Tears of Joy

Last night, my daughter wanted to do her reading homework. I was ecstatic. But I was even more ecstatic when we practiced her spelling words and she got every one right. I had tears in my eyes and hugged her over and over. She was so proud of herself! And I was proud of her!!!

If you'll remember a few months ago, I blogged about my fears over my daughter's reading skills. She really struggled for awhile. But thanks to wonderful teachers and the Reading Recovery program, she is doing much, much better. In fact, tonight she picked a book off her shelf and said that she wanted to read it to me. How awesome is that?

In Writing News

I'm in the midst of the Great Agent Quest and have sent out several queries over the past week. We'll see if anything comes of them. I'm editing and trying to remember to have fun with the language. With that kind of perspective, it really makes a difference in my attitude. I'm hopeful that I can dive into the manuscript this weekend and really get to the nitty gritty of things. I'd love to take a day off, but unfortunately, we're short-staffed at work at the moment and I would feel too guilty about leaving. But I am taking an extra day's vacation for Thanksgiving, so maybe I'll get some writing done then.

Can You Ever Have Too Many Books?

Hubby is building a long row of bookshelves along our basement walls. They're going to replace one of our larger shelves that is stacked full of books and is not very stable. It was a freebie at a garage sale and the wood is warped. It's just a matter of time before the thing teeters over.

Now I'm faced with moving the books from that shelf over to the new one. Not a very daunting task, of course, but I'm wondering if I really need all those paperbacks. I can justify my history books by saying, "I'll need one of those for research someday" and that has happened on more than one occasion. But for all those paperbacks, I just have to wonder - will I ever read them all? Or would it be better to release them to the world?

I'm thinking I'm going to do some serious weeding over the next few days. Let's face it - there are books on that shelf that I am never going to read. Why keep them around? I think a used bookstore in town is going to be very happy with me in a few weeks.

Deep in Edit Mode

I'm having a blast editing my novel. I know, I know, it sounds crazy, but this is where I really dig deep into the story and capture what I want to do. Chapter One has been completely cut. Chapter Two is now Chapter One and the backstory eliminated (with Rene's kind help.) I'm pretty darn happy with how it's turning out and I really really wish I could take a few days off work to edit. There's something about delving into your story and becoming so immersed with it that you forget everything else.

I love to edit. I love to play with the language and come up with new, compelling phrases and imagery. I also am excited to try out some of the techniques in Between the Lines: Master the Subtle Elements of Fiction Writing that I bought while in Chicago.

In Other News...

I bought a pair of jeans in yet another smaller size yesterday - woo hooo!!! There's nothing like buying a pair of jeans a size smaller than you normally wear. I can't wait to go to Curves tonight and step on the scale. I haven't been there in over a week, so I'm hopeful I've lost at least another pound or two.

Also picked up a copy of Jeff Shaara's latest novel, The Rising Tide: A Novel of World War II - this is the first in a three-book series. I caved and bought it in hardback since I didn't have the patience to wait for it to come out in paperback.

All in all, a good weekend. And you?

Veteran's Day: Please Thank a Veteran

This year Veteran's Day falls on a Saturday. You probably won't get your mail today, you might be inundated with ads for sales, and the fact that it's a weekend might make you forget what today means. But for just a moment, remember the veterans who served this country - the men and women who fought for your freedom.

Today, I thank the veterans in my life:

- My father, who served in the U.S. Air Force

during the Vietnam War
- My husband, who served in the U.S. Army

during the First Gulf War

-My cousins who served in the Armed Forces

during the Vietnam War
-My cousins and great-uncles who served in the U.S. Army

in the Pacific and European Theaters during WW2

If you know a veteran or see a veteran while you're out and about today, take a moment to say "thank you." They'll appreciate it more than you know.

Please take a moment to view this slide show - sometimes pictures say it all.

How to Quit Smoking Tip #1: Guilt

This is my daughter's contribution to her How to Make Dad Stop Smoking campaign. Apparently she made this poster at school one day and brought it home for her dad. And y'know what? It's worked. Hubby has felt so guilty about smoking that he's been smoke-free for three days now. :-) My daughter has been quite happy and eagerly told me the news yesterday when I went to pick her up at daycare. Hubby has tried to stop smoking several times now, but the nicotine habit is a hard one to break. I also happen to think my daughter is pretty darn talented at drawing - she's only six. And although she doesn't have all the words spelled right (the saying on the shirt is supposed to read "I like my family"), she got her point across.

I hope to tackle the manuscript this weekend. When I looked over my first chapter, I had a "d'oh!" moment. How could I not realize how none of it moved the story forward? Ah well, I think Tess is right - it's part of the process.

That Darn Backstory

Why is it that you can spot errors in another person's work a mile away, but can't see the errors in your own work?

That's why we have proofreaders, editors, copyeditors, and critique partners in this world. And God bless 'em all. But God bless Rene today for pointing out that my first chapter was almost entirely backstory. I had an inkling that it didn't start exactly where I wanted it to, but wasn't sure.

The thing is, it's not like I had paragraph after paragraph of solid narrative. I had action, I had dialogue, I had the character's thoughts and feelings. But backstory isn't necessarily paragraphs of narrative that reveal the character's life story. It can be told through lots of other devices. And that's exactly what I did.

But starting my story with chapter two will work perfectly. Now I have to come up with a great first line...

Chicago is My Kind of Town

I went to Chicago for my business trip. We left on Sunday and got back late Tuesday night. The picture to the left is the view from my hotel room - and yes, it was a foggy morning Tuesday morning, one that delayed flights at the airport which is probably why we were a little delayed getting home.

My two co-workers and I hit the Windy City for a copywriting workshop. While I learned a ton at the workshop, I'd have to say I enjoyed the sightseeing more.

We walked down the famous Michigan Avenue with all the prestigious shops (and we mostly just looked, believe me!) and of course, I had to hit the four-story Borders and fell in love with their WW2 section. (But I only bought two books!)

But by far, I think the best highlight was going to the top of the Hancock Building, sitting in the bar with a glass of sparkling water, and looking at the amazing view from the 96th floor. It was rather creepy to watch the planes go by, but we tried to put that out of our minds as we looked at the absolutely breathtaking view. Wow. We got there just as the sun was starting to set, so we were able to look at the city in the daylight and at night. Amazing. And of course, I didn't bring my camera! But my coworkers did and I hope they got a few good pics.

One thing is for sure - I couldn't drive in the city. I'd be a mass-transit kind of girl or walk everywhere. And we did plenty of walking. I hope that somehow counteracted all the food we ate 'cuz I tell ya what - I didn't care what I ate while I was there! I visited the Hershey store and the Ghiradeli chocolate store (and I probably spelled that wrong), but the best food by far was the deep dish Chicago pizza at Giordano's off Michigan Ave. Yum.

The thing I noticed the most about Chicago was the diverse ethnicity. But it still has the Midwest mentality because almost everyone -except angry drivers - were pretty darn nice.

I definitely want to go back. There was a lot we didn't get to do and I really wish we would have had time to go see the King Tut exhibit at the museum. But guess I'll save that for another time.

Now I'm ready to settle back into life and start working on my novel. And I'm also ready to apply my newly-learned techniques to my job. :-)

Weekend Update

Nothing deep or meaningful for this post today. I've been packing for my business trip and chatting with hubby tonight, so profound thoughts have not made their way into my brain yet.

I'm not a cat lover and I cater more to the canine species, but our feline, Katie, has somehow stolen my heart. Here's a pic of her I couldn't resist sharing (Stop snickering, Rene!). I also took my dog for a ride today in the car - he hasn't done that in awhile. He was thrilled to stick his head out the window and feel the wind in his face. :-) You can see pics of all our pets on this page of my terribly generic website.

Had a nice weekend. Friday night I went over to my mom's and we had supper with my brother and his family(who came from Western Nebraska for the Husker game), plus my other brother. My mom graciously agreed to let my two kids stay the night so they could play with their cousins since they don't get to see them very often, so hubby and I had the night to ourselves.

This afternoon I watched our Huskers win their Homecoming game over Missouri (woo hooo!) and put away all the dishes in my china cabinet. That was an accomplishment in itself since I wrapped everything in newspaper when I moved. Then my daughter and I went shopping with my mom and niece and we found some great bargains. And, of course, I didn't do any relaxing at all like I wanted to and I'm starting to wonder if I remember how to relax.

I'm leaving Sunday for a business trip and will be gone until Wednesday. To tell you the truth, I'd rather stay home. Yeah, it'll be fun to get out of town and go somewhere I've never been, but with all the running around I've been doing the last month, I'd like to just take a day off instead!

Didn't do too much more with my novel's timeline, but it's been stewing in the back of my mind all weekend. I hope to work on it after my trip. Hope the rest of your weekend is great and the beginning of your week is wonderful!

The Importance of Time

Last night, in between loads of laundry, I dug out my hardcopy of my novel and tried to figure out my timeline. Not quite ten minutes into it, I realized I had a major problem. I started my story too late. I needed to go about a month back in time.

Since my novel is a historical and takes place during World War II, I need to make sure my dates correspond with what's going on in the world. In fact, lots of my story revolves around those important dates. So even though I would write, "Two weeks later..." in my story, I discovered last night that I really need to know exactly what date two weeks later would bring me to.

Thankfully, the wonders of the Internet supplied me with a calendar from 1945. Now I can plot each and every date I need and know that it is historically accurate.

Do you use a timeline to plot your characters' lives?

A Little Bit of This

To say I've been busy would be an extreme understatement. If I stop and think a minute about everything I had to do in October, I think it would send me screaming for extra large doses of chocolate. And even though finishing the novel was the highlight of the month, I'm hopeful that November will be slightly less crazy. A little bit of "busy" can go an extremely long way.

So for this blog post, I'm going to clear my head of the junk that's been crowding into every single corner in hopes that I will be able to relax a bit more and start focusing on my novel edits.

The Top Ten (Or So) Things on Melissa's Mind

1) The internet is fixed. Turns out it had nothing to do with my computer, my modem, or user error. Instead, it was the cable lines outside on the pole - they were corroded and basically, needed to be replaced.

2) Hubby's snoring has got to stop. I say this with the greatest affection possible, but after numerous nights of subtle kicks and pushes on any part of his body my feet will reach, I'm ready for an undisturbed night of rest.

3) My daughter's room looks like a giant Toys R Us reject room. If that makes little sense, you know exactly what the room looks like.

4) Pepsi One is not nearly as good as Diet Pepsi, a.k.a. the Hard Stuff, but it doesn't have the aspartame in it. I've heard mixed reviews of this partiular ingredient and I've decided to try and steer from it as much as possible.

5) I went and worked out last night and lost another pound. Yay! Yeah, yeah, it's only ONE pound, but I didn't lose 40 pounds by not taking it one pound at a time.

6) I love, love, LOVE the fall colors. Our street is lined with golds, reds, and dark yellows. The squirrels scamper among the leaves and our dogs like to lay in them. My two kids made a big leaf pile the other day and jumped into it. As my thirteen-year-old stepson told me, "It was like I was a kindergartener again." That's always a good thing to hear.

7) Dove Dark Chocolate might possibly be in the running against Godiva Dark Chocolate as Best Dark Chocolate Ever. The jury is still out.

8) I am starting to miss the world of eighteenth and nineteenth century England. My foray into WW2 hasn't left a lot of room for me to indulge in that particular passion. I get frustrated with not being able to equally dwell in both worlds.

9) I really, really, REALLY want to edit my novel. I feel, however, that my life must be a semblance of some sort of order before I dive into trying to get something else in order. My living room is done, but my kitchen, basement, and daughter's room is in serious need of arrangement. I can only ignore the mess for so long.

10) I am a big fan of Jared Hess's work. He's the director of Napoleon Dynamite and Nacho Libre. I couldn't resist buying Nacho yesterday (it was on sale, of course) and we all watched it last night. Two words for this movie: stretchy pants. And if that doesn't intrigue you enough to go watch the movie, well, watch it anyway. ;-)

11) I am dreadfully homesick. Thanksgiving is a few weeks away, but I can't wait. I miss my grandma and grandpa, my brother and his wife and kids, my dad, the family farm...sigh. I wish I had a personal jet to take me the 450 miles. Strange that I wanted to get out of that area (Western Nebraska) so badly, but every 3-4 months I have to go back, otherwise I get terribly homesick. It's mostly my family that I miss, but on the other hand, that area has a way of making me regroup and reevaluate.

Whew!

Apartment is clean. Keys turned in. Mail forwarded.

And now, Melissa breathes a big, giant, HUGE sigh of relief.

Of course, now my house is a disaster again since hubby finished moving everything else out of the apartment yesterday. My daughter's room was the last to be moved and now her new room is stuffed to the gizzards.

Halloween wasn't too spectacular since I was cleaning, but my daughter did get some good candy and my stepson won Best Costume at the party he went to.

The weekend promises to be a good one, though. My brother and his family are coming down for a Husker game and then I fly out of town for a writing convention for work on Sunday. Nothing like an all-expenses paid trip to learn more about writing!!!

Internet still isn't working at home, but I plan to hopefully have that fixed tonight by calling my tech support guy. Might just open my manuscript and get to work!