Associating With Greatness

Okay, since the whole Michael Jackson funeral/spectacle last week, I've been thinking. I know it's a dangerous pasttime similar to skydiving, but hey, sometimes I like to live on the edge.

And I was watching the funeral from my couch, in my pajamas cuz I had it DVR'ed. And there was this woman who had flown all the way from Brooklyn or somewhere in New York just to stand on the street like three blocks away.

This stunned me. I was like, For real?

But why?

I mean, I grew up in the eighties, so I get the adoration of MJ. We (meaning me and my sister) choreographed moves to some of his songs, and who didn't learn Thriller? So I get tuning in to see the funeral, but I stayed in the comfort of my own home. I don't get flying across the country just to stand on the street.

Here comes the thinking part.

And I've finally concluded that it all has to do with Associating Oneself with Greatness. Think about it. Wouldn't you want to associate with Michael Jackson (as perhaps messed up as he was) or Oprah or say, Holly Root or Rachelle Gardner or Jessica Faust or Kristin Nelson or Nathan Bransford?

I would.

And why?

Because we believe they're great.

Enter more thinkage, and a few MJ lyrics.

Heal the world

Make it a better place

So that's my thing. I want to make the world a better place. With my books, my blog, my life. I used to listen to my favorite Michael Jackson song, Man In The Mirror, everyday on the way to school. It helped me to realize that I couldn't change those kids, their life circumstances or make the right choices for them.

But I could--and can--change myself. What I say. Do. Think. React to. Ignore. All of it.

So I've associated myself with greatness. Pat, Heather, Suzy, Carolyn and Mary are the kewlest critmates, blogging buddies and downright best friends ever. They are the epitome of what it's like to live your life intending to make the world a better place.

Christine, Lisa, Laura, Michelle, and Katie make my world a better place with their constant encouragement and uplifting emails. Thanks, guys.

I love hanging out in the QueryTracker forum. I think the people there make the world a better place. I also love going to my Writing Throwdown forum and reading the support people show each other there. That is a small slice of the world that is made better--and most of those people are you guys, the Mindless Musing blog readers. So thanks.

I'll be gone to Yellowstone the rest of this week, enjoying the beauty of this world. I could write a bunch of posts and set them to autopost, but I like to discuss with all of you, so I'm not going to do that.

I'd like to open the blog this week for you to talk about greatness. Who out there has influenced you? Made your life better? Made your world a better place to live? I want to associate with those people. All of them.

I want to be great. And to do that, I must Associate With Greatness.

More Than You Want To Know...

I think I'm going to have every post next week have those ellipses in the title. I seem to do it A LOT. So sorry if that bugs you.

But I thought I'd share some stuff about yours truly in mostly pictures, cuz I'm crazy like that.

What I do for fun:


That's me in the blue jacket. I have a pitchfork. Don't ask. Mary Lindsey is the one with the Grim Reaper scythe-thing. Suzette Saxton is just trying to defend herself. Good times.

I love songs by people with food for their name:

No Rain by Blind Melon

Never There by Cake - dude don't you love Cake? I had their CD in high school, like, forever ago. I was kewl back then, too. *grins*



I like this song too:
Heartless by Kris Allen

And I still adore "Mad World" by this man:



Books I've Read For the First Time (don't judge) In the Past 10 Days:
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle (I had *panic face* for a chapter or two)
A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula Le Guin (holy world-building Batman!)
The City of Gold and Lead by John Christopher (utterly awesome)
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (it is what it is)
The Roar by Emma Clayton (post-apocalyptic, what could be better?)
Gifts by Ursula Le Guin (loved it!)
The Giver by Lois Lowry (shut up)
Gone by Michael Grant (words cannot describe the awesomeness this book is)



I hit one of these this week:


My girl kidlet said, "Mom, you're scaring me." Yeah, I scare myself sometimes.


I had my first experience with one of these:

They're webcams, in case you didn't know. Critique group will never be the same.



My best picture to date:


That's Mary with me. Maybe I look good because she's so cute.


What I learned doing this post: It takes forever to insert pictures into blogger and move them where you want them. My advice? Put in the last one first, then you don't have to drag so far. Freak.

What I also learned: I am amazing when suffering from Avoidance. I tried to get a prescription, but apparently, there is no cure. Dangit.

Other random facts: I've been hovering at 99 followers for three days. I'm going nuts. Someone just follow so I can get on with my life. Please.

I updated my sidebar with Wicked Awesome Bloggers, i.e. people I love to read everyday. There were 39! Thirty-freaking-nine. And I wonder why I have to limit myself to an hour of online time. If I missed yours, let me know. I follow so many....


What I should be doing:


Yeah, I'm in a killing mood right now. It's Jag again. For some reason he brings out the homicidal tendencies I work so hard to repress.

Oh! Talking about Jag made me remember. This is what he looks like:

<--- David Henrie from Wizards of Waverly Place. Yes, I watch it.

Eddie ---> Gilbert from The Next Food Network Star. L-o-v-e the spikes. And the eyesbrows... totally Jag.





And now you know more about me than you should.

One more thing: This blog post took me two hours. I am just that lame.

Have a great weekend!

Blog Chain - Shreddage

Okay, this round's topic was chosen by the ever-fabulous Mary Lindsey. Here's her prompt:

Are you in a critique group? If so, at what point do you send chapters to the members of your group? How detailed are the critiques you receive and give? Do all members in you group write the same genre?

I've been participating in crit groups for about 15 months. And I wrote a couple of posts for the QueryTracker blog on this topic (more on how to start and how to participate in crit groups). These questions are completely different, and I think, ones that every writer should answer and contemplate in their crit groups.

Whenever I post my work for critique, I think of it as going through the shredder. Sometimes I can't wait to see what's going to come out the other side, and sometimes I'm just plain scared. (Hey, I'm human, too.) Sometimes that shreddage can be scary--but it's almost always scary in a good way. (Not like those people up there. They're shredding lettuce. Yes. Lettuce. I guess it's uber-toxic lettuce because why else would they need the lab coats, rubber boots and face masks?? They take their shreddage seriously. As should your critters in your group. Man, this was a long parenthetical.) You need good shreddage to grow and stretch as a writer. But enough about that. Onto the questions!

1. Are you in a critique group?
Yes. More than one. I have a live crit group that I absolutely adore. I also own a forum at RallyStorm exclusively for YA authors. It's pretty much me and a dear friend, because we're not really sure about adding anyone else to the group and upsetting our uber-yen balance we've got goin' on. I love my fellow YA crit buddy. And I also have a precious group of friends who will read anything I want at any time. Their input is priceless.

2. At what point do you send chapters to the members of your group?
After I've looked at them so much my eyes are crossing, I can push apple+F and type in the exact line I'm looking for, and I'm about ready to select everything and hit delete. I believe that you should really look at your own stuff and make it as polished as possible BEFORE sending to crit buddies. There's nothing more annoying that trying to crit a first draft of someone else's writing.

Of course, one of the groups I'm in, we have to post 15 pages a week. Sometimes I'm not ready for that, but I do my best to get my pages out and pasted in a new document by Wednesday (I post on Friday). I look at them. Tweak. Change. Rewrite. Save. Thursday. Look again. Re-read. Tweak. Change. This only takes a few minutes. Friday. Email to self (can't post from a Mac, grumble). Read on PC (hey, it looks different). Tweak. Post. Read in post (different still). Tweak. Post.

I think this tweaking cycle is common among writers. (Please tell me it is, even if it's not...'kay?)

3. How detailed are the critiques you receive and give?
I think it depends. If the writing is strong, I usually just have "big picture" comments. Sure, I might have places where I think a stronger word would work better, or where the structure of the writing falls away. I'm a hugely character-driven reader, so I find that my critiques are geared toward the relationships in the story, how the characters are acting (or not acting), and making sure their dialog and actions are consistent throughout.

The crits I get vary from person to person. Because every person has something different they bring to the table. Literally. And that's what makes crit groups awesome. (Look at those bales of shredded paper. Isn't that...I don't even have a word for how super-stupendous that is. That's what my novel looks like after my crit group has laid their claws into it. And that's amazing too.)

4. Do all members in your group write the same genre?
No. My live group is varied. We have YA, historical fiction, romance, and LDS fiction. My online group varies too, from YA to MG to women's fiction to nonfiction to paranormal romance. I do have the YA group and that is obviously YA.

I don't necessarily think writing in the same genre is important. I think having knowledgeable, honest people is what really counts.

So don't fear the shredder. You need it. Crave it. Will be better for it. See what Abigail had to say and Terri will be up in this chain of madness tomorrow.