These are our two St. Bernard's, Tiny (left) and Missy. Tiny is only half-St. Bernard, but Missy is full-bred. She's about a year old and I don't think she's done growing yet.
I'm at home today since my daughter doesn't have school (although my stepson, who is in middle school, does - go figure) . I'm officially still "at work" since I'm just working from home today. I caught my dogs napping earlier this afternoon and had to take a picture. The temperatures are climbing into the 40's, breaking us out of the cold snap we've been in. As a result, the ice and snow are melting, creating a rather soupy mess in the backyard. These two don't seem to mind, though.
I sent my partial off on Saturday and was quite pleased with the small changes I made. I read Sol Stein's chapter on first sentences and how invaluable they are. It made me look at my opening again. I figured out a way to edit it and now it holds much more meaning. I'll blog more about Stein's advice later this week.
I'm always intrigued at what craft books writers find helpful. I've always enjoyed Deb Dixon's GMC: Goal, Motivation, and Conflict and just recently discovered Jessica Morrell's Between the Lines. Do you have any favorites?
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I just bought GMC. Haven't read it yet. I love Dwight Swain, though he's a hard read. And Donald Maass. I have a bunch of others too. Maybe I'll have a day of reading craft books on Wednesday as a break from my wip.
ReplyDeleteYour dogs look great :)
Dog pictures...how nice. I love the widget with your articles.
ReplyDeleteSomeday I'm going to take you to The Writer's Store in L.A. and let you brouse. I think you will faint in ecstasy.
I've heard great things about GMC, guess I need to check it out.
ReplyDeleteI tend to start craft books and then lose interest and get back to writing. I found The First Five Pages useful when editing my first manuscript. Also, I remember enjoying The Forest For the Trees (or something like that). I can't remember the author or exact title and can't go get it because my company is napping in the guest room where most of my books are located.
I just started On Writing and have been enjoying Mr. King's anecdotes.
Love the dogs! They look so peaceful. Glad to hear it's warming up for you. :)
Anissa - I just bought The First Five Pages yesterday! I'm excited to get into it. :)
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed Stephen King's book On Writing. And I recently read No Plot, No Problem and really enjoyed that.
ReplyDeleteThe dogs are too cute! I love St Bernards!!
Great pic! They're sooooooo cute.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tip on the Morrell book!!
We used to have Saint Bernards. Jake and George. Lovable they were!
ReplyDeleteI return time and again to On Writing by Stephen King. He keeps it simple and it's always inspiring.
My latest find is CHAPTER BY CHAPTER by Chapter by Heather Sellers. It's a keeper! Helps you find the focus and dedication needed for finishing a whole book. I'll blog about it later.
ReplyDeleteTHE HERO WITH A THOUSAND FACES, by Joseph Campbell. It's the best book on story writing I've found, and it inspired George Lucas in his creation of the "Star Wars" films. Here's a link to it on amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/Hero-Thousand-Faces-Commemorative-Bollingen/dp/0691119244/sr=1-1/qid=1172069007/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/002-5594177-2753656?ie=UTF8&s=books
ReplyDeleteSome great recommendations, everyone. Thanks!
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