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What I'm writing in YEAR OF THE DOG

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 ...
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Christmas gifts for writers, part 1

Captain’s Log, Stardate 11.10.2006

Blog book giveaway:
To enter, go to the blog links below and post a comment there.
My Monday book giveaway is Lost in Nashvegas by Rachel Hauck.
My Thursday book giveaway is A Carol for Christmas by Robin Lee Hatcher.
You can still enter both giveaways. On Monday, I'll draw the winner for the Lost in Nashvegas and post the title for another book I'm giving away.

Win an iPod Nano! Exclusively for my newsletter YahooGroup subscribers, I have a huge contest running until January 31st! Get more info on my contest page!
Click here to join Camys_Loft
Click to join Camys_Loft


It’s starting to look a lot like Christmas...

Last year, I came across an article on gifts for writers, and I expanded on it with an article of my own. I’ll be posting a part of it every Friday and then eventually post the entire article on my Story Sensei blog.

I’m starting this series early so your loved ones—er, Santa can start saving up for maybe something extra special.

And if you have ideas of your own, leave a comment and I’ll add it to the list!

Gifts for Writers, part one

This isn’t an exhaustive list by any means, but it might help jump-start some other creative ideas. Some of these taken from All I Want for Christmas by Diana Rowe Martinez. I also have several Levenger.com products because I like them and think they’re wonderful gifts for readers/writers.

• Gift certificate to any of the major bookstores--Barnes & Noble, Waldenbooks, Borders, Christianbook.com, or my favorite, Amazon.com (cheaper books, free shipping on orders over $25, and no sales tax)

• Gift certificate to Office Depot or any office supply store

• Dictionary and/or Thesaurus--one of the biggest and most comprehensive. My favorite thesaurus is the Visual Thesaurus, which you can purchase as a CD and/or subscribe to the online version, which is constantly updated.

• Gift certificate for Levenger.com--unique, practical and/or luxurious gifts for readers and writers

• Case of printer paper--white, 20lb.

• Printer cartridge

• E-book reader

• Office furniture: file cabinet, desk organizer, desk lamp, ergonomic keyboard/mouse, filing shelf, footrest

• A day with a professional organizer

• Maid service for a month/few months/year

• Laptop case or a laptop carrier with wheels and pull handle (however, one caution about this—some women are picky about their laptop bags. It’s kind of like choosing a purse for a woman—most have very specific ideas about what they want and would rather choose the style themselves.)

To be continued next week Friday.

TMI:

Bible in 90 Days: Day 12.

“The Lord our God has secrets known to no one. We are not accountable for them, but we and our children are accountable forever for all that he has revealed to us, so that we may obey all the terms of these instructions.” Deuteronomy 29:29

Camy’s interpretation: God is way more mysterious than we can imagine. But I am responsible for what he has made known to me about himself—his power, his love, his holiness. I need to obey him based on what I do know about him.

Writing: I posted another article on developing your writer’s voice at my Story Sensei blog.

Wrote a little yesterday but not very much. I’m also trying to fill out my scene index so that I can move forward on my writing without having to stop and plan for the next scene.

Diet: I exercised yesterday! That’s four days in a row! Now for tomorrow and Saturday.
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Comments

Winter Peck said…
Camy, you posted this list at the right time. A local boy scout group has adopted my family for Christmas as a means to give something back to those with loved ones in Iraq. When I was asked what I would like to get I came up blank. Luckily, the leader is going to call me back and this time I have a good idea of what they can get me.

Oo, I could use several boxes of printing paper! LOL!
Fri Nov 10, 02:02:00 PM 2006
Unknown said…
Great suggestions, one and all. I particularly like the maid service for a year! LOL As if!
Fri Nov 10, 03:24:00 PM 2006
Anonymous said…
Love your list! Love it!!! I adore office supplies, and books, but that's a given. Go Camy!
Fri Nov 10, 07:58:00 PM 2006
Sean Carter said…
Great idea Camy!! The list is quite interseting!! You can also peep into my Holiday Blog for some more out of the box Christmas ideas....
Sun Nov 12, 10:10:00 PM 2006
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