Tell the Truth Tuesday!

It's that time again, folks!



Time to spill what's been on your chests this past week. So, step into the confessional! Don't worry, I'll go first ;).



1) I find Jamie from Mythbusters strangely attractive. Yeah, I have no idea. He's like some kind of crazy viking. I think maybe his manliness is magnified when he's standing next to Adam, which makes him exponentially attractive. It's a theory!




2) I have never had a really good cupcake. From e-stalking following agent blogs, I've noticed a lot of New Yorkers love them some cupcakes. I've only had the kind that come from terrifying Cupcake Cakes, so I suspect I'm missing out. Where *does* one get a good cupcake?




3) I have some "art" on my cubicle wall that I've been crafting from tea bag wrappers. It's like a border of Berryblossom White Tea wrappers around some Awake Black Tea paper tabs... it's on ongoing project, really. I think I need a new office passtime.




4) I bought a calendar with dragons on it. According to me, they are no longer just for middle schooler boys or metal heads with neck beards!




5) I had an embarrassing moment involving my relatives and the Wii this weekend. I was trying out my mom's new Wii Fit (hooray for family time and burning calories!), and we decided to have a hoola-hoop competition. For those of you who have never subjected yourselves to this humiliation fun-tastical game, you basically stand on a board and gyrate like you are hoolahooping.



Now, my mom couldn't quite get it right and asked me for help, as I was the current Make Believe Hoolahoop Champion. For the next few minutes I showed my mom with hip movements exactly how to do this maneuver correctly... and then realized what was happening. I was reenacting the scene from Dirty Dancing where Patrick Swayze shows Jennifer Gray how to bump and grind. WITH. MY. MOM.



I was scarred for life. Then I told her that I no longer wanted to pelvic thrust like Johnny Castle, and we both laughed until we cried.



What is the truth YOU need to confess this week?

Nominations for the 2010 Bloggie Awards!!

The 2010 Bloggie Awards are accepting blog nominations until 1/12/2010!



You can nomination your favorite blogs from different countries, best entertainment blog, best *new* blog from 2009, funniest blog, best writing in a blog, etc! What are you waiting for?



Please go and vote for your favorites and make a Blogger happy :). Let's support the bloggers we know and love!



Here's the link: Happy Voting!

Belated Blog Party: Let's Mingle!

May I get you some tea?

There is a party going on over at author extraordinarre Nicola Morgan's blog! It started yesterday, so we are fashionably late, but please stop on by today if you can. You don't want to miss it!

There are tons of wonderful commenters over there who are opening their blogs up for us to wander through. Please go check it out! It's a wonderful community of authors and aspiring authors with tons of great wit and advice to share.

Blog followers: Please tell us a bit about yourselves and your blog right here! If you post, please go check out the blogs of others and comment on them. Sharing is caring. Also, I find more cool blogs that way--go check them out!

If you're wandering over from Nicola's--welcome! We're happy to have you :). Please stay a while and help yourself to some cake. We always enjoy meeting new writers/readers/bloggers!

Have fun!

What I Learned This Week!

1) I love baby animals to a sickening degree. I've been playing around on a site called www.zooborns.com, and discovered that I think even baby cobras and vultures are cute. I think there is something wrong with me.

2) The book HEAT WAVE by Richard Castle (from the show Castle on ABC) is all I hoped it would be, and yet... still kind of dull. It's fun, and reads exactly like an episode of Castle, with a fast talking reporter, witty lady detective, and hijinx. However, it's not written like someone who writes great novels. So fun, but... yeah. I'm excited to finish and read other things in my book pile. I don't know, maybe I've just been spoiled by Kristin Cashore.

3) I have a ridiculous amount of books piled by my side of the couch and my side of the bed. It has become a tripping hazard. And yet, I can't bring myself to get rid of any of them :P. I LOVE THEM ALL!

4) I am ready to get my ass kicked. I bought this DVD so I can be yelled at and brutalized by trainer Jillian Michaels. Oy vey. I love the show The Biggest Loser, so I'm ready to face the pain! I'll let you guys know how that goes in a few days ;). Hopefully I'm not so crippled that I can no longer type.

5) When I reach 100 followers I'm going to do something AWESOME! I couldn't help but notice that I was nearing that fancy pants milestone of 100 blog followers and got to thinking. Maybe a contest would be in order in celebration of hitting that mark :D! I'm excited. Are you?

What have you guys learned this week?

Blog Chain: Goals and other terrifying things!

It's that time again!

This go-round on the Blog Chain, B.J. started us off by asking:

What are your writing resolutions for 2010?

Please check out the fabulous Cole before me, and the awesome Amanda tomorrow!

Since I'm so awesome, I read this topic and went back in time to Monday where I blogged about it preemptively, just to prove I could.

But seriously--awesome topic for the New Year!

My goals all amount to one thing: I want to be able to fulfill my Deal With the Universe by getting a book deal and spending the day dressed up as a literary character for your viewing horror pleasure! (Please see above picture for an example of how terrifying awesome this will be.)

I want to do everything in my power, in an organized fashion, to see that day come. Mostly, I just want to keep writing, because I love it :), but dang if it wouldn't be awesome to be able to put "author" onto the ol' business cards.

So, what are your dreams and goals this year? :)

And more importantly,

What literary character would you like to see me dress up as for my Deal w/ the Universe?? You guys get to pick! Please leave responses until this Sunday evening, and I'll post your democratically elected character on Monday!

Can I Get a Light?

How do you keep your torch lit?

How do you keep the fire alive while you're striving to reach your goals? Eventually, everyone's fire starts to flicker, sputter, die.

How do you keep it burning throughout an entire year? Throughout a lifetime?

What keeps you going when the winds of rejection and self doubt are blowing?

Hear are a few things that can help :)

Spark #1: Purpose!

Many of us talk about being born a writer, or meant to do what we're doing. Regardless of whether you believe in a higher power, think about what you love, and what you are hard-wired to hope for. You have a purpose. So get crackin' fulfilling it, already! No one can stand in your way if you believe you can do it and work your butt off to make it happen.

Spark #2: We're ahead of the Game!

We know better than to do things that make agents crazy, so we're already a step ahead!

For instance, we know that if we use the phrase "fiction novel" in our query, it's akin to squirting a cat in the eye with a water pistol and then asking that cat to pretty please represent us. We also know that if we send loose tea bags in our query letters, agents will only think of our swine-flu covered hands groping said tea bags and those 500 prison inmate weirdos who sent them tea bags that week with sexual puns and photos included. We know that is not the first impression we want to make.

If you don't know what irritates or enrages agents, take a look at Janet Reid's blog, under the tag "Annoy Me" for a quick education. Trust me. You'll be glad you did :).

Knowing is half the battle!

Spark # 3: The Success of Those Who Came Before!

Tell me reading about folks like Jamie Ford, author of THE HOTEL ON THE CORNER OF BITTER AND SWEET, doesn't make your typing fingers itch with excitement? Reading debut authors' success stories is like stepping into an alternate universe where your secret Hopes and Dreams have become a reality, and you get to watch as they unfold. SQUEE!

Sure, it won't happen for you that way, but someday, it will happen. And you'll get to tell people your story! And hear them squee for you!

So, what keeps you guys going?

What lights a fire under you when things get dark?

Are you SMART? Setting New Years Goals!

HAPPY NEW YEAR, folks!

I hope you are all refreshed, recovered from any hangovers, and ready to start kicking some ass in 2010 :).

I've always been wary of New Year's resolutions. Whenever people talk about them, it's inevitably followed by an eye roll or a knowing wink.

Oh, sure. Yeah. Good luck with that. Har har. We'll see how that's going in two weeks.

However, this year is different. Instead of resolutions, I'm creating some S.M.A.R.T. goals for myself, including mini stepping stone goals. S.M.A.R.T. stands for specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-bound--all good things!

A lot of clever people on the internet have been talking about their goal setting techniques, and I've ripped a lot of them off to come up with something I think will work for me.

My goals so far:

1) Finish Legacy of the Empress final edits!

-- Edit at least 10 pages per weekday
-- Finish all edits by 1/30/09
-- Finish husband’s edits within a week of receiving them (he'll get them 1/31, and then I'll politely harass him until they are done. Bless him.)

2) Try my hardest to get an agent!

--After finishing husband's edits, prepare manuscript for submission within a week of the Final Once-Over
--Post query on Querytracker.net forum one last time
--Perfect query based on feedback
--Begin Query Storm 2010!
--Remember over all that if this book doesn't get me an agent, another will :).
--Keep writing!
--NEVER GIVE UP, NEVER SURRENDER!

3) Finish my second novel, Hollow Land!

--Develop a daily writing routine that works for me
--Allow myself the freedom to write weird crap the first time around.

As you can see, I'm trying to do my writing goals in stages, so I can focus on one thing at a time, cross it off the list, and see some early successes to keep me going. This sounds like a much better plan than setting a goal like "WRITE EVERY DAY," fail to do it for a couple of days... you know, ever... and then feel like a screw up. I think this may be the key to actually accomplishing one's goals :). Interesting, no? It's like, common sense or something.

This year, I'm also trying to get fit, but instead of writing "be healthier," I'm making a multi-tier goal sheet for that as well.

1) Get to [redacted goal weight] and stay there

--Phase 1 (2 weeks)
Limit calories 3 days a week
Get on the bike for 30 mins or more twice a week.
Do 5 pushups and 10 situps twice a week.

--Phase 2 (2 weeks)
Limit calories 5 days a week
Get on the bike for 30 mins or more 3-4 times a week.
Do 10 pushups and 20 situps twice a week.

--Phase 3 (Will assess when I get there)
Lose 1lb of fat per week.
Get on the bike for 30 mins or more 3-4 times a week.
Do 15 pushups and 30 situps three times a week.

2) Do an unassisted pull up!

Phase 1 (2 weeks)
Follow above plan until I'm able to do 50 sit ups/50 push ups.
Add 5 negative pull ups into routine 3-4 times a week.

Phase 2 (2-6 weeks)
Move up to 10-20 negative pull ups 3-4 times a week.
Attempt a pull up at least once a week
Don't give up!

Phase 3
Do a pull up in someone's face at the gym
Gloat, complete with fist pumps like Atreyu, in Neverending Story. WOOT!

I'm starting really small and slowly so I know I'll be able to develop the habit, encourage myself, and overall stick with it!

By being specific and breaking it up into smaller goals, I already feel encouraged by having a sensible lunch & breakfast today and doing some push ups at my desk :). Hooray!

What are your plans for this year? Do you have goals you're planning on achiving?

p.s.

I missed you guys! :D How was everyone's holiday?