Since it went so swimmingly yesterday, let’s keep this going.
To copy Sela, “Entertain Me”! Let me see what y’all can do.
Let’s get some more excerpts posted. Sela obviously won for yesterday as she was the ONLY one who contributed anything! YAY SELA!! and thank you! (send me your addy dennie @ denisebelindamcdonald.com–no spaces–and I’ll get some books out to ya). But Chicas-peeps, I have more books I am dying to give away.
Give it all you got! POST!
So you all know we can write . . . what about you?
Give us a little taste of your work.
Put a 200-500 word excerpt of something and we will toss your name into a drawing for some prizes (we have extra copies of our books–woohoo!).
I’d heard of Joss Whedon before, but never knew very much about him. No, I never watched Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, etc. Yeah, I’m a heathen. Sue me.
But I did happen to see his film, Serenity, on cable this weekend. And it happened to be pretty good. So I blew my massive entertainment budget for the month and bought the DVD.
Bear with me…there really is a point to this, lol! 
One of the special features of this disk (and many others) was “Bonus Materials”, including a voice-over commentary by the director, Mr. Joss Whedon.
I’d never bothered with this feature on any other disk. Frankly, it irritates me to have someone talking and distracting me when I’m deeply involved with a book or film.
But this was really fabulous—because I think I learned a few things, not just about filmmaking, but about WRITING.
The guy knows his stuff. He explains why a scene was put in a certain place, rather than earlier or later in the story. He shows the affinity between certain characters as expressed in settings, colors, and symbols. The use of flashbacks, humor, tragedy. Momentum. Archetypes. Heroism. And a great deal about cutting and trimming, sacrificing even your favorite parts if it adds to the integrity of the work.
I must admit I was surprised to find how similar filmmaking was to being an author…which was silly, I suppose, since it’s all storytelling. But it was interesting to hear—and SEE—the lessons from such a talented professional.
So, if you’ve got DVDs of films or directors you love lying around, and they happen to have the director’s voice-over option, give ‘em a listen-to one day.
You might be surprised at what you can learn. 
One day about five years ago, I happen to say to my Best Friend, “You know. I’ve always liked Coach Bags.”
And from that moment forward it was instant corruption with her. She began to notice Coach Bags and specifically a pathwork bag she coveted. She surfed eBay for them and looked at them at the Coach website.
And I continued to just want one. Not any one in particular. Just one. AN Coach bag. I figured I’d know the second I saw it that it was the bag for me.
It’s kind of how I pick shoes. If they make me have the inhale gasp of wonder then that’s the pair for me.
Anyway. One day Best Friend was surfing on eBay and found her patchwork Coach that she’d been coveting all these long years. So she did what any normal, red-blooded female who shallowly obsesses about things. She bid on it. And won. And at a great price too, the ho.
So when she got her patchwork bag and hugged it and loved it and petted it…I know I couldn’t be left behind. Because like any normal, red-blooded female who has a best friend that has something she’s always wanted too…she goes and buys one, too.
Armed with MasterCard and dressed to kill, I headed to the mall where I sauntered into the Coach store. The experience was much like walking into DSW for the first time. I could swear I heard Hallelujah chorus somewhere in the background. I felt like a feral animal as I skittered from one bag to another, touching, petting, sniffing. I couldn’t decide which one. I talked to the sales associate, who was just lovely.
And then…I saw it. Sitting on it’s very own pedestal at the front of the store. How I missed it when I walked in, I don’t know. But there it was. All suede and leather and patchwork-y and looking just beautiful.
I had the inhale suck of wonder. I knew this would be the bag for me. I talked with the sales associate and she said it was one of their newer ones. She also said, “I haven’t seen anyone carry this bag, either.”
“Wrap it up.”
That’s all it took for me. So I walked out of there with my very first Coach purchase in the Coach shopping bag feeling rather smug. I figured it was high time I self-indulged in something completely frivolous. I never do that. And I deserve it after the hell of the last year and a half.
I think I’ve officially crossed the High Maintenance threshold.
A few days later I got a thank you card from the sales associate at the Coach store. I quickly text message my best friend to tell her.
The response I got?
“You bitch.”
*grin*
So I have a friend who has a friend, who is big in this (being publishing) industry–ah the wonders being a chatty person. I don’t tell people about this–frankly, I don’t know the other person so I’d be name dropping for the sake of name dropping–and that and a quarter won’t get me shit thanks to inflation–anyhoo, I digress . . .
One night at nationals, I am sitting there. Again, I am a chatty person so I say hi to the gal next to me. Nada, nothing. I believe she may have smiled briefly though it could have just been gas. WHATEVER. Another gal sits down and I say hi. She is uber nice and we chat for quite a while (and whenever I saw her again she waved and smiled and pretended she remembered my name–as I said, she was NICE). The other gal . . . nope; never even looks at me. Again WHATEVER.
So later, my friend comes over for a moment and chats . . . with the both of us (turns out MS. Uppity-Butt knows her too). As I am about to leave, the never-acknowledged-my-presence gal starts talking to me. What is this? I am worthy now that you know who I know? Give me a freaking break.
If I was smart (or evil) I would have started making up all this crap about spending time with my friend of a friend. “Aw man was that some party. And one time at bandcamp. . . ” (sorry wrong tattle) Hell, I could have gotten a reputation with one or two well constructed sentences while she and her evil twin listened–whom was worthy to confab with, it wasn’t as if she took a vow of silence and didn’t speak the whole time we shared a bench. But I didn’t. I sat meekly by (I know, right–can’t picture it, huh?) and proceeded to ignore my new freaking best friend–walked off while she was asking me something–too late bi-atch!
It’s just SO WRONG to post a quiz here but I’m sicker than a dog (my post conference exhaustion is apparently the flu)…….post your results. I”m off to buy some hair dye!
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Your Hair Should Be Pink |
 Hyper, insane, and a boatload of fun. You’re a traveling party that everyone loves to follow. |
Haven’t done this for a bit. I figure it’s time, since I have absolutely no news to report, and putting words on paper lately has been like pulling teeth! Arggh!!
There. I feel better already.
It’s Free-For-All Friday. There’s no subject pending.
Got a question, any question? Bring it. Good news? Share it. Comment on anything? Post it. Vent? Go for it. Are you a lurker who comes to peek but never participate? Feel free to join in! We don’t bite. Unless you’re really, really cute and ask nicely.
It’s Free-For-All Friday.
Go for it. 
I didn’t attend Nationals this year. Or the year before that. Or even the year before that.
I don’t know why, but I guess I’m just not all that interested. Maybe I should be more enthusiastic. Especially since everyone I know who’s gone has come home happy and inspired.
Or maybe I’m just an all-around grump.
I still enjoy being part of the organization but I’m finding I’m not getting much out of it anymore. Now don’t take that the wrong way. I’m not being a snob or anything. I just think it’s time I spread my wings a little and try to find another local chapter to visit every now and again.
The main problem with that is I usually have my son on the weekends they meet. Which means I’d have no sitter (and I feel aboslutely guilty getting one on my weekend when my time with him is so precious).
And online workshops just don’t cut it for me either. I mean, I love to take them. Don’t get me wrong. But I find the onlie workshop thing promotes the laziness in me. I can take the workshop but never really have to show up or do the homework. You know what I mean?
I do enjoy talking with other writers and learning from them. I find it keeps me motivated and helps boost my level of confidence when it comes to writing. But I also feel like I’m missing something.
Maybe I’ll just go eat another bowl of ice cream and not worry about it. For now. :)
So I am home from conference. I had a great time–did however forget to take my damn camera–grrrrr…….. other folks had cameras and I know there is one photo of Ames licking my salt, er uh, was that a secret?
Anyhoo . . . back to my brush.
So at any given time you could see this or that famous author walking around–yes, just among us regular folks like nothing unusual there–can you believe it? Being the totally crazy gal I am, I decided to volunteer (A LOT) this conference and one day was working the “help” desk–and anyone who knows me know I like to boss people around so it was perfect telling everyone where to go :-)
So this unassuming gal walks up to me and say, “Hi, I work for . . . ”
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It all started last Monday night. I met