Links to chill you.

Normally I would’ve been posting these links all week long but you know...didn’t work out the way I had planned. So...for your entertainment tonight:

Supernatural Existence is cool site with forums, pics and you can even hear podcasts.
http://www.globide.com/ 

Phantoms and Monsters blog home for all sorts of stories.
http://naturalplane.blogspot.com/ 

For you ghost hunting entrepreneurs you might find Hallow Hill a great site to check out.
http://hollowhill.com/#86643

For those that like a little adventure read up on the possible cave complex under the Giza Pyramids. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32417238/ns/technology_and_science-science/

Creepy stories about the Black Eyed Children.
http://www.unexplainable.net/artman/publish/article_13966.shtml

But maybe you’d all like something more real life...something that hunts great whites perhaps? http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/2009/10/26/2009-10-26_10foot_great_white_shark_bitten_nearly_in_half_by_20foot_monster_shark_near_aust.html

And here’s one on Asteroid Exploding over Indonesia.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/space/6444895/Asteroid-explosion-over-Indonesia-raises-fears-about-Earths-defences.html

Enjoy and have fun.

For October anyway. Yes, looking out the back window, seeing all that white stuff, is quite pretty. Until you like realize it ain’t stopping for a few days.

 I got lucky because I don’t have to shovel this time. Yes, this is what kids are for.

 For a couple of shots check out my blog account: mssluyter.blogspot.com/

Cracked rib with pneumonia...bad combination.

But you all need an update. Daniel’s first three chapters are DONE. I’m suspecting I might need to do another split in chapters but I won’t worry about it until the end. And you all should know, it was great weekend with the kids. Worked on Val’s emergency novel critique and I finished late last night.

Sunday night is when it all fell apart and my chest really started hurting. Now, I’m off to take meds and slip into a deep medicated slumber. You all play nice while I’m gone.

Last night the kids and I went to see Paranormal Activity. For me there was one major drawback, the movement of the camera made me nauseas. I had a serious, “oh my gawd, don’t let me throw up here in the movie theatre,” moment.

I did like the movie though. I mean, I wasn’t as swept up in it as some moviegoers. The taste of dinner burning in the back of my throat sort of killed some of the fun.

I won’t spoil the movie for anyone, but it was a simple storyline. Think the original Blair Witch project. No complex reasoning as to why this woman was haunted. And that’s okay. Horror doesn’t need all that closure, and I think that’s what adds to the thrill of watching movies like that. Sometimes you just want to see if they survive, and if not, how they died. I think these characters also struck a nerve with folks. How many of us have woken up in the middle of the night and sat up trying to figure out what pulled us from sleep. Or that creepy feeling you sometimes get when you’re alone in the house.

I’m not so sure if this movie will appeal to adults as much as it does to teens and college age. (I’m a horror/thriller fan. Always have been.) What does amaze me is how this movie blew up, going from a few theatres in college towns to a nationwide opening. They gave a fan base what they wanted. More importantly, we can’t ignore the power of word of mouth that spread like fire with the help of the internet and Twitter. I hope we all have books that get this much coverage.

Um, yes, I should be writing but I was so taken with this story about a little movie, called Paranormal Activity, that broke out big just from word of mouth. Folks seem to be forgetting, if it’s good, they will talk about you. Especially on twitter.

 And one other thing, for those that are planning to submit to Vision E-zine, Margaret is asking for you all to send the subs to her at:

 margaretfisk AT fmwriters DOT com

 okay...back to work.

I am feeling better. Finally. It’s not completely gone, the joy of having asthma means sinus colds tend to head to my lungs. Sooooo...I sound like I have TB now. I tell you, this cold is like in-laws coming to visit and not wanting to leave.

Since I had a delay in starting Daniel’s story, I had plenty of time to ponder my first chapter. Between my fits of coughing, sneezing and napping--it hit me to cut the opening to another point in time. Just a little later. But I think it works better. In my cold meds stupor, it sounds like a good idea. Suppose I’ll see when I start writing. And I probably won’t start until Sunday or Monday. I have a certain ritual I have to do before I can start a new story. I know...sounds lame. But it works for me.

I hate being sick. I especially hate this cold that won’t quit. Even thinking is hard to do right now. Sorry, I’m ending my rant.

For a more interesting blog post, check out Maggie Stiefvater - Dammit, Skywalker, Look Inside Yourself. Really go read it.

Through the haze of sleeplessness yesterday, I ended up having to scour the internet looking for drag racing links and Jones Beach back in 1955. I had them. I had a bunch of cool links that I’d found late last year for Daniel’s story. 

But late December I smelled smoke while I was working on my computer. Who knew they could catch fire? 

Yes, I lost all my cool links so that’s what I did yesterday.

Some folks just don’t want me to sleep at night. Let’s stay up all night. Let’s chat. 

NO. I like to sleep. Really I do. 

Yesterday I cleaned my desk. It was an all day event, but I did find Daniel’s notes and a twenty-dollar bill. I’m rich. 

And I discovered Valerie called me a Slave Driver Extraordinaire. I can see why though. Hope everyone is more awake and productive than I am.

I swear Maggie Stiefvater is a genius when it comes to contests. Here’s her latest and makes me wish I could drive to a bookstore.

Have fun and go forth with a cameras!

I think the hardest lesson about love is that sometimes you have to let go. You can’t save someone when they don’t want to be saved. You can’t hold them to the point of smothering. Sometimes...good-bye is all that’s left to say.

Sorry rather pensive today between Daniel’s story coming up and an ongoing family problem.

So for the past two days the weather forecasters have been threatening snow. In fact, I did see some fall the other day. But I keep thinking...September, it’s only September....

This week I wrote up rough drafts for my query and synopsis. I really hate writing a synopsis. Not even a slight dislike, pure, hate when it comes to writing it. But I’d rather do the query and the synopsis now while I can remember the core of the story.

Thank you all for the emails and comments. You all have no idea how comforting it was to read them. I feel sort of guilty because I didn’t intend to sound so needy.

Though, maybe you all do understand about feeling cut off. And funny as writers, you’d think we want to be out there to see people. Interact with others to help us understand human nature at the very least. But I know a lot of writers who feel uncomfortable in large crowds. 

Yes, I know we must spend time alone to write. Even if we’re in Word Wars using chat or any other IM program, in the end it’s us--alone at our keyboards with just our words and characters to keep us sane. I suppose it’s actually easy for us to get lost in our imaginations. And I wonder if that’s why we’re also prone to depression.

Over the weekend, a friend of mine went to a conference and after speaking with agents, she has requests for a full and a partial on different books. And that is fantastic news. I’m absolutely thrilled for her because I’ve exchanged critiques on everything from novels to queries over the years. That also means a lot of work for her. Getting the requests ready, working with her crit group, giving a class on Forward Motion--plus she volunteered to crit Brooklyn for me. Now, I’m the type of person that hates to overburden a friend, especially when they have something important to do. My first thought was to pull Brooklyn from her list of to-do things. 

Then it hit me, who else do I have to exchange critiques with? Somewhere over the last year, I seem to have misplaced my friends online. Even worse, my real life friends seem to have slipped off my friend train somewhere. And I feel awful about this. Can you tell I’m rattled by this discovery?

 Yes, I do realize there have been reasons why I’ve been insulating myself. Real life worries. And writing seems to be my best and only comfort. This doesn’t say much about me that my best friend is an imaginary one.

Yesterday, while killing time--also known as constructive procrastination--I decided to read the huge backlog of journal/blog posts under my favorite’s links. One entry came from Editorial Anonymous about inanimate objects as main characters. Okay, more like it was a rant. Sadly, probably a very long overdue rant. What shocked me more were some of the more charming comments left by folks. 

Now if you had never attended a workshop with picture book writers/children’s writers, you probably would think that EA went overboard and needed some drugs on demand to calm whatever was eating at her/him. But let me tell you all about the very first workshop I attended. There were about 50 students. Out of the 50, 40 students were writing picture books (PB) and children’s chapter books. Out of those, I would say 30-35 had story ideas about objects and/or animals as main characters. Trust me, after two days of hearing blurb after blurb, I was beginning to feel like I had taken some mind-numbing drug. 

Please don’t get me wrong, there are some spectacular stories out there that have talking pigs and trees as characters, but you have to keep in mind you have stiff competition out there. If what I heard over those two days were anything like what EA goes through day after day, I’d be dropping F bombs, too. And yes folks, children’s editors, agents and writers are prone to cursing from time to time. Welcome to the dark side. 

Okay, time to get back to work.

After a crazy six weeks with my hubby home and the trip to Pennsylvania, I’m home again. Anyone miss me? No? Ah well, I’m a bad blogger.

Yes, I’ve been missing everywhere. Hubby’s visit is going great. Prom went smoothly and for the most part so did graduation. We had some annoying folks sitting behind us that needed a class in manners. And nowhere else for us to sit. ARGH.

Legal issues will hopefully be done this week. Oh wait...I forgot to tell everyone I was served foreclosure papers on a house I didn’t know I half owned. Or I was supposed to be half owner. I don’t know. Odd how no one got around to telling me that detail in my dad’s will way back in December when he died.

Writing wise, Brooklyn is slowly being revised. Emphasize on the word slow in that previous sentence. But hey, all progress is good.

I hope you all are having a good month.

I have a sick child to cotend with so this will probably end up being a choppy post. 

Revisions with Brooklyn are going great. I have been called warped by one friend; no make that two, for ending a scene with a character getting killed. What’s wrong with a dead body? Or two...? 

Speaking of the dead, has anyone read Carrie Ryan’s book, The Forest of Hands and Teeth? YA novel about zombies? No? Shoot. Get yourself a copy. Carrie’s voice and style lures the reader in and doesn’t let go. Heck, even after I finished reading the story it haunted me. There is tragedy, a little gore (remember, zombies) and love. I know it sounds odd, you know zombies and such, but I did enjoy it. The conflict kept me on edge, urging me to read faster. Anyway, no surprise about that is being made into a movie. 

A while back, I also meant to recommend Lament by Maggie Stiefvater. YA novel and another great read. My teenage daughter ran off with the book before I had a chance to read it and then she wouldn’t give it back. For about two months. No, she’s not a slow reader. She just kept re-reading it. Maggie is another wonderful storyteller with beautiful prose. I’m looking forward to Maggie’s new book, Shiver, coming out in August. 

Okay, I best stop here. I have to make the girl more tea.

I’m only on my second cup of coffee so be warned of any typos.

Today I have several links to share with you all. First off, my buddy, Valerie, requested a guest blog post on my muse. Some might find it interesting:

http://valeriecomer.com/?p=267&cpage=1#comment-36

Next up: Val is giving a workshop on the muse over on Forward Motions. This should be interesting and I really encourage you all to check it out to find some help when your muse is being...uncooperative.

http://fmwriters.com/community/dc/dcboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=13&topic_id=1012&mesg_id=1012&page=

Note: You need to be a member to see the announcement and the workshop. Membership is free and so is the workshop.

One last linkie. I thought this was so cool I wanted to share it. And yes, you’ll need to be a Forward Motion member to see this. Margaret created a new toy, the FM story idea generator. For those that are familiar with Justin’s story prompts/writing exercises, this generator will pull random posts from the past. I love these prompts. Wait--that might not be enthusiastic enough. I REALLY LOVE these exercises. They’ve sparked three of my novels. Check it out:

http://www.fmwriters.com/community/dc/Random_Zettercise.php

That’s all. Resume your coffee drinking. And remember, Wolverine opens tonight. Woot.