Friday Free for All

What's Cooking? I finally found where they keep philo dough at the grocery store (in the frozen section with the pie crusts, in case you were wondering). So, we're having philo dough spinach-ricotta pockets made with more toufu than ricotta, because I often replace my ricotta with toufu and it works out very well.

While we're on the subject of food, thanks for all the comments yesterday ... they have indeed given me food for thought.

My children are all either napping or out to the store with their daddy, so I need to get stop blogging and keep writing my novel. But I just wanted to tell you it's officially spring break at our house since this 11a.m. when my hubby got home from conferences. I'm not sure if that will mean more writing time for me (because my hubby's a teacher, so he's home too) or less (you know, out playing in the gorgeous sunshine). Hopefully a good balance of both.

Meanwhile, my mother's in Israel and my sister's in Napal for their spring breaks. My dad is home alone in Hong Kong, but he'll stay busy enough. He's finishing edits of his book. I'll be critiquing it when he's done with this round.

Besides that, check out this competition on Beth Revis' blog (Note: I had a friend in China named Ruth Bevis, so Beth Revis' name always makes me do a double take!). She's celebrating because her book found a publisher. And she has an awful lot of cool things to give away to a very lucky writer OR reader, so please click on the link above and check it out.

In other very fun news, the darling hubby said we can look into me attending the LA SCBWI summer conference this year! Our baby will be almost two ... so maybe he can handle things around here without me for a few day. I'm almost speechless with excitement. Better start clipping more coupons and saving my pennies! Is anyone else thinking of going?

Have a wonderful Friday, everyone. I'm off to write while the house is silent.

Taking Criticism

I entered Authoress' 25-word critique fest over on her blog, Miss Snark's First Victim.

Here's my entry -- the first 25-words from the book I'm currently rewriting:

V-Day, 7 a.m.

The card for Marshall was gone. Totally gone.

I’d searched every conceivable place, even pulled my bed out from against the wall.

So far, I'm getting mixed reviews.

Now usually I feel like I can take critique. I appreciate feedback, even when it's feedback I don't want to hear. I'm pretty thick skinned.

But I'll admit, my internal dialogue while I was reading some of the comments on my first 25 words was disturbing. I was actually getting snarky.

For example:

COMMENT: Not really hooked, but it might be a personal preference. I just don't have a reason to care. MY REACTION: What do you mean, you don't care? Were you expecting to care? How can anyone possibly care about a character after 25 words. Are you kidding me?

COMMENT: I probably wouldn't read on. MY REACTION: Ooo-kay. That's not helpful. At. All.

COMMENT: Not much action or conflict going on here, but would read a bit more to see if it picks up. MY REACTION: How much action do you need in 25 words? What do you want her to do -- throw herself out of a building?

Okay, you get the point. My internal reactions were pretty ugly.

Now that I've had a bit of time to think about these critiques AND my reactions, I've come to some conclusions:

(1) A REASON TO CARE: If several people say they don't feel connected to a character, I have two options. I can get all upset and defensive and say, "How can you expect to feel connected to a character in 25 words?" Or I can recognize that this is a valid critique. I need to infuse more of my main character's personality into those first words. I have to. If I don't, I will lose readers. How am I going to do this? At this point, I have no idea, but it's a goal.

(2) NOT HOOKED: I do appreciate constructive feedback more than just an "I don't like it" type of feedback. BUT, I'm realizing I can turn even bare, subjective criticism into useful feedback. Obviously, something's not working as well as it could be here. I can't please everyone, but I can make this better in some way. In other words, it's not there yet. I need to accept that and keep working.

(3) MORE ACTION: I'm still not completely convinced the first sentences NEED action for people to keep reading. I was hooked by other participants' entries that weren't at all action oriented. Still, this is good feedback. Maybe I'm wasting words stating the obvious -- that the card is missing. Maybe I need to tinker with this more to bring out the urgency of her situation.

The lessons I've taken from this exercise?

• Don't underestimate the power of those first 25 words! They might be the only words someone reads when they're skimming your book at a bookstore.


• It's never too early to infuse character.


• If you're going to include action, make it pop so that no one misses it.

Bottom line, taking criticism is hard sometimes. But ultimately, it's a writer's life, so I'd better get used to it.

Did anyone else participate in this critique fest? Any thoughts?

P.S. I wonder if I critiqued any of my friends' pieces without even knowing it. If I did, I hope my comments were helpful!

WIP Wednesday: Done

How often do you get to say DONE to an Work-in-Progress? The answer is: NEVER. At least, that's my experience. I guess when eventually the WiP becomes The Published Book, you have to leave it alone, but until then, DONE is a four-letter word.

I am DONE with my first draft of my WiP, though: 67,000 words, baby!

Now I will let it take a long nap while I rewrite V-Day. Come back to it with new eyes in a few months. Sleep well, WiP!

And when I say rewrite V-Day, I mean I'm literally rewriting V-Day. I'm not just sitting down to add a little more polish and sparkle. I mean I'm sitting down without my finished document and starting over.

Call me crazy.

Honestly, though, do you think I'm crazy? I'm really, truly asking.

This is my dilemma: I rewrote the first chapter and Thia was different. Her voice was different. So, there's really not much I can salvage from the first five drafts, besides a vague storyline.

So, I'm diving into it. Maybe it's a dive off a cliff. Thankfully, I do enjoy cliff jumping (see #3) ... as long as I land in deep water. And the deep water here is that I know these characters pretty well. I also know exactly where the plot is going. For these reasons, it feels like this "draft" is writing itself. At least, so far.

I'll keep you posted.

A Story A Week: Ballerina Mom

I wrote another ballet story this week. I won't be posting it because I'm hoping to submit it to Highlights magazine.

I know, I know, another ballet story! What can I say? I've been inspired by ballet. Probably because I'm taking ballet lessons (in socks because I can't seem to remember to get online and order myself some ballet shoes!).

This week's story is about ten-year-old Matilda who's sure she's going to be embarrassed when her mom announces she'll be taking adult ballet class -- the class right after Matilda's. Only kids should take ballet ... unless you're a professional. And Matilda's mom is not a professional. She's even older than Matilda's ballet teacher! Matilda just knows she'll be humiliated when her friends see her mom pulling on tights and a leotard in the dressing room. But Matilda may be in for a surprise....

As I'm realizing with short stories, maybe especially short stories for kids, is that concept is almost everything. I haven't mailed this off to Highlights yet, because I have a feeling my concept isn't quite there yet.

First of all, why is Matilda so embarrassed of her mom? Would most kids be embarrassed of their moms taking ballet?

I quizzed my eight-year-old daughter on the subject since she was the inspiration for this story. You see, I had to make up a ballet class I missed and I asked if I could join her in her class. Her emphatic answer was "No!"

That's how the idea for Matilda was born.

But then I asked Olivia if she minded that I took ballet, you know, safe in the confines of my adult class.

No, she didn't mind at all. She didn't seem to mind her friends seeing me dancing, either. In fact, when she needed to make up a class she was very willing to make it up in adult ballet with me.

The sticking point was me invading her territory, dancing alongside her and her friends. Perhaps she's afraid I'd boss her around or be critical. Perhaps she's afraid I'd embarrass her by being a big, blundering, dancing joke.

With this in mind, maybe my concept needs to shift in that direction. Maybe Matilda's mom shouldn't take adult ballet. Maybe she should jump right in to Matilda's class. Higher stakes.

But do parents do that? I know at least one mom in our community who takes ballet with her pre-teen daughter. Good for her!

I wonder how her daughter feels about it.

Any thoughts? How would you have felt if your mom or dad decided to join you in an athletic endeavor when you were a kid? Would you have been thrilled ... or humiliated?

Only in China: Weather

What's cooking? Someone actually said they missed this "What's Cooking?" bit at the beginning of my posts! Whoda thunk? So, without further ado, tonight we will hopefully be feasting on pot roast from the crock pot. My husband has conferences until late and I have ballet this evening, so I wanted to do something I could fix this morning that would still be hot tonight when he got home. Brilliant, eh?

I know I've alluded to Tianjin weather in past posts, but I think this link to weather.com pretty much sums up spring in Northeastern China. Notice that "sand" is the forecast for Tuesday. You also MUST read down below for the weatherman's advice on everything from fishing conditions to makeup application.

My mom also sent me this amazing link to a slide show of the sand storms. Yes, the scarf wrapped around the entire head is very common. One of the most terrifying experiences of my life was when a woman with her head encased in a bright red scarf came at me on a bicycle. I almost blew my knee out trying to jump out of the way. And no, it wasn't the fear that the bicycle was going to hit me, it was the fact that there was a floating red head coming at me through the haze.

Do I miss Tianjin today? In many ways, yes.

Do I miss the weather? Um. Let me put it this way: Tianjin is the only city I've ever lived in where I woke up to a rust-orange sky. It was the first year we were in China and was the worst sand storm I witnessed in my eight years living there. I thought someone had transplanted us to Mars overnight.

So no, I miss people, but not the weather.

Today in Prosser is clear blue with a huge pile of laundry on the horizon. Thank you, Lord, for my clothes dryer. Better get going....

Worst Storyline Ever

Over at Guide to Literary Agents, they're having a "Worst Storyline Ever" contest.

Too hilarious. Even if you're not going to enter, it's worth heading over there to check out the entries. If you're a writer, this blog is an invaluable resource that you should add to your Reader.

The contest ends on Sunday, March 28. And there's a cool, practical prize. I love practical prizes!

Have a sunny, happy weekend, everyone!

Procrastination Works

First of all ... Check out Myrna Foster's blog Night Writer (I love that name!) for a great (autographed) book giveaway opportunity.

I don't think it's a good thing, but for me, procrastination works.

I think I've had many more positive reinforcements to procrastinating than negative ones. The result? I continue to procrastinate.

Case in point:

Since we moved into our new house, we haven't had a bathroom mirror.

Believe it or not, we *lost* the mirror. We thought maybe it was broken and thrown away during our massive renovations. We looked for it everywhere.

And this was a big mirror. It filled up the whole space above the huge counter in the hallway bathroom.

We tried to buy a new mirror at Lowe's, but all those prefab mirrors were too small.

So, I was *planning* to special order one from our local glass company, but I never got around to actually measuring the space. Procrastination.

But yesterday -- lo and behold! -- Aaron found the mirror! It was in the corner of the garage. The mirror surface was facing the wall and color of the back of the mirror matched the garage wall exactly. So, we didn't see it.

I'm thrilled to have a mirror in that bathroom. I'm thrilled that I never got around to ordering a new mirror. I'm thrilled to have saved all that money!

Has procrastination ever worked for you? Or are you one of those wonderfully organized people (I do admire you!) who doesn't let dust collect on your to-do lists?

WIP Wednesday: Snail Mail 101

It's that time of the week again!

Where am I? What am I doing?

I'm slowly eeking out an ending to my WIP. It's not easy.

Besides that, I'm writing cover letters for magazine submissions. (I've never done that before.) And polishing up magazine submissions. And getting ready to mail stuff using the US Postal Service. (I've never done that before, either. I mean, submitting via snail mail. When I query I usually stick to people who take email queries.) This means learning how to include a SASE and how to operate a printer.

All these new challenges!

I hope all your WIPs out there are writing themselves faster than mine is. I think I need more sleep. (I actually had a deja-vu feeling while helping Anna in her gymnastics class today. I've heard you only have those moments when you're very, very tired. Your exhausted brain sees something a split second before it actually registers that you've seen it, so you get the feeling you've seen it before. Did you know that?)

Happy writing everyone ... and get some sleep!

A Story A Week: Permanent

During their drive back to the hotel after a family reunion, Mandy feigns sleep in order to evesdrop on her parents' conversation, a conversation that could change their lives forever.

That's my one-sentence pitch for the story I wrote this week. It's about 2000-words long, so I'm not going to post it. Waaay too long for a blog post, imo.

Also, it's part of a sub-goal I've made for myself. Over the next two months I'm going to write eight stories. Then I'm going to pick my favorite, polish it up, and submit it here at One Story. (Thanks, Moonrat, for the link!) Of course, if I pick this particular story, I'll have to figure out a way to lengthen it by 1000 words. Uh, so maybe I won't be choosing this one. Unless I get a huge plot-altering inspiration.

I don't know, I probably don't have a chance getting published in One Story. I'd be running with the big dogs if I did. But, when self-doubt creeps in, I remind myself, Am I not already trying to run with the big dogs? If I don't think my writing is good enough to be published in a magazine like One Story, why am I even sending anything to agents at all?

Good question!

I think that's one way this A Story A Week challenge has been good for me. It's forcing me to focus on my writing, instead of on one big project. With a novel, I find that whether it's bad or good, I can't help but love it because it's my baby. I BIRTHED it. Sweat, blood, toil. We love our babies, even if they're ugly.

I don't invest anywhere near as much in a short story, so I can be brutal with myself. I can dissect without as much pain. I can experiment. I become more of a scientist and less of a mother. I think that's good for my writing.

Writers, what do you think? Have you written short stories? What is your experience with them?

Classic Onion

My sister sent me this link YEARS ago via email. I still had it in my inbox, and was delighted to see it still worked. Hilarious take on romance novel covers. Writers and non-writers alike, please click here -- and enjoy!

Remove Your Shoes ... Please

The other day I went over to my friend's house for a meeting. I was the last one to arrive (as usual!). As I closed the front door behind me, I took off my shoes.

It's my habit. Growing up in Hong Kong and living in China, we always took off our shoes when we entered a house. I don't think this is necessarily a Mainland Chinese custom. It's a Hong Kong Chinese custom. I also know it's a Korean and Japanese custom. When we visited Chinese friends' homes in Tianjin, we'd sometimes keep our shoes on, sometimes take them off. It seemed to depend on the type of flooring they had down. If the floors were concrete they told us to leave our shoes on. If they had tile or wood laminate, they usually asked us to remove our shoes and provided us with slippers to wear. But I digress....

In our own home in China we always removed our shoes. There were three primary reasons for this:

(1) Dust (think: super dust, the kind of icky gray dust that seeps in everywhere and sticks to everything)
(2) People spit (imagine: green and yellow globs all over the roads and sidewalks)
(3) No clean-up-after-your-pet-or-child signs (read: lots of dog poop, people poop; yes, this is the country where our taxi drivers all peed on the same wall right next to the place where our children caught the bus ... "No, children!! Back! Back away from the wall!!)

Honestly, who wants the green and yellow loogie slime (or worse) tracked all over their living room floor? Not me.

So, back to the present day in Prosser, Washington. I kick off my shoes at my friend's house. One of my other friends comments, "Why has everyone taken off their shoes?" He looks over at my friend's husband. "Do you guys ask people to take off their shoes?"

"No," my friend's husband replies. "In fact, I think it's rude when people require people to take off their shoes when they come into a house."

That made me think. I like the habit I picked up in Asia. I really don't like the look of dusty footprints through my house any more than I liked them in China. They're easy to clean up here, though, and there's not the loogie/poop factor. So, really, I'm not going to insist my guests remove their shoes. But I'll be honest, when I was in China, it irritated me when people would leave their shoes on. I just kept imagining green loogie germs all over my baby's hands.

But, what do you think? Is it rude to ask guests to remove their shoes when they come into a house? Are you one of those people who has a cute sign by the door that says: "Get a clue and remove your shoe" (I made that up!) or are you one of those people who wears your shoes everywhere and only removes them when you climb in bed at night?

Just curious.