A Time For Everything

...And nowhere to go.

As the saying goes anyway. Despite being up *way* past my bedtime last night, I am up early. I might have slept longer, but my tummy was rumbling something fierce. And I might sneak a little snooze later, but for now, the morning is quiet. I haven't gotten to enjoy a quiet morning all to myself in a very very long time. And it's delicious. I can feel the stress ebbing away...

It's retreat weekend--and I have already gotten started. Sorta. The story I'm going to wrok on is open. The last critique of said story is open. And I'm going to work. For the first time in at least a week, but probably longer.

It had been quite some time since I've even booted up my laptop--Dropbox updated 16 files. I have no idea what they were, but...

I don't even have kid responsibilities today. Sonshine got himself up and DH is driving him to school. Woot!

So now off to (writing) work I go. Heigh ho, heigh ho.

What about you? Big weekend plans? Do share!

Just counting the hours until the weekend. My chapter is having its annual retreat this weekend even though I won't be attending. Unfortunately, money just didn't allow for it. But I'm still planning on retreating from the family and spending the weekend writing/revising/brainstorming. Cross your fingers that I'm as productive as I can possibly be.

I have a list of things I want to work on and accomplish, so I have somewhat of a plan.

I'm still waiting to hear from Entangled Publishing to whom I submitted my first manuscript. The website says it takes approximately six weeks to get a response. Well, six weeks came and went, and I still waited. After another three weeks, I decided to touch base with the editor. She said she'd passed my manuscript on to another editor who was juggling fewer books, so I'm still waiting for notification, one way or the other.

Well, it's time to get to work...

Have a great day and I'll be here Friday!

This weekend is the annual writers retreat that my writing chapter sets up just for chapter members. My critique partners and I will all be attending and sharing two adjoining rooms between the five of us.

It's going to be a lot of fun.

I've attended every band event since school started, waited on humid buses with rowdy/antsy kids during rain delays, gotten wounded in the line of prop duty, served countless dinners and snacks, but I will be missing this Friday's football game. DD will be serving dinner and handing out snacks in my stead while I hang out with my writer buddies.

Food, friends, fun and writing!

I'm swinging back towards writer mode, though what I'll be writing remains to be seen. Probably nothing new. I have a dozen things in various stages of completion so I think I'm going to concentrate on finishing a few things. (What a concept, huh?)

I've also been in watching mode.

Last Friday, I re-watched The Notebook for the first time in many years, maybe for only the second time ever. The first time I watched it, I blubbered big time. This time, yep, I cried again, though the blubbering at the end wasn't quite as intense since I did know how it ended this time 'round. But why did this film evoke such strong emotions in me? Partly because of the chemistry between the younger leads. I had read previously and then again on Friday that Ryan Gosling (whom I think is really a spectacular actor) and Rachel McAdams had quite an adversarial relationship. There's a fine line between love and hate (I'm not saying they hated each other--they dated for three years) and that passionate emotion spilled onto the screen. Partly I think because the writers took the time to build the relationship. There are twelve steps to intimacy and romance writers are encouraged to include as many steps as possible in their books to create a believable relationship between the hero and heroine. No, you don't have to follow the steps in order, that's another blog post for people who are interested. Anyway, I don't know if the screenwriters followed them in order or included all of them, but they built a believable relationship--

This wasn't supposed to be a dissertation on The Notebook, just a little review. Many people think it overly sappy or whatever, but I like it. And I think it requires a bit more study and breakdown to see just why it works for me.

On Friday, after the movie I was still bored and needed something else to do. So I moved on to Glee. Glee is the FOX comedy about a high school glee club whose members all struggle for acceptance and popularity in their school. The kids are a mish-mash of religions and ethnicities; half girls, half boys; one kid in a wheel chair; and every sexual orientation.

They've sung songs from R&B to show tunes to pop to classic rock and from every decade since the 20s (Louis Armstrong's "When You're Smiling"). The story lines are very over the top, but it's funny, though I don't recommend it for youngish children. I wouldn't even recommend it for high schoolers, to be honest.

So anyway, I blew through season one over the weekend and have started season two.

Last night, we watched Miracle--the-based-on-a-true-story story of Herb Brooks who led the 1980 US Olympic Hockey team to victory over the highly favored Russian team overcoming tremendous odds to do so. Highly recommended!

Then, at the request of my son, we watched Facing the Giants, the second inspirational movie written, created, filmed, acted and produced by Sherwood Baptist Church in a subdivision of Albany, Georgia. The film doesn't match blockbuster quality and it's a bit slow at the beginning but it's a feel-good movie full of positive messages about God and faith.

As for writing mode, I've finished an exchange fic I signed up for and am ready to send it off--as soon as I come up with a title. Yesterday, I read through the first chapter of another fic that I am thinking of posting as a WIP hoping I'll be motivated/pressured to finish it. I'm still on the fence about that. I might wait until I have a few more chapters under my belt. I also did a read-through of one of my short original works-in-progress. That one needs some work and it's been teasing me, so I think that's what I'll be tinkering with for a little while.

And that's all folks. :)

We went to Country Woods Inn...if you want to see what the cabins and the grounds were like, check the web site. I failed to get many pictures of those.

The highlights of my weekend were, not necessarily in this order:

1) Ella, the sheep with the missing ear, who reminded of my dear stuffed neon green bunny, received many many Easters ago.

2) Annie Sam the resident pig who was quite cute and enjoyed a good scratching.


3) And Josh, our waiter at dinner on Friday night at a local restaurant.

I know I promised pictures and I did take them, but the cable that allows me to download the pics from the camera to the PC is still at home. Grr...

The weekend was fabulous and the rain was a no-show. It did get rather chilly overnight, but the days were gorgeous. We stayed at Country Woods Inn in Glen Rose, Texas. The accommodations were rustic and charming. The conversation with fellow writers, about everything from our works-in-progress to politics and religion to our children or grandchildren, was delightful. The setting quite conducive to writing--at least by all members of our party.

Pics tomorrow, I promise. *writes note to self*

I've got my list, I've checked it twice and thrice...

This is retreat weekend and I'm leaving the office in three hours or so. WOO HOO!

I've been working on packing for a few days now, but there are just some things you can't pack until the very last minute--toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant.

Other things I've been gathering into a pile, hoping I don't forget something important. I am a creature of habit and I can be an anxious person. In order to lessen my anxieties when I am away from home, I take certain things with me to provide that semblance of comfort.

So I'll check my list at least thrice more, once when I leave the office as there a couple of things here at the office I need to take home, the second when I stop by the store for those last few snacks and health & beauty products, and the last time as I load up my car to leave home.

No cleaning this weekend (although I *still* haven't finished that last section of hallway wall). Just lots of time for writing and brainstorming and critiquing with my fellow writers. YAY.

See you on Monday with pictures!

This weekend I'm off to a writing retreat with a dozen or so fellow members (and friends) of my writing chapter. I can't tell you where we're going or I'd have to kill you because I'm not in charge of getting myself there and I've completely forgotten the name of the place. I do know there are a handful of cabins, so we're all divided up. I'm sharing a cabin with my critique partners and an extra.

I've been working on my YA manuscript these past few days, getting ready for the weekend, trying to figure out what I want/need help with in preparation for submitting it in my chapter's writing contest at the end of December. I want to it to be completely finished/polished/ready to send to the final round judge (an editor from Berkley Books) should it make it that far and get requested. :)

I work about a third of a day tomorrow, maybe half and then I'll be off. I'll try to post on Monday, with pictures, of our weekend.

See you there, Regina! (And I sure have missed seeing you.)

What a wonderful weekend I had out at Deer Lake Cabins in eastern Texas. My local RWA chapter held their annual Writers Roundup there.

The weather was gorgeous--70s during the day with cooler morning and evening temps, and crisp over-night temps.

These cabins, which are not cabins at all, but houses on a small lake, were stocked with all the basics but food.

The leaves were all sorts of rich fabulous fall colors, the company was fantabulous, the workshops fun and informative.

I came home reinvigorated to write. I even tried something new--our presenter Candy Havens called it a Treasure Map, but most would call it a collage. So I created a treasure map for my book--I was limited though because the bulk of my story takes place in 1942. There was only one magazine that had anythings whatsoever to do with the 1940s. I'll have to add a few more things now that I'm home with access to a PC and the Internet.

Overall a wonderful break.