WORD FOR WEDNESDAY - a writer's game - come and play

So, you think you can . . . write?

Well if you want to write, you have to read. Take it from the King...Stephen King:

“If you don't have time to read, you don't have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that.” ― Stephen King

And, if you read, you should know a few words, including some unusual - not every day words, like Moira.

Yes, that is my WORD FOR WEDNESDAY MOIRA

So, do you know what it means?

Can you guess? Come on. Give it a try.

Have you thought long enough and hard enough? Okay then, scroll down to find the answer.

Further . . .

FURTHER….

moira is an individual destiny, will of the gods; fate and if you don’t believe me, just check it out here.

Now, were you “write” or were you wrong?  

FREAKY FRIDAY - Pennywise

I love Stephen King and I really enjoyed IT but I'm not sure I'd be up to see Pennywise lurking around a dark corner, carrying a balloon and stalking me down the street. I don't know, how about you?

If you're wondering what I'm talking about, check out this article here.

What do you think, would you be creeped out if you saw a clown on a corner just hanging around?

Pacific Rim - the Movie

My hubby and I went to see Pacific Rim this past weekend. It was Godzilla meets the Transformers.

It was a fun action film. I don't usually like these kinds of shows but it was kind of fun because it reminded me of watching one of those Godzilla films I used to watch on Saturday afternoons when I was growing up.

It also sort of reminded me of Stephen King's movie/book "The Mist".

In Pacific Rim, alien dinosaur-type creatures come through a rift in the earth (kind of like middle earth ;)
Only this rift is down underneath the water...

So all in all it was a fun night out.

Writing is a lot like Baking

These are two loaves of bread, baked in the same oven, at the same temperature and using the same recipe. The only difference: one package of yeast was obviously faulty. I tried to make the loaf on the right-hand side better by drizzling honey over the top--it was no no use, no hope and terrible. I had to throw the loaf away, well I composted it. I didn't even want to give it to the birds--it was soooo dense I think they might have broke their little beaks trying to chip away at it. It was hard as a brick.

I should have taken pictures of the dough as it was set to rise...it never did and I should have known just by looking at it that it was going to be horrible. But I went ahead and baked it and this is how it turned out:

I know, it looks like a flat, gooey, YUCKY mess - and it was.

My whole point of this post was to tell people that sometimes you can do everything right and still everything go can horribly wrong. I know people who have baked one loaf of bread and then "never again" because that one didn't turn out. Well, it could have been a simple fix - the yeast. Seriously.

The same goes with writing. I know lots of writers who have written a story, sent it out trying to get it published. Then they've gotten a few rejections and :( gotten horribly discouraged. They give up before they've even given themselves a chance. Sometimes you have to rework a recipe (story) and move things around. As you perfect your craft you'll only get better. And who knows it might not even be your fault that it isn't picked up. It might be that it's "just not right for the list," "it doesn't suit the needs," or it could even be personal taste. You might make the best lemon meringue pie in the world but if the person tasting your pie hates lemons...well, sorry charlie, it's not going to be picked up. That doesn't mean you should give up. The next person who tastes your pie might think it's the best thing on the planet.

It's the same with stories. I LOVE Stephen King's novels but none of my girlfriends will even read his books. I know, It's hard to believe but it's true.

I'm in two book clubs and I have been recommending S King books over and over again. Finally, my girlfriends said, "Kim, we are never going to read Stephen King. We are single ladies who live alone and when we curl up at night it's not going to be with a ghost, ghoul or serial killing maniac."

That got me thinking...tastes can be so different and sometimes things can go horribly wrong...even when you do everything "write" ;D But keep at it and you'll only get better...at baking and writing.

Running to Work and Running Nerdom

I love having a goal in mind. And I love running. But sometimes even the best of plans goes awry. I was running to work last week, in the dark. It was about 6:30 a.m. and (this was before daylight savings time kicked in) it was dark. Really dark. Of course I run with a reflective vest on--even though I'm running on the sidewalk. You know, safety first and all.

But there's a really dark portion of the run where I tend to speed up. It's surrounded by trees that block out the light from passing cars, street lights or pretty much anything. And I, being a lover of Stephen King and all that's dark and gruesome, still don't love running through dark secluded areas. Not so much.

Anyway, I was sprinting really fast--well, fast for me--when my foot hit a divot in the sidewalk that I couldn't and didn't see. My foot went to the left, while my body went to the right.

Not a pretty picture. A chubby old lady, running like a Bat Out of Hell, falling...

I went down, hard and fast. It was mere seconds but I had the time to think as I plummeted toward the cement, "If I was younger, I wouldn't be falling."

I've never had a sprain before. But, I guess it's like they say, there's a first time for everything.

Anyway, all this to say, if you're going to do something, you should have the proper gear. I should have had a headlight on like one of these or one of these.

Now, I know it sounds silly to wear a headlamp but do you want to be laid up for a few weeks? Not me. I'm feeling fairly miserable about this. I have to keep my ankle wrapped and try to stay off of it.

Impossible.

But I'm trying. So, if you're concerned about the Runner Nerdom of running with a headlamp on, don't be. First off, if you're running in the dark, no one's going to know it's you. Second, you don't look that good when you run anyway. Believe me. No runner is going to be winning a beauty contest at 6:30 in the morning, when they're sprinting. And lastly, and most importantly: Be safe! Not sorry. Or you just might end up looking like me, scary! No, I'm talking about my feet! See the photo above.

November 1st means NaNoWriMo

I know, it's hard to believe. It's already November. Time flies... and as we turn the page (on the calendar) we start turning the pages in our soon-to-be books because it's National Novel Writing Month or more commonly referred to with that lovable, little, nickname NaNoWriMo!

Have you ever wanted to write a novel? Ever even thought about taking up the gauntlet, accepting the challenge, sitting down and Just Do(ing) It?

Well, like Mom always used to say, "There's no time like the present." And, "Don't Put Off 'till Tomorrow What You Can Do Today." So why not pick up the pencil, take out a page, and pen a little prose? You might find you love it. And, if not, what have you lost? A little time, yes. But the time will pass whether you're writing or not. And, who knows, you might become the next Stephen King, Shakespeare or Twain and end up on the list of best-selling fiction authors of all time. And even if none of that happens, you might make a few writerly friends you didn't have before. And the man who wins the game (of life) is the one who ends up with the most friends on his side. So, come on...remember what it was like to be a kid? Follow your dreams.

"Can you come outside and play?" It's time to come away to this writer's retreat smack dab in the middle of your crazy life at Camp NaNoWriMo.

Favorite Stories from My Childhood

When I was little, growing up in a house with nine kids, grandma and Mom and Dad, it was always a full house. And, we only had one t.v. I think it was black and white - for years. We couldn't afford luxuries like . . . even boxed cereal. We sat down at the table, ripped up a piece of bread, poured some sugar and milk over it and Wah-Lah that was our home-made cereal. So...with only one t.v. and twelve people, I rarely got to pick what show we would watch. That's why I read, and read, and read. My favorites were the Oz stories. I read them over and over again. Then I graduated up to horror with Stephen King, Dean Koontz and more.

How 'bout you? Why did you start reading? When was your ah-ha moment? Reading was more fun than just about anything. And what were your favorite books?

Bag of Bones - the Book

I just finished Stephen King's 529 pages known as Bag of Bones. "A Haunted Love Story".

Of course SK is the King, at least in my mind, when it comes to horror, writing and leaving memories in my mind of the stories I've read.

My all time favorite book is Salem's Lot, which I read as a kid and it's the reason I became a fanpire.

But this book "Bag of Bones", started out slow, in my opinion. It could be that I was just too busy over the holidays to get sucked into the story but, like I said, it took me quite a while to get into it. But once I was hooked, I had to find out the story behind the story.

It was fun to get to know Mr. Noonan who was, like a lot of characters in SK's books, a writer. And I especially loved the refrigerator people. But the best part of all was the ending. It became a real page-turner that kept me up late into the night reading the fast-paced climax. And I loved how it didn't come out all wine and roses.

Now, I've just got to see the movie and compare the two.

The Undead Series

Okay, I've always been a fanpire ever since the early days with Dracula but then when Stephen King wrote Salem's Lot, I was really hooked. I've read lots of books and the Twilight series had to join that list. Then there was the TrueBlood line-up and I've just finished the Undead series.

I loved Mary Janice Davidson's wit and humor. I'd be laughing while I was reading and my husband would say, "Isn't that a vampire book?"

I'd say, "Yeah, but it's funny."

He'd look at me like I'd finally lost my mind.

Anyway, I've read 9 or 10 of the books (all 9 in the series plus one little spin-off werewolf 'tail' :) in the Undead series. The last one, though, Undead and Unfinished (HERE'S A SPOILER ALERT)

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definitely my least favorite. It had it's moments but the ending... I did not like that. Maybe because I've been happily married for so many years (yeah 27, count 'em - that's a lot of years) and we've had our moments of anger and arguments (of course, anyone who's been married more than a year has), but we've always "made up". So................I didn't like that ending. In fact I didn't like it so much, I doubt I would buy another book in the series...but you never know. I might want to find out what could have caused such a flip in Betsy's paranormal dimension but...maybe not.

I mean I can handle the shallow silliness, the shoes, the 'sucky' parts of the story but when you murder your own husband...I have to draw the line somewhere...right?

And, then, when she skins him and uses his (un)dead body to make a book (literally), I don't know call me squimish...it just didn't seem right to do those sorts of things to your most loved one. And no wonder she went a little crazy whenever she read from that hardback - after all it was her husband's.

Anyone else read the series? What were your thoughts?

Anyway that was a disappointment :(

A Bevy of Books

For Christmas I got a bunch of books- just what I wanted.

1) The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets


2) The Savage Garden


3) Shiver


4) Under the Dome

Answer to Thought for Thursday

You might think it's a romance writer--right?

But NO - that would be too EZ-Smeazy. I've got to work harder than that so you do.

Answer: Stephen King, my all-time fav writer

Good Books with Helpful Info for Writers

Good books with helpful information for writers:

1) Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne and Dave King;

2) Stein on Writing by Sol Stein; and, (if you check out their Appendix 2 (p. 264), you may see others you like as well.)

3) A Writer's Guide to Crafting Stories for Children by Nancy Lamb.

I have been reading On Writing by Stephen King but please note that Stephen King's book on writing as well as Annie Lamott's are listed under Books on Inspiration.