Happy Friday

I've been on a revising roll lately. Pretty much ever since I discovered how much I like using my Kindle to read my drafts.

Lisa over at Read. Write. Repeat. is having a contest to win an Arc of Liar's Society by Lisa and Laura Roecker. I'm telling you this even though I want to win because I am nice and awesome like that.

I had so much fun participating in a blogfest that I'm going to do it again. Next week Erinn is hosting the Gone But Not Forgotten Blogfest. I love TV even though I don't watch a lot anymore so this blogfest is perfect for me.

In other news I am beginning to collect items for this years Peep diorama. I'm pretty sure that I am going to need to consume at least one Peep to make my creative dream a reality.

New Nephew

This week I became an aunt. So far it is a good gig. All of the goodness of babies with none of the diaper changing and late night feedings. Score.

I'm not really sure that anything else can top that. I love seeing my cousins and sisters have kids. I love seeing the new baby faces and seeing the resemblance to their parents. One of my nieces can smirk and look just like her mom and grandfather. My cousin's baby has this really intense scowling look. All my cousins on my mom's side of the family have similar noses. I wonder if Noah will have a similar nose.

Needless to say I am excited and I promise to buy him whatever books he asks me for.

Happy President's Day

Happy President's Day.

Today is a holiday and in addition in Minnesota it is a snow day.

Who do you think of when you think of President's Day. Washington? Lincoln? Jefferson?

In a recent discussion about Glee's William McKinley High School and jealousy over the high school theater department's awesome fog machine and rain curtain (seriously do you know how long it takes to tech a scene with a rain curtain not to mention how much they cost? I totally want that high school's budget) one of my friends mentioned another President who doesn't get a lot of attention. That's right. I'm talking about Taft.

There are other clips from this series so go check it out and see if you can find your favorite President.

If you're looking for a little holiday reading I highly recommend Sarah Vowell's book Assassination Vacation . Lots of info in this book about Lincoln, Garfield and McKinley.

Revising with my Kindle

I got a Kindle for Christmas and so far I love it. But I would like to win the lottery so I could afford to buy more books for my Kindle.

Besides reading books on my Kindle I learned how to send documents to my Kindle. Kindle owners did you know your Kindle has an email address? It is under the settings.

I'm currently revising a middle grade novel and over the last couple weeks I've been reading my draft on my Kindle and then revising and making on the computer.

What I love about using the Kindle for revising.

1. It is small and I can read my draft anywhere. I can read it on a plane or while waiting at the doctor's office or whatever.

2. Less paper. OK I hate wasting paper. Paper is expensive. Ink is even more expensive than paper. If I have to print out every draft that is a lot of paper and ink.

3. It is easy to go back turn back to earlier pages rather than sifting though a paper manuscript.

4. Highlighting and making notes. I love this feature. It puts what I highlight in "my clippings" then I can break out smaller pieces.

5. Reading a draft on my Kindle makes me think of it more as a book since that is what the Kindle is for, books. I've been making better changes and finding it easier to see where changes need to happen when I read it on the Kindle. I've been more picky since I'm thinking of it as a book.

Do you own an e-reader? What amazing things does it do?

Almost to 50 and candy news

See my followers bar. I'm so close to fifty. I'm like one follower away from fifty. This is kind of a big milestone for me and has me thinking about what I should do when I reach 100 followers. I'm saving my pennies for something good.

This week I participated in my first blogfest and I've discovered new blogs and have new followers on my own blog. It was great fun.

I'm thinking a lot about the state of Wisconsin today. Wisconsin is my state neighbor but more than that what is going on in Wisconsin is troubling to me. I am a member of IATSE, that is the stage hands union. I am inspired by all the people standing up for the rights of the people in the State Workers Unions.

I know Valentine's Day was Monday but I saw these in the clearance bin at the grocery store and I couldn't resist.

That's right. Twilight Sweethearts. They say: Dazzle, I (heart) EC, Live 4 Ever and True Love. One of the flavors is Jacob Black Cherry.

They made me laugh and so into the cart and onto the blog they went.

In other candy related news I saw my first package of Peeps at the store. I know that Peeps come in every season now but I don't support Peeps edging in on the other candy's holidays. Peeps are for Easter. I've got a great idea for my entry in the Peep Diorama Contest this year and I plan on documenting the process again this year. I won't tell you what it is about but I am going to work on making Peep sized corn dogs.

How was your week? Did you make new blog friends this week? Get any fun or funny valentines?

Blogfest

To celebrate reaching 500 followers NicoleDucleroir at One Significant Moment at a Time is hosting the Bernard Pivot Blogfests

It involves answering questions form Bernard Pivot's Inside the Actor's Studio Questionnaire.

What is your favorite word? awesome

What is your least favorite word?Moist

What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally?being around other creative people. Seeing other writers, actors artists put themselves out there inspires me to do the same.

What turns you off?boredom

What is your favorite curse word?damn

What sound or noise do you love? laughter

What sound or noise do you hate?Yippy dogs barking.

What profession other than your own would you like to attempt? nail polish namer, usher at Target Field (Ok this is my retirement career)

What profession would you not like to do?cleaning lady at a hotel

If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?Good job.

Guide to Writing Groups

I belong to a writing group and last night we gave feedback on one of the member's novels. It was very cool to see her novel as a whole, in the past we've critiqued 50 pages. The feedback went really well. I've been involved in writers groups for a couple years now and I think they are really valuable. Here are my tips for a successful writing group.

The first step is to meet other writers who are interested in a writing group. I've met people in writing classes and at local SCBWI events. So be friendly to people because they may just help you along the way.

1. Set a schedule and stick to it. I go to one writing group that meets on Monday nights. I go to another writing group that meets every other Tuesday. This is good because I know what I'm doing every Monday night and also every other Tuesday. The schedule won't always fit for everyone and that is OK.

2. Show up. The only reason I miss my writing group is if I have work. One of my groups is small, 3 of us, so attendance is pretty important.

3. Make the time productive. In my novel group we don't always have things to workshop so we usually set a timer and write for an hour.

4. Take critiquing seriously. OK it takes time to read a novel. It takes time to notice good writing in that draft and it takes time to find areas that need attention. Take the time because someone will do that for your novel one day.

5. Give quality feedback. I like to state the things I liked, the positives, first. For other things I ask questions. Remember that drafts are sensitive things. And behind every draft is a writer with feelings. Be careful with them.

6. Read. Every time you read a book/essay/short story you are reading something that was once someone's rough draft. Reading can help your own writing and it can help your critiquing skills. Seeing what successful books did well can help you in your own work but also might be able to help you notice great writing or areas that need work in your writing partners writing.

Do your belong to a writing group? What are your tips for successful writing groups?

A Oui Bit Of Red

One of my dream jobs on my list of dream jobs has always been "Nail Polish Namer" Ever since back when I wore colors with names like Blood and Gun Metal.

I went through a period of time when I didn't wear nail polish as much because I worked as a waitress because I worked at a place that only allowed servers to wear neutral colors for nail polish. Apparently purple isn't a neutral color.

My love of nail polish has been revived in the last couple years thanks to OPI. I love the names of the nail polish. I bought Mrs. O'Leary's BBQ because my dad once owned a boat that had been owned by a great grandson of the Mrs. O'Leary who was the owner of a certain lantern kicking cow. Since then I've bought many other colors in the OPI line.

As a writer I think that having pretty nails in important. A vibrant color on my nails can really make the words flow. A clam color like Cozumelted in the Sun can be great for revisions.

This weekend in honor of Valentine's Day I've decided to go with a Oui Bit of Red. A fun red color that makes me think of France, fun and love.

I'm sure the color will go well with the weekend warm up- seriously people it is going to be 30 degrees here in Minneapolis. I just cracked open my window and I won't be wearing gloves all weekend in celebration of the warmer temps and so I'll be able to show off my red nails.

Way Back Wednesday

My Mom sold her house about a year ago and moved to a townhouse near my step sister and two hours closer to me. Yay. In the process she found some of my early childhood writings.

So I've decided to post some of the early stuff here.

M

by Carrie Monroe

M was once a muppet, a maid and a movie star.

M munches McNuggets from McDonalds and watches Mickey Mouse.

M gets mail from Michigan sent to the moon.

M invented malls on the moon and maps for malls and

money for Minnesota.

M never gets mad or mean.

-From A Totally-Tubular- Out-of-this-World-Book

OK so this gem was written after sixth grade at College for Kids. Kids took classes in things they wanted for a week during the summer. I took writing. We wrote poems and stories for a week and then the instructor put them together in a "book". One of the kids drew the cover.

One of the assignments from the class was to write a poem using the first letter from our last name. I wrote this the summer after sixth grade so clearly the things that were important to me were malls and McDonalds (Which I was never allowed to have since my mom was a nurse).

Hope you enjoyed this edition of Way Back Wednesday.

Baseball books

The Super Bowl is officially over which means that we are now down to single digits until Pitchers and Catchers report. 9 days.

After this winter I don't think I've ever been more ready for baseball season to start. I can't wait to sit out in the sun on Home Run Porch and watch my boys of summer play ball.

Since baseball is one of my favorite sports to watch and cheer for I naturally have a list of baseball related books I like to read and baseball movies to watch.

If you, like me can't wait until Opening Day to hear the crack of the bat here are my baseball book recommendations

Shoeless Joe by W. P. Kinsella - I can't help it. I'm from Iowa and I love baseball so I love this book.

The Natural by Bernard Malamud

What Time Is It? You Mean Now by Yogi Berra- this isn't a book about baseball so much as it is a guide to life. Despite the fact that I'm a Twins fan Yogi was a big part of my childhood. Not the real Yogi but a copper bust of Yogi that my grandpa had. No surprise that my favorite Twin is Joe Mauer, the catcher.

Mudville- by Kurtis Scaletta- Baseball, curses, also the main character talks about Twins players so what is not to love.

In other news I learned how to email things to my Kindle so I'm currently reading a draft from a member of my critique group on my Kindle.

cleaning and the art of writing

One of my friends from my writing group was talking about her WIP and saying that she is stuck on her story but that she had been spending her time cleaning her closets.

When asked if I had any advice I said "Keep cleaning your closets." Every time you put a skirt in the give away pile you are making a decision. Making decisions empowers you to make more decisions. One day it is a skirt that your mom gave you and you feel guilty getting rid of, the next day it is a decision about a character or the direction of a story.

After I told her to keep cleaning and making those small decisions until she was ready to make bigger decisions she thanked me.

So that is my advice for the week. Stuck on your writing? Go clean out some closets.

What is your best writing advice for the week?

The death of the rejection letter

When I decided to get serious about writing I took some writing classes, went to some conferences and eventually wrote some stories that I thought should be books or should grace the pages of a children's magazine.

So I sent out my stories complete with Self Addressed Stamped Envelopes. Then I would wait for the letters to come back to me. Rejection letters. Most of them were form letters. some were rejection post cards or rejection slips of paper. I did get one letter that was very positive and encouraging so I hung it on my wall. The letter made me feel like I was able to grab an editors attention at least enough to get a personal rejection letter sent back.

Fast forward a couple years and I'm sending out a new picture book manuscript. I'm sending it to editors who have been at conferences I've attended. Now I notice that most of the places I send it to do not want a SASE. No SASE= No rejection letters. Awesome.

I didn't really like those rejection letters anyway. I'm all for saving trees and I know that publisher have less time/money/resources. But I always read about writers who got 250 rejection letters before they sold the manuscript that changed their life. Or writers who used the rejection letters to wall paper their office or who save all the letters and then burn them all when they sell their first book. I never did either of those things, mine went straight to the recycling bin, but I did feel like each rejection letter was one step further in the publication journey.

What are your thoughts on rejection letters? Do you have a collection of them? Is it easier to keep writing without getting rejection letters in the mail?

Stylish Blogger award

Kari at Under the Fairy Dust gave me the Stylish Blogger award. Awesome. Thank you Kari. You rock.

Here are the rules:

1. Thank the person who gave you the award and link back to them.

2. Share 7 things about yourself

3. Pass the award on to bloggers whom you have recently discovered and who you think are great.

4. Contact the bloggers you've chosen and let them know about the award.

Here are 7 things about me.

1. I have a collection on My Little Ponies that I have dressed up. Pictured below is Flashdance Pony

2. I have a huge cat who may be the size of an ocelot. I try to prepare people for how big my cat is but they are always surprised when they see him for the first time.

3. I love writing.

4. I drink tea and am currently addicted to Pomegranate Green Tea from the Tea Source.

5. I could be a vegetarian but I love bacon too much

6. I am a sustaining member of Minnesota Public Radio.

7. I love to read.

I'm passing this award to:

A Coffee Driven and Adventure Bound Life

Dangerous With a Pen

Kelly's Korner

Glissades and Gabble

Darkest Mind Before Dawn

This is Not My Day Job

Photomom Photography

Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly

I just finished reading Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly on my Kindle.

This book has been on my list of books to read since it came out but I think it was NaNoWriMo and then it was December. When I got my Kindle it was one of the first books I downloaded.

The book follows Andi, a girl who is suffering from depression after her brother dies. The only thing she cares about anymore is music. Her mother is also suffering from her own grief over losing a child and isn't able to help Andi. Her father steps in brings Andi along to Paris for winter break while he does genetic testing on the heart that is believed to be that of Louis-Charles. Andi wants to return home but has to finish her outline for her senior thesis before her father will agree to let her go home.

While she is in Paris, staying with family friends who have a collection of items from the French Revolution, Andi finds a diary hidden in an old guitar case. In the diary she finds the words of Alexandine Paradis, a girl who lived during the time of the Revolution. Alex loves to perform and hopes to someday be on the stage. She ends up being hired by the Queen to entertain Louis-Charles.

Through the diary Andi finds she has a lot in common with Alex and she sees the Revolution through Alex's words. One night Andi finds herself transported to Alex's Paris after a late night party in the catacombs.

I love Donnelly's books and how she makes the past come alive. Alex's diary of her life during the Revolution is amazing. Alex wants to be an actor and some of the things she says about her desire to be on stage are so true to what I hear the actors I work with say. Andi's depression is so real and well portrayed. She seems to be in a downward spiral or a dark tunnel unable to pull herself up.

I loved reading about the complexities of the Revolution and how what was going on in the diary seemed to have relevance to Andi's life in the present day.

I highly recommend this book and any of Donnelly's other books as well.

What are you reading? What books are on your list of books you want to read?

Kindle Kozy

My mom gave me a Kindle for my birthday. I realized that I needed a Kindle cover to go with my Kindle. Now I am all about protecting my Kindle but I didn't want one of the Kindle brand covers because what I really want to do is buy more books for my Kindle.

I went to Target hoping for a cover but the only ones I could find were $30 and were not exactly what I wanted. I wanted something that zips all the way around.

Enter my mad sewing skills, some fabric, and a zipper and I managed to whip up a Kindle Kozy. It has a zipper that goes all the way around and I made a pocket on the front so I could store the power cord.

Backup? What is backup?

My computer is fixed thanks to the Genius Bar at the Mac store. I now have a new hard drive and a new battery.

When the plugged my Mac in at the store the diagnostic computer didn't even detect my hard drive. There was no hard drive, only zuul. Same story on when they put the hard drive in the data recovery thing.

Today is my birthday and my mom gave me the most awesome present, a new Kindle. I'm super excited.

Of course there is the instant gratification of all these books at my fingertips. I'm pretty sure this is going to be bad for my checking account.

I have also been loading it with PDF knitting patterns. Yay.

All my writing was backed up thanks to this episode Sex and the City.

Hard Drive Fail

December has been hard on my technology gadgets. Earlier this month I lost my cell phone in a snowbank.
This morning I woke up and turned on my computer which would not really turn on all that well. I tried to restart it and it wouldn't turn back on. When I try to start it the grey screen comes up but not with the apple logo, with a blinking file folder with a question mark on it.
When I Googled this problem the reports I find say hard drive failure.
I'm trying not to freak out too much. I did save all my writing because I remember that episode of Sex and the City when Carrie Bradshaw's computer crashes and she is like the only person in the universe who doesn't have a back up. If i hadn't saved all my writing I would probably be crying right now.

Anyway readers and blogs I follow just know I am not being a bad blogger but it may be a week or so before I figure something out and get back on the internet.

Iowa, you make me smile

I have a week off so I am spending my holiday in Iowa with my mom.

Yesterday mom and I drove to the city I grew up in to visit some friends and relatives.

Did you know that Iowa has a writing rest stop?

Check out the giant pen. I currently live near the land of Paul Bunyan and when a person travels north in Minnesota there are statues of Paul Bunyan's wife, ox, and fishing bobber. I'm pretty sure this is Paul Bunyan's Pen. He probably dropped it on his way back from an Iowa Writers Workshop or something.

Inside the rest stop there are little tiles with the names of writers and the genre they write in.

Charlie Brown's Christmas tree

My mom is amazing. I hear this all the time from anyone who meets her. She is basically the kindest, most generous person ever. Her kind heart isn't limited to people and animals but also to plants. Specifically, Christmas trees.

Which is why every year we would trek out to the Christmas tree farm and end up bringing home a tree that looked like it was preparing for its role as Charlie Brown's Christmas tree.

I begged my mom for a tree that didn't have a bare spot or the one with the most healthy looking branches.

My mom would then break out the Catholic Guilt on me. She would tell me about how if we didn't take that tree then the tree would have to spend Christmas alone, in the cold, with no decorations or presents.

Now that we are all grown and out of the house my mom is committed to finding the best Christmas tree possible. I think she feels like if we have come home to spend Christmas with her then the tree needs to be the best tree. But I'm pretty sure part of her still feels a little bad for all the Charlie Brown trees out there.

This is why I have an artificial tree. I find Christmas trees to be more enjoyable when I don't have to worry about the tree's feelings or needles or pine sap. I miss the real tree smell but I make up for it with bubble lights.

Holiday Movies list

I love Christmas and one of the things I love is Christmas movies. I have to admit that it is getting hard to fit in all my favorites in the month between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

So here is a list of my Christmas movie viewing list.

Miracle on 34th Street

It's a Wonderful Life- I love this movie. I usually tear up at the beginning but the water works really get going at the end.

Elf- hilarious.

The Muppet Christmas Carol- I'm pretty sure Gonzo is the best Charles Dickens ever.

A Christmas Story- I love this movie.

Emmet Otter's Jugbad Christmas- this is a Jim Henson thing. Cute otters. Sweet story. I love it.

Prancer- This is my mom's favorite. Kid finds reindeer and helps reunite Prancer with Santa.

The Sound of Music- I don't really know what this movie has to do with Christmas. It is often shown on Christmas Eve. My Grandma loved this movie, her copy was labeled "Respite"

White Christmas- One of my favorites. I save this one for Christmas Day.

What are your favorite Christmas movies?