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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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Bedtime discipline

Captain's Log, Stardate 01.28.2010

I’m at Faithchick today venting bemoaning whining discussing a problem I’ve been having lately:

Camy_tang_pinkthumbCamy here! I’m seriously hurting in the bedtime discipline area.

Hurting as in, I totally suck and couldn’t make myself go to bed on time even if I had an all expenses paid shopping trip to a yarn store in the morning.

(And trust me, I could spend thousands of dollars on yarn. Thousands, I tell you!)

Click here to read the rest!
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Anonymous said…
I don't really have trouble falling asleep at night; I generally feel ready around 11:30. I have more trouble getting up early in the mornings, unless it's for something important like college classes.

Yet, I do sometimes have trouble at night. I've found that if I imagine 'waves of relaxation' flow slowly over me, starting at my toes and going to my head, it helps. If my muscles don't relax with the 'waves', I take deep breaths and work on my muscles with the exhale. Also, I focus on keeping my breathing slow and shallow, and on keeping my mind a blank. When I do this, I can generally get to sleep faster.

~Sasafras
Fri Jan 29, 04:28:00 PM 2010
Anonymous said…
I've had problems with sleep for years. I have trouble getting myself to go to bed (love to stay up late when everyone else is asleep), and once I'm in bed, I can't go to sleep because I'm worrying about the next day. What works for me - no laptop after dinner (no emails, no writing, no paying bills); go to bed no later than 10PM no matter what; read in bed for at least a half hour to relax; do back exercises or stretch; and wear an eye mask when turning in to keep out any stray light. When I'm away from home, I use a Sleep CD that I bought at Target - I've used it so often that I fall asleep before the first "song" is over. Ear plugs help, too, for snoring husbands and loud hotels.I totally sympathize!

Marcy
Sun Jan 31, 06:28:00 PM 2010
Camy Tang said…
Sasafras, I've tried those relaxation exercises but they don't work for me very well, I'm afraid. :(

Marcy, you know, someone else mentioned no laptop before bed. I think I will try that. I'm not sure if I could use a sleep CD b/c I can't wear earbuds (or earplugs, for that matter) and I couldn't play it on speakers or it would bother my husband. Thanks for the ideas!

Camy
Sun Jan 31, 10:23:00 PM 2010
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