Writing summary for January

So, looking back over the month, in January I wrote 8,207 words.  That's not a lot, but Januarys tend to be light on word count for me.  I tend to catch up with the program as the year progresses.

A good portion of those words went into my wip (work in progress).  I've been working on a couple of short stories that I will finish in February.  One is for a workshop, and both will be done and hopefully in the mail by the end of the month.

I finished James Scott Bell's BREACH of PROMISE (which was a hard book to read emotionally but good nonetheless).  My stuff to read stack is very high but I admit that Stephen King's UNDER THE DOME seems to be calling my name the loudest at the moment.

Have a bunch of short stories to turn around and some decisions to make on a couple of novels that I need to send out. 

Looking forward to going to Oregon later this month for 2 workshops.  Lots of old and new friends to spend time with and a great opportunity to listen to great writers.  Good stuff.

So here's hoping for a lot of new words written and new books read to talk about on March 1st.  Have a good one, everybody.

Three recent books I've read...

At the moment, I'm on page 134 of Ted Dekker's "The Boneman's Daughters" (and it's pretty interesting so far). But I recently finished 3 books that I'll make a few comments on here. Keep in mind this is my opinion and only my opinion:

The Associate by John Grisham: This one felt like a return to "The Firm," the novel that got Grisham launched into the spotlight. A graduating law student gets blackmailed to become a corporate spy. Some interesting bits there, certainly not the worst Grisham has penned, but I still prefer "A Time to Kill" and "The Runaway Jury" over this one.

Star Trek: The Movie Novelization: As I've indicated, I really like the new Trek movie. The novelization (which has Alan Dean Foster's name on it along with two other authors) does what movie novelizations are supposed to do (at least in my opinion): fill in gaps the movie left out. Not as good as the movie, but at least we find out what happened to Porthos!

My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult: I started this book on Sunday, while traveling back home from John's college graduation. I finished it sitting in my bathtub the next day, tears streaming down my face. This is a powerful,, intense, emotional book, and Jodi Picoult's writing is amazing. The movie version comes out in June, but don't wait for it - buy the book and read it today!

Reading, writing, and a blog to check out

I devoured the Twilight saga last month. It held me and carried me through to the end. I know some people found BREAKING DAWN to be disappointing, but I liked it. It just demonstrates that different people like different things.

This goes for editors as well. A rejection doesn't mean a story's bad (it might mean that, but not necessarily); it means it didn't hit the editor's buttons. Or they'd just bought something like it. Or they don't have room or budget for it. All kinds of reasons.

This week I'm working on getting short stories out that have been sitting in my office for months. They won't sell sitting on a desk, so I'm working on getting stuff in the mail (or email).

Check out the OWN Writer's Blog, listed under my links on the right. The people penning these articles are professional writers, and worth checking out if that's what your goal is.

Updating...

Yeah, it's been ages. My serious apologies. Real Life has been kicking me in the teeth lately, making it hard to get things done.

So, let me run a list of what's up so you know what I'm up to:

• Currently reading: Finishing up Adams Vs. Jefferson, a must read if you want to study the birth of partisanship and political parties in this country. Planning to dive into New Moon pretty soon.
• Currently listening to: Aside from my usual fare (country, etc) I'm listening to Michael Connelly's Black Echo. Let's hear it for libraries that loan out ebooks.
• Currently watching: Battlestar Galactica, Bones, and getting seriously interested in House. Caught 24 for the first time in ages, still looks good.
• Current favorite new toy: A Blackberry Curve. I am seriously in love with this thing.
• Current projects: Working hard to finish a short story to submit to a workshop I'm planning on attending later this month. Other writing projects in various stages...probably will go into more detail on that in the next couple of days.

That should give you an idea of life at the moment...

A book I hadn't read in so long...

I teach a Ladies Bible class on Tuesday mornings. I was doing a lesson I called "Nameless Service."

Sometimes when I teach I recall things that apply. I think this is God's way of helping me out.

This time, as we talked about not having to take credit and thanks for everything we do reminded me of a child's book I read when I was young, called "Understood Betsy."

It had been years - perhaps more than 20 - since I read the book, yet I recalled parts of it clearly. I'd read it several times and loved it. I can still see the cover of it in my mind.

Wednesday I did a websearch and to my delight found the book (published in 1917) was available to read. It was as good as I remembered it.

Will my writings be like that for someone? Something they'll remember with pleasure even years after they read it?

I hope so.

By the way, if you want to read the book yourself, you can link to it here.

I KNEW reading was good for you!

Reading novels enhances social skills: study

Laugh, cry, and/or shake your head...

Whether you're a writer or a reader, you will probably enjoy this satire:

Eccentric reads an entire book