I just finished writing Year of the Dog ! It had a massive plot hole that I had to fix which turned out to be more work than I expected. Here’s a snippet: “Hey, Auntie Nell.” He wrapped his arms around her, bussing her on the cheek and breathing in pikake flowers and shortbread cookies. And suddenly he was nine years old again, and her solid presence had made his chaotic world stable once more. “What are you doing here?” He usually took her to dinner on Wednesday nights, but today was Tuesday. The edges of her smile faltered a little before brightening right back up again. “What, I can’t visit my nephew?” She angled around him to enter his home. “Is this your new house? Looks lovely.” Which was a blatant lie, because the fixer-upper was barely livable, much less acceptable to a neat-freak like his aunt. She also left four matching pink and purple floral suitcases on the stoop behind her. Only then did Ashwin notice the cab driver standing slightly to the side of the walkway. “Can ...
Captain's Log, Stardate 02.09.2006
Gina: HOORAY FOR MY FRIEND GINA WHO NOW HAS AN AGENT!!! Congrats, girl!
Christina: I'm pretty stoked b/c my friend Christina commented on my Xanga yesterday. Christina was one of my high school kids at church when...well, when she was in high school. :) Right now, she's on short-term missions in Japan! I'm so proud of her. She's grown into a beautiful woman of God. And now I've completely embarrassed her by mentioning her on my Blogger blog and my Xanga.
Why blog: I've been thinking about blogging lately. I love it. Probably because I like to talk. The problem is, why would a perfect stranger want to listen to me talk? I wouldn't.
I'm not looking for pats on the back. I'm seriously wondering what's the purpose of my blog. If it's just me talking about myself, there's only a limited circle of friends who care.
I love books, which is why I like giving them away. Is that my only blog purpose? Book giver-awayer? Can I talk about anything that people would want to read?
Take Terry Whalin. His blog The Writing Life is interesting because he's an editor at Howard Publishing and writers want to read about his thoughts and insights into the publishing industry. They want to hear what he likes and doesn't like about the proposals he receives. He has information and experience that encourages people to read what he says.
What do I have? Why would people want to read what I have to say?
I think it comes down to branding. Yeah, yeah, I said the b-word. What theme do I wrap myself in when it comes to my writing?
I care about a few issues--I'm against embryonic stem cells and abortion, but they aren't in all my books. I worked for 10 years in biology, but I don't always write about that field. What's my overarching theme?
I think it's Asiana. I love writing Asian characters. I love describing a Chinese wedding banquet or a Red Egg and Ginger party. Actually, I think I like those things because they involve yummy fried food, but that's another subject.
Maybe this is a different avenue to slant my blog toward. What do people think?
Bible in 90 Days: Day 32. I read yesterday but I didn't blog yesterday. Today I'm in Job. I'm more aware of God's sovereignty--He can do whatever He wants. He doesn't have to act in ways I expect. He doesn't have to bless us--He chooses to. It's not some cosmic rule that faithful, obedient people are blessed and evil people are cursed. It makes me feel a little unstable, but it also makes me trust Him. Job didn't give up in the midst of his trials. God wanted Job to trust in Him.
Writing: Yesterday I got a lot done with Dineen. She met me after PT and we sat in front of this great coffee shop with our laptops. But I need to get more done. Hopefully tonight.
Diet: Yesterday I was at about 1700 calories, plus I went to PT. Boy did they work me hard. They've added more exercises but they haven't taken any away. I was there for over 2 hours.
Today, I'm doing kind of bad in that I didn't eat breakfast, and had only a few bites for lunch. Dinner is eggplant and chicken parmesan.
Gina: HOORAY FOR MY FRIEND GINA WHO NOW HAS AN AGENT!!! Congrats, girl!
Christina: I'm pretty stoked b/c my friend Christina commented on my Xanga yesterday. Christina was one of my high school kids at church when...well, when she was in high school. :) Right now, she's on short-term missions in Japan! I'm so proud of her. She's grown into a beautiful woman of God. And now I've completely embarrassed her by mentioning her on my Blogger blog and my Xanga.
Why blog: I've been thinking about blogging lately. I love it. Probably because I like to talk. The problem is, why would a perfect stranger want to listen to me talk? I wouldn't.
I'm not looking for pats on the back. I'm seriously wondering what's the purpose of my blog. If it's just me talking about myself, there's only a limited circle of friends who care.
I love books, which is why I like giving them away. Is that my only blog purpose? Book giver-awayer? Can I talk about anything that people would want to read?
Take Terry Whalin. His blog The Writing Life is interesting because he's an editor at Howard Publishing and writers want to read about his thoughts and insights into the publishing industry. They want to hear what he likes and doesn't like about the proposals he receives. He has information and experience that encourages people to read what he says.
What do I have? Why would people want to read what I have to say?
I think it comes down to branding. Yeah, yeah, I said the b-word. What theme do I wrap myself in when it comes to my writing?
I care about a few issues--I'm against embryonic stem cells and abortion, but they aren't in all my books. I worked for 10 years in biology, but I don't always write about that field. What's my overarching theme?
I think it's Asiana. I love writing Asian characters. I love describing a Chinese wedding banquet or a Red Egg and Ginger party. Actually, I think I like those things because they involve yummy fried food, but that's another subject.
Maybe this is a different avenue to slant my blog toward. What do people think?
Bible in 90 Days: Day 32. I read yesterday but I didn't blog yesterday. Today I'm in Job. I'm more aware of God's sovereignty--He can do whatever He wants. He doesn't have to act in ways I expect. He doesn't have to bless us--He chooses to. It's not some cosmic rule that faithful, obedient people are blessed and evil people are cursed. It makes me feel a little unstable, but it also makes me trust Him. Job didn't give up in the midst of his trials. God wanted Job to trust in Him.
Writing: Yesterday I got a lot done with Dineen. She met me after PT and we sat in front of this great coffee shop with our laptops. But I need to get more done. Hopefully tonight.
Diet: Yesterday I was at about 1700 calories, plus I went to PT. Boy did they work me hard. They've added more exercises but they haven't taken any away. I was there for over 2 hours.
Today, I'm doing kind of bad in that I didn't eat breakfast, and had only a few bites for lunch. Dinner is eggplant and chicken parmesan.