to all of our beloved readers.
We'll see you on the 30th!
Have a safe and happy holiday.

You Might Be A Writer If...

2009-11-21T05:34:00.000-08:00

You’re listening to a Green Day song and exclaim, “Wow! I love that metaphor!”

You shrug at the teenager who shoots you a weird look at the abovementioned exclamation and say, “Well, I do."

You love having nightmares, because they give you great story ideas.

Your idea of the perfect shopping spree includes a trip to the office supply store for paper, toner and an iTunes card; a stop at Starbucks for a venti latte and a month’s supply of coffee beans; a swing into the bookstore to reload your already teetering To Be Read pile; and the miraculous discovery of an extremely comfy sweater and the perfect pair of slippers.

You talk about imaginary people like they’re real – and you know them personally.

You have a notebook in your purse, your backpack, your laptop case, your glove compartment and every single room of your house – maybe even the bathroom.

You ask yourself questions out loud, then answer them. Because, hey. The cats are asleep and who else will talk to you?

You collect whiteboards, dry-erase pens, binders and bulletin boards instead of shoes.

Your family doesn’t ask what CD you’re playing in the car. They ask, “Which book is this playlist for?”

You give yourself an hour or so to be pissed, sad or frustrated when another rejection, bad review or hateful, whiney e-mail comes your way. Then you get over it and get back to work.

You pass up social engagements, video games, TV shows and sometimes sleep to write. Because writers don’t talk about writing – they do it.

You might be a writer if…
you quit reading blogs and get to it. *grins*

Cathy's Writing -- So, what would you LIKE it to say?

2009-11-19T16:08:00.000-08:00

When I first started to write professionally, it was in the magazine business. It either amuses or horrifies other romance authors (and readers) to learn that I formerly wrote articles about how to hunt and fish to a national, mostly male, audience. But those authors who likewise came from magazines to books often feel the same as me that it was incredibly instructive to come from that background because it teaches you how to think on your creative feet.

When you're freelance writing for magazines what you often have to ask is "What would you like the article to say?" Much like books, magazines appeal to a specific demographic---whether young females, or older men or those with a particular hobby or interest. The editors of weekly/monthly magazines have their fingers on the pulse of their readership. Often there's a "Letters to the Editor" section where readers will write in to express their compliments (or more often, their complaints) about a particular article or column. Outdoor magazine readers are VERY vocal about their beloved hobbies, so to say that article authors are under a microscope is an understatement. If you're interested to see an outdoor article I wrote, there's one still online that I wrote about pheasant hunting way back in 2004. That it's still on their website says it still gets a LOT of reads, an amazing thing in this fast-moving internet world.

What that means is that writers have to spend a HUGE amount of time working on details, which could change in a heartbeat when the editor decides to move the article into a different issue. Magazines are totally unlike books, in that you can move books from season to season with no particular effect. Oh, sure, publishers TRY to put out holiday themed books in the month of (or month before) the actual event, but there are plenty of releases of books set in the summer that come out in the winter, and vice-versa. But readers won't put up with that in the magazine trade. If you feature a particular lake as a summer fishing hotspot in a winter issue but readers know the lake yields no fish from October through March, they'll make their displeasure known.

But what does that mean for the author? Well, what sometimes happens is that the editor looking at a query, who had originally thought the article would be a good fit for a summer issue discovers he sold too much ad space (another issue that book publishers don't have to worry about.) Magazines are all about ads, because that's where better than half of the revenue to produce the magazine comes from. Ads rule each issue, and articles are second. A purchased feature can easily be bumped from an issue in favor of revenue generation.

So what happens to the article? Then the author gets an email or a call from the editor, who says something like, "You know that article I bought about such-and-such lake for the June issue? Can you rework that for January? Can you ice fish there? If not, do you have any other lakes nearby where you can?"

Of course, you researched a summer issue. All of your expert quotes are about the terrific wind surfing and warm water fish. Sigh... So, for the very same money, the author has to start over and rewrite the whole piece. Completely. Little is salvagable from warm winds to bitter icy ones--except maybe the caution to use sunscreen. The sidebar (those little boxes within an article with other, but related information) you wrote about the quaint shops to visit around the lake? Flip, splash! They're all closed in the winter. The sidebar becomes one about snowstorm preparedness for your car. (By the way, this example really did happen---just like this.)

So how does that benefit a writer of urban fantasy and paranormal romance novels? Well, your book editor is going to make similar requests. "You know that scene where the hero and heroine go into town to shop? It really doesn't work for me. Have them go somewhere else instead. Maybe a mountain resort. That'll set up the next scene better."

After dozens of articles for magazines, instead of panicking about such a sweeping change (because often it BECOMES sweeping---few scenes are easily removed) I just shrug and smile and say, "Okay. So what would you LIKE that scene to say?" :D

How about the rest of you? Do you adapt to sudden change well? Whether it's a child coming home and saying, "Oh, and I need 30 cupcakes for school tomorrow" or a husband calling to warn you that his boss, plus the management team from Boston, are coming home with him to have a working dinner, do you go with the flow, or blow a gasket? I'd really like to know so tell me all about your most memorable 'abrupt shift.'

Stop and Smell the Moment

2009-11-19T00:00:00.000-08:00

So we're nearing holiday crazy time. By next Thursday it will be full swing. I already have four events booked in early December for my daughter and I. She's three and this will be the first year I think she'll really *get* Christmas. I'm taking advantage of that and intend to have as much holiday fun this year that we can.

It helps that the deadline for my book is at the end of this month. I'll have that off my plate at the beginning of December and, while I will have to be working in December (working never ends), I'll be able to take some time off here and there for festivals and Christmas related charity events. I'm really looking forward to it.

Of course, that means lots of venues packed with stressed parents and children who can feel that stress and are reacting to it. Now that I'm a mom I'm plunged right into lots of events like that. It's just chaos, pure and simple. What I see a lot of at festivals are moms and dads desperately trying to enjoy the day while also refereeing arguments between siblings, dealing with tantruming toddlers, and trying to wrest objects out of little grasping fingers. Been there, done that, got the badge of honorable conduct in parenting warfare.

I remember this one time (in Band Camp. I can never say this one time without adding in Band Camp to it anymore. *sigh*) a mother wanted to take a picture of her son, who looked miserable, so she basically demanded that he stand up straight, smile, and look like he was having fun, damn it! The little kid looked ready to burst into tears by the time she snapped the photo.

Now, I totally get losing your patience with children, especially if you’re leading around four or five of them. And I’m really not much for crowds. They make me tense. So I get that too. But all day long at these events I look around me and see people looking harassed instead of happy and I keep wondering…if you’re not going to enjoy it, why do it?

I don’t mean to get preachy, but this moment is unique. It’s never going to happen exactly this way ever again. Don’t blink, (you know, metaphorically), or you’ll miss it. Every single event has beauty and, if you’re open to it, you’ll be able to see it. Even if your child is cranky, your feet hurt, and some random lady just halted her stroller in the middle of the pathway right in front of you for the. five. hundredth. time.

Because you never know when your moments are going run out. Don’t take these you’re having right now for granted.

Please, y’all, do me a favor and wallow in at least one moment for me. Do it after you're done reading this post. Seep into right now. Close your eyes if it makes it easier. Don’t think about the past or the future. Don’t think about what you need to get at the grocery store or how so-and-so just really pissed you off. Just concentrate on being exactly where you are at exactly this moment in time. Concentrate on what you hear, what you smell. Concentrate on your body in your clothes and your feet in your shoes. Note it, let it go, and float. See the beauty in it.

For anyone willing to play, tell me about your experience in the comments.

Food for Thought

2009-11-18T04:38:00.000-08:00

I mentioned on another blog that for me Thanksgiving was about food and naps. To be honest, that's true. It's one of the reasons it is one of my favorite holidays. But yesterday my husband, without really meaning to, reminded me why it is important to be thankful and to count our blessings.

He had three stories, all tragedies involving men at his work. The first was a man, who was shot by his wife. She shot him in the thigh, but hit an artery and he nearly died. Turns out she'd shot her first husband too. I don't care how angry I get at the man I married, that kind of violence should never play a part. It made me thankful that I have an opportunity to vent my frustrations through the written word. I can blow up a bad guy, or shoot him with a crossbow, and no one "really" gets hurt. It's important to be grateful for our creative outlets that give us the opportunity to work through our problems, whether that's writing or knitting.

The second story was about a man who had a serious illness. They aren't sure if he'll pull through, and it all came on rather suddenly. I've spent years not really taking care of my body, but that has all changed the last few months when I had some serious health issues of my own. The light bulb FINALLY went off about two weeks ago, and I realized I had to make some big changes. It isn't easy, but I can already see some positive effects. We shouldn't take our health for granted, and we should always be thankful for it, as well as the health of those closest to us.

The third story broke my heart. Another man's children were hit by a car while walking home from school. The woman behind the wheel saw the children, but panicked and accidentally hit the accelerator instead of the break. Both children, a boy and a girl, are in the hospital and in comas. It's not looking good for the boy. I can't even imagine what these poor parents are going through. My children, as crazy as they drive me sometimes, are my life. You can bet there will be some big time hug coming their way. Even though they are both in college and will say, "Mom, get a grip." :) So let's be thankful, even for those who drive us a little batty. And though I don't know this man and his children, I hope you will keep them in your thoughts and prayers.

I didn't tell you all of this to bring you down, only to remind you what of what is most important. I don't know about you, but I have a tendency to get drawn into the drama of the day-to-day and forget the big picture at times. Stories like those above can help pull us out of that rut and remind us to be Thankful for all the lovely life gifts we've been given.

I hope this Thanksgiving that you'll remember to hold those dearest to you a little closer to your hearts, and to always be thankful. Each day is a blessing, and we should remember that.

I'd like to hear what you are thankful for... Tell me, I really want to know.

Happy Thanksgiving!

33 Years Later

2009-11-17T05:42:00.000-08:00

Every Thanksgiving is special, but this particular one for me is extra so in many ways. Thirty-three years ago in October of 1976, I gave up a child - a daughter - for adoption. This year, for the first time, she'll join us for Thanksgiving.

As a storyteller, I read that statement and instant questions arise, the majority of which begin with "what, what, who?" and "where, why, how?" I've already mentioned the "when."

Suffice to say the beautiful young woman who contacted me, and with whom I met a few days after Mother's Day this year is a far better, stronger, well-rounded and complete person than the one I could have raised knowing the emotional shape I was in back then. Her parents were older and more mature than I, wanted - and loved her before they ever saw her - every bit as much as I did and with the added benefit of being able to offer her a kind of stability that I, at that time and for years after, could not.

Painful as it was to let her go, the one thing I kept telling myself at the time was that "someone was getting the best Christmas present I could ever possibly give them." Now I know that sentiment bore out, that in fact, Kirsten's mother sat in church that Christmas thirty-three years ago and said thank you for the gift she'd been given.

I am grateful beyond words for the job Kirsten's parents did raising her, grateful that I can see the result of this gift, and share in it for a time this Thanksgiving.

Wishing you all the most joyous season possible.

Terey

Does Your Writing Smell?

2009-11-16T00:01:00.000-08:00

There are a lot of studies that show the impact smells have on memories and emotions yet it seems to be one of the most underused senses in fiction. This is in spite of the fact that we go through our days with scents playing a big part in our lives.

Smell is integral to how things taste. Smells can warn us of danger. Smells remind us of good times and bad.

Smells trigger a conditioned response - the first time you smell a new scent, you link it to a memory. Because most new scents are smelled as we grow up, they most often trigger childhood memories.

Writers are constantly advised to use all the senses in their stories but this most primal and powerful sense seems to get the short straw far too often. I know for a while I just didn't think about smells but once I realized I was giving my nose too little attention, it made me really pay attention to what I was smelling throughout the day.

The smell of my toothpaste, the still "new car" scent in my car, the odor of leaves after a heavy rain, even the lingering scent of coffee in the kitchen. Someone at work was wearing a rose perfume and I thought about my grandmother, who always wore rose perfume. The smell of cookies someone had brought in to work made me think of kitchens and baking in peace and quiet.

Ocean water has a smell different than that of fresh water. Inland fog smells different than coastal fog.

To me, this was especially interesting because I really don't have much of a visual memory so scents seem especially evocative.

Once I realized the power of smell, I began to use it in my writing more often. One character smelled the scent of the ocean. Another character smelled lingering pipe smoke and it comforted her because of her memories. I really think it enriches stories and makes them multi-dimensional - gives them a depth beyond the sounds and sights.

What are your favorite scents and what do they make you think of? Do you think scents are underused in fiction?

Adopt-A-Fox: The Heroes of Song, Story, and Movies

2009-11-14T10:19:00.000-08:00

Each month, the Witchy Chicks adopt a fox for the Henhouse. Eye Candy? Quite often, but we’ve also adopted other types of foxes—from singing foxes to kitsune foxes. Today I’m going to adopt a type of fox. I’m going to adopt the fantasy heroes we know and love. Who we long to see meet their true loves (and much the better if it’s us but hey—as long as they get a woman worthy of them, we’re happy). I chose four archetypes, all adventurers but each one slightly different.

First we have the antihero, the dark knight who sweeps us away and makes us forget about our love at home. He’s not always ‘good’ and he’s doesn’t play by the rules, but we love him anyway, because we know he’d save our ass no matter what—and then he’d give it a pinch. My choice for the anti-hero here is Wolverine. Gorgeous, rugged, down-to-earth, and yet not quite of this earth.

Second we have the fun boy—the adventurer rogue who’s not quite so serious. He can make us laugh, he’ll get us into trouble with him, but then he’ll make sure we get out alive. He’ll cry if something happens to us, he’ll give us the last cookie off the plate, and yet he’s got a childlike spirit in the body of a man. My choice for the fun boy is Rick O’Connell—who woke up the Mummy and then put him back into his eternal slumber.

Third, we have the rogue—he’s not really an antihero because we know he’ll come through for us in the end, but he’s the playboy, the flirt, the risk-taker, the mercenary we all know and love. He loves women, sometimes he ends up running the other way, but in the long run, he’s going to do the right thing. My choice for the rogue is: Han Solo, and can any of us ever forget his immortal line when Princess Leia told him she loved him? “I know.”

And fourth—we have the prince in pauper’s clothing. We have the king. He’s regal, whether or not he’s wearing his royal garb. He’s honorable, he won’t flinch from his duty, he would rather stride through the woods but when he’s called upon, he will take up the task and lead the men to glory. His crown weighs heavy, but he follows his destiny. He can only marry a princess—but not one flighty and worried about her glass slipper. No, he’s destined for otherworldly love—and we wish for a moment we were the Elfin woman who won his heart—for we, too, would give up immortality for a man who has eyes only for us. And of course, my choice for the King is Aragorn, son of Arathorn, also known as Strider.

So who are your favorite heroes from movie, book, and ballad? What type best suits you? Have you met your real life hero? I know I have, in my husband—he’s more like Rick O’Connell.

Yasmine

Guest Blogger -- Julie Kenner

2009-11-13T00:01:00.000-08:00

The Writer’s Mind: Pondering the Pit of Organization

I recently gave a talk on story bibles at my local RWA chapter, and it got me thinking about the creative process and how information is organized, specifically, how different personalities organize different information.

For years, I worked in law firms, and I was always amazed at the different methods that attorneys had for organizing the information that passed through our offices. When I first started working in private practice, I worked for a huge law firm (Skadden Arps) and although the firm itself was beyond organized (you should see the file room!) the senior associate I was assigned to lived by stacks. Tall stacks. Yellow pads mixed with towers of pleadings.

And yet he always knew where everything is.

I feel a bit like that with my books. I’m not a girl who has a three ring binder with my story bible nicely hole-punched, but what I do have is a connected system of technological tools that keep me organized, both in my books and in my live. I’m a huge fan of Evernote – http://www.evernote.com/ --, for example, and everything and anything I think of about my books (audio notes, scribblings, cool character photos on the web, research on the phases of the moon) gets dumped in there, sent to the notebook assigned to the book or series, and then tagged mercilessly. Voila, stuff at my fingertips.

It’s not as great a tool, though, for moving plot points around, and there I use either Scrivener (for single books) (http://www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivener.html) or SuperNoteCard (for series) (http://www.supernotecard.com/). Both are really cool programs, that let you not only manipulate plot cards, but also provide a place for research (Scrivener) and character notes (SuperNoteCard is particularly nice, as it provides slots for the basics like appearance, traits, etc.). All good stuff, and I use it obsessively.

The thing is, though, that my techno-organization lust if spilling over into my non-writing life (do I have a non-writing life?). I’m using databases to organize various things around the house (Bento) and Delicious Library to organize my book (and audiobook and ebook) library. Why? Because I’m running out of room, plain and simple. I dream of a day when my office is clean and clear and all of these absurd pieces of paper are scanned so that I only have to look at a hard drive the size of a table top trivet.

Oh, yeah. I’m waiting….

Where would I go after that? I’m thinking the rest of the house. Container store spending sprees to organize the kitchen. Then, yes, the attic.

After that, the storage shed.

When y’all see me organizing the trunk of my car, you’ll know that I’ve finally got more time on my hands than I know what to do with. Somehow, I don’t think that day’s coming any time soon….

Linda's Writing: Heading for the Playground

2009-11-12T00:01:00.000-08:00

Writing is … fun. Writing is … work. Writing is … insane.

Writing is … play.

What is writing? All of the above.

But for me, it’s more a playground. Some fun, some kinda scary, and some nauseating. Remember the merry-go-round you’d push and push until you got so dizzy you feared the worst? That’s writing.

My Hex series is different since there’s a different witch in each book. Although I do bring the previous witches back just because I can’t let them go.

The book I’m working on now, The Best Hex Ever, is a playground of ups and downs. A lot of visits to the slides, swinging high and crawling through the multi-colored tunnels.

Witchy Maggie is a lot like Jazz, but she likes to blow things up more. Since she’s a Guardian for all creatures, she’s there to protect the weak and knock down the nasty. She does it very well too. She’s the fort you explore. Climbing to the top and looking out all sides to see something different. Always something new to find when you’re the adventuresome type.

Declan is a half fire demon that makes me think of the swings. You pump up and down (get your mind out of the gutter!) and your stomach does that whoosh! thing and you’re breathless all the time.

Maggie’s BFNWF (best female not witch friend) Sybil, who’s a calming Fae but also has the teeter-totter attitude in that while you feel relaxed around her anything can happen.

And Snips, Declan’s imp assistant who’s like one of the small animals you’ll ride. He’s so organized he’ll get your to your destination even if your imagination thinks you should be somewhere else.

Let’s add the messenger ferrets for the compound Maggie lives in. Highly caffeinated and mega attitude. They’re more like a nonstop game of tag.

That’s why when I talk about writing, I call it playing. I’m playing with my characters, not writing them.

We’ll have the playground all to ourselves where anything and everything can happen.

Lots of laughter, some tears (luckily, band-aids usually aren’t necessary), a need to stop and catch my breath.

Some days are rainy and gloomy, but the playground is always there with the sun shining. And other days the moon is full and there’s some sexy dancing going on there.

And when the writing goes tough, it’s easier to think of it this way than just slogging through it.

What about you? Do you try to view a task as more play than work to make it go easier?

Linda

Singin' in the Rain

2009-11-11T01:30:00.000-08:00

Ah, Gene Kelly - my favorite dancer. Okay, except for Gregory Hines and Baryshnikov and Nureyev and... you've guessed it. I love dancers.

But truthfully, one of my favorite movies scenes ever is that dance number with Gene with the umbrella and the rain - and I'm a movie fanatic. There's something perfect about that scene. Of course it's partly the music - written for Hollywood Review of 1929 by Arthur Freed and Nacio Herb Brown. And it's the genius behind the scene - directors Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly. And the technical people on set - I mean, who would think to have that water include a bit of milk in it so it showed up better on the screen?

But it's something much more than that - it's the joy that the combination of the music and the dancing and the scene inspire.

It makes me laugh. It makes me sing. It makes me happy whenever I think of it.

And why am I writing about a movie made in 1952 today? Because it's raining in Vancouver and when it rains in Vancouver I almost always sing this song. I sing the original version and I sing the Taco version. Do any of you remember Taco? He's a Dutch singer and came out with a terrific version of Singin' in the Rain in 1983. Check it out along with the original on YouTube. I guarantee you'll be singin' and dancin' when you hear them.

Thinking of Gene Kelly jumping in the puddles, swirling around the lamp post, giving his umbrella away and getting soaked (and knowing that he did that scene in a single take with a fever of 103), always makes me see the rain in a new light - and the joy I feel when I start singing (sadly off-key) in the rain and twirling my umbrella allows me to get through what I like to call the Wet - the November to April rainy season.

Because it rains almost every day in Vancouver in those six months and it can be pretty darn depressing. But for me? I've got Gene Kelly. And I'm singin' in the rain.

Kate

Cathy's Writing - Art meets business

2009-11-10T05:06:00.000-08:00

Today I received our first edit from our new editor. This is what some editors call the “first pass edits” and what others call the “style edits” or “content edits.” The basic concept of these edits is to do an overall look at the book.

When a lot of aspiring writers think of edits, they have in mind what are actually considered copy edits in the industry, (also called the "second pass" edits or sometimes the "line edits",) where grammar, composition, spelling and such come into play. Second pass edits are all about tense and word choice, adjectives and dangling participles. But in first pass edits, it’s all about the book as a whole. Character personalities, time lines of the world, and even the world itself (rules of the reality) are fair game. This is the kind of edits that make new authors bite their fingernails down to the quick while waiting for a reply. “Will s/he love my heroine?” “Was the ending surprising enough?” “Is the sex hot enough?” Etc., etc.

What’s a lot of fun is when the editor really likes the story and can think of all kinds of things to make it better! Ideas fly back and forth, either during a phone call, a meeting or through rapid-fire emails. Logic holes big enough to drive a truck through will make you slap your forehead with a pained, “D’oh!” and concerns about character flaws can make you either worry or defend your beloved ideas vigorously.

But what usually happens is that both the author and the editor think about the READER and what the reader wants to read, rather than what the author wants to write. This is where art meets business. Everybody tells an author “Write the best book possible.” But what does that really mean? Write it for WHO? What I, as an author, usually consider the best book is the one I sweated and struggled over for weeks, months or even years. I wrote it and I love it just as it is.

But is it the best book for the reader? How do you know? Ah, therein lies the path to madness.

Because readers are so very different, and all you have to judge on a debut book in a new series is what they’ve liked in the past. If it’s new and different, it might be that your best effort won’t meet the readers’ expectations. How many books have you picked up that’s a “wallbanger”— where you wonder what sort of drugs the author (and editor) were on to consider the book good enough to put on the shelf for money?

In fact, many aspiring authors I’ve coached have even mentioned that one of the main reasons they decided to write a book is because “I can write better than half of the stuff on the shelf.” That may or may not be true, of course, because what one reader considers utter dreck is the next person's favorite book of all time.

Authors tend to trust their editor on matters of business. After all, it’s their job to know what readers will buy, and craft their edits wisely so that the final book will appeal to the most number of readers possible. Ultimately, the "best book possible" is the one that sells the greatest number of books, rather than being a book that's desperately loved by a very few people.

I mention all of this because several of the edits I need to make are to the character’s background. “It’s too much for one person to bear,” was one comment on the heroine. “Can you remove a couple of these? The reader is going to be swimming before they’re halfway through the book.” She went on to list the burdens we’d heaped upon our poor character. There were eleven major crises in her present-day life and past that she had to deal with. Admittedly, that IS a lot to manage over the course of just a few days (the plot time line of the book.) So, Cie and I talked it over and said, yes, you’re probably right. We can probably remove #3 and #10, and oh, #11? That’ll be resolved by the end of book 3, so let’s leave it in book 1. Our editor sent a smiley face and thanked us for being willing to make the changes. She appreciated that we understood the business of . . . well, the business. We want the reader to have an enjoyable read, a fast and furious read that makes it a fun experience. So now I have to go in and actually REMOVE all mentions of #3 and #10, and restructure her responses to things that might be because of those issues. It will mean a few sleepless nights but I do agree with the editor that the book will be better for it.

How about the rest of you who are published (and those who aren’t.) Have you read books that you wish the author and editor had had more conversation about the plot and characters before it was released into the wild? Or do you like to read exactly what comes out of the author’s head, no matter whether it flows well? Everybody is different, after all, so I’m interested to hear your thoughts. :D

Candy's Writing

2009-11-09T04:02:00.000-08:00

A lot of people gave me grief when I told them I was going back to school to get my Masters degree. "You have three full time jobs! Are you crazy?" Maybe I am a little crazy. It hasn't been easy, but it has been fulfilling. And I can say that while I'm neck deep in a 30-page project about why "Twilight" and "Harry Potter" are successful, and fighting a rather nasty head cold. School has helped me get some perspective on my life and what I want to do with it.

But I didn't know that before I began. I took a risk and it's already paying off in way's I couldn't begin to explain, but I'm going to try. At first I was going to school because I wanted to keep a promise to myself. I'd always said when the kids went away to college, I would go back. So I did. This first semester was to test the waters, and it was a big risk with all that I have on my plate.

I didn't want to do an MFA in creative writing, because I wanted to broaden my horizons. I happened upon a Humanities program that incorporates writing, psychology, philosophy, archeology, mythology, art, history and several other disciplines I'm interested in. This first class has opened my eyes in seeing how other people in the world look at things. It has also given me context and comparisons for my day jobs, as well as my writing. For example: Something I learned in my class, helped me realize why people reacted the way they did to "Paranormal Activity" and "The Fourth Kind." We'd been talking about the "collective experience" and bam, there it was right in front of me.

My class helped to give me context with a special project I'm working. I've learned why some heroes in fiction and film draw in a bigger audience than others do. All of it has informed my writing. I don't know if it's making me a better writer, but it's certainly making me a more thoughtful one.

It's also taught me to love research, something I've never done much of before. Trust me, I've had a lot of help from some of my favorite librarians, who have been beyond helpful. I'll find some nugget and then I want to search for more.

This project about Twilight and Harry Potter was something I wanted to do since I'm working on a YA. From all the research for the annotated bibliography I'm doing I've learned some key elements that made those books successful. And maybe, just maybe I can apply those to my own work. I also ran into some research about a subject that will become the main focus for another book. So it's all good.

Do you need a graduate degree to be a better writer? Of course not. But is getting a graduate degree making ME a better writer? I think so. It is certainly broadening my horizons. Being in school has also forced me to become more organized and to use my time wisely. Most days it feels like every second is taken up by something these days, and I've felt completely overwhelmed more than once.

But it's worth it. All of it.

So I want to know about you. Have you ever taken a leap of faith? Or a big risk that paid off in a big way? Tell me, I want to know.

Writerly Discipline and Shirking It (Sometimes)

2009-11-07T00:00:00.000-08:00

Hi all! This is my first regular post with the Witchy Chicks. I'm thrilled to be a part of this blog! In case you're not already familiar with my books, I'm a paranormal romance author. Sometimes my books are erotic and when they're not erotic, they're still really spicy.

At the moment I'm under a deadline for Jeweled, an historical fantasy romance for Berkley Heat. It's due at the end of November. The first draft is still not done, but I've got myself on a schedule to have it completed by next week. I'll need at least two weeks to revise it (luckily this first draft is already pretty clean).

But I'm still far more pressed than usual. Ordinarily I give myself much more time to revise. That means the pedal is to the metal, my nose is to the grindstone, my butt is in the chair and my hands are on the keyboard. You know, all that stuff.

That means I cannot allow the Internet and all its luscious offerings distract me. Boy, is it hard. My Twitter time is limited (woe!), as is my Facebook time (no, Farmville? Ack!). I can't visit the blogs I normally do or participate in any loop discussions, no I.M. Basically, until this book is done I have to be very disciplined.

Discipline is something writers know a lot about. If one were to advertise on Monster.com for a fiction writer, self-starter would definitely be listed as a requirement. We have no one looking over our shoulder telling us to get to work! All we have are these intangible things called deadlines. We have editors, of course, but they're not like a boss in an office. They're waaaaay over there in New York or wherever, not in our work environment telling us to get busy.

But what is in our work environment? Let's take stock. The television, the Internet, the new novel we picked up yesterday, the Wii, the laundry, grocery shopping that needs to be done, house cleaning, the treadmill. The list goes on. Any of these things work for me when I'm looking for a way to procrastinate. The Internet is by far the worst thing, of course, because it's fun (I really don't have all that much trouble blowing off housework or the treadmill, unsurprisingly enough.)

Here's what happens in my head when I'm writing.

Writing, writing, writing.
Pause. (thinking)
Writing, writing, writing.
Pause. (thinking)
Oh, damn, I'm stuck.
Stares at blinking cursor.
Yup. Still stuck.
Hmmm…I wonder what's going on over on Twitter/Facebook/fill-in-the-blank? And *poof* I'm gone.

Yeah.

There are days when I have so little discipline I have to actually disconnect my wireless Internet. If I do that, this is what happens:

Writing, writing, writing.
Pause. (thinking)
Writing, writing, writing.
Pause. (thinking)
Oh, damn, I'm stuck.
Stares at blinking cursor.
Yup. Still stuck.
Hmmm…I wonder what's going on over on Twitter/Facebook/fill-in-the-blank? Oh, that's right. Can't.
Stares at blinking cursor for several more moments.
Aha! I'm unstuck!
Writing, writing, writing.

Occasionally, when I'm REALLY stuck and I know I'm going to have rewrite a section and take the book in another direction, distractions can be a good thing. Sometimes staring at the blinking cursor just isn't enough to power through a block like that. That's when taking myself out of the story is a good thing. It helps free my mind up and gets me thinking in another direction.

Housework, oddly, works well for me in this regard. It's sort of meditative for me, allowing creative thoughts to bubble up from the everyday muck my mind produces. Same thing with walking on the treadmill. Sometimes watching a little TV or a movie helps too, or listening to music. Music will often help to get the synapses firing in a new direction, I've found. So distractions aren't always so bad, I guess.

Hmmm…I wonder if my lavender crop is ready in Farmville yet?

Thanksgiving

2009-11-06T05:00:00.000-08:00

"Lend me a heart replete with Thankfulness." - William Shakespeare

I've been thinking about thanksgiving lately. Not the holiday celebration, but the practice. I've been down many spiritual roads in my lifetime, adopting and keeping certain rituals during certain periods, them moving along when the energy of that particular ritual no longer feels alive to me. The only thing I've always been - dare I say it? - religious about is gratitude. Because I firmly believe that no matter how it's done, a regular practice of counting my blessings helps me keep things in perspective. It keeps me mindful of just how lucky and rich I am - at least by my standards. I'm not a jettsetting millionaire, I haven't met all my career goals (yet) and I haven't experienced Nirvana. But I have a supportive, loving husband; a solid roof over my head; a beautiful garden; healthy, happy kids; a body that is strong and capable and a network of amazing, talented, wonderful friends. I'll take that over a fat bank account any day, and shout thank you from the mountaintops.

"Gratitude consists of being more aware of what you have than what you don't." - Unknown

A while back, I wrote about the Thankful Thursday postings on Live Journal. I participate every week; it's a small thing that takes me maybe ten minutes, but it makes me stop and really think about all the things that are making my heart happy at that moment. Sublime, silly, profound or playful, it doesn't matter. It's just a practice of putting it out there for all the world to see. And it's bigger than Live Journal. Google "Thankful Thursday" and you'll see a whole lotta gratitude flowing out there. It's a beautiful thing, a celebration of what is right in a world that sometimes feels horribly wrong.

"We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are concious of our treasures." - Thorton Wilder

We've all had them - those spontaneous moments of beauty or grace when you see or hear something that cracks your heart wide open and floods you with peace. Or hope. Or love. In my experience, actively practicing gratitude on a regular basis makes you more open to those experiences, more able to surrender to the wow of it and say Yes, yes life is good and I'm am in love with it! So, how to do it? Prayer works, so does a simple thank you to the full moon or a heartfelt bow to the sun, setting over the waves. You can light a special candle and meditate on your blessings while it burns, or you could light incense as an offering and send you thanks skyward on the breeze. You can jot down one thing you're thankful for every day in your journal (even if it's just hot coffee or a great episode of your favorite TV show) or do it on a more public venue like the Net. Sometimes, when I'm having trouble falling asleep and need to still my busy mind by giving it something to chew on, I'll take Rosemary Clooney's White Christmas advice and count my blessings instead of sheep. It really doesn't matter how you do it, you'll still feel the effects.

"Whatever I am offered, in devotion with a pure heart - a leaf, a flower, fruit or water - I accept with joy." Bhagavad Gita

I've been through dark times. We all have. But even during those times when I was struggling to find hope and peace, I dug deep and fished out little shining bits of gratitude. Sometimes I dragged myself to my journal or out to my meditation bench and made myself sit there, waiting for something to come. You know what? Something always did. Maybe a butterfly danced past me, or maybe I caught a whiff of roses on the breeze. Maybe one of my sons came in to offer me a hug (and ask for a snack). It wasn't always easy to see through the shadows, but light will find a way in if we let it.

"He who knows that enough is enough will always have enough. - Lao Tsu

So, as you're planning your meals and celebrations, as you're shopping for groceries, stuffing the turkey and watching the parade or the football games, give yourself a gift. Step outside into the sunlight - or into a quiet, peaceful room - and take a minute to count your blessings. You'll be amazed at how rich you can feel.

"Thanksgiving, after all, is a word of action." - W.J. Cameron

A Brief Song About Coffee

2009-11-05T04:34:00.000-08:00

It is early in the morning and
my cup is steaming hot
full of milky coffee
just waiting for a shot

of a little something extra
a little something neat
a little something spicy
or maybe something sweet

Oh I love to drink my coffee
from a never empty cup
as long as it is HOT
I will sip it and slurp it UP.

Coffee's full of antioxidants
It's really good for you
so don't listen to the ones who say
you're wired out the wazoo

Because you're not you know
you're just really wide awake
from drinking coffee, coffee, COFFEE!
and that makes everything just Jake!

Terey, off to get another cup of coffee