Lessons From American Idol

Okay, I've often wondered what a reality TV show would look like for writers. Can you imagine standing on stage while someone reads part of your manuscript and then proceeds to criticize you? I get that it's not the same as singing or cooking, but dude.

Ouch.

I watch a lot of reality TV, and I love it. But I think those poor people! every time. Getting torn apart on national airwaves. #notmycupoftea

Anyway, I was watching American Idol last week, and Keith Urban said something that I think can apply to anyone in a competitive industry. (I also just watched Black Swan for the first time, and wow. But that's another blog post for another day.)

He said, "You're up against a lot of talented singers. So it's about making sure you find something to stand out."

I think that applies so well to writing too. With the hundreds of thousands of books being published, both in the traditional and Indie markets, we're up against a lot of talented writers. It's a matter of writing something that will stand out.

The problem is knowing what that is. Making it align with your passion. And probably forty thousand other things.

I know, because I wrote a time travel thriller that I really love. (And time travel is extremely hard to write and like afterward!) I signed with an agent for it. She couldn't sell it. We broke up. I gave it to another agent, who loved it. But, and I quote, "I can't sell this in 2015. It's not what editors want."

So we're up against a lot of talented authors, and we need to not only find something to make our work stand out, but it has to be the right kind of work. I used to think that good writing and fabulous storytelling would win out. But I have a good book with fabulous storytelling, and I can't sell it.

Just like there are a lot of great singers on American Idol that don't become superstars. It's a good lesson to learn, and I'm glad I don't have to do it on live television.

Any lessons you've learned in random places? Bits of inspiration from a commercial or something? 

Lay it on me.

Great Is Great

Okay, you knew it was coming. Well, maybe some of you didn't, but whatever. Let it be known that I'm a huge fan of American Idol. Many of my posts come from inspiration I get whilst watching that show.

So here's my first blog post that came from AI this year. So I was watching last week, and Randy said something along the lines of "Great is great, you just need to sing it greatly."

And dude!

That's writing right there.

Great is great. You just need to write it greatly.

I'm so going with that for my motto.

Stop the violins.
Write it greatly.

What's your motto? Do you have anything to add to mine? Something good happen to you? Someone you know? Lay it on me. I'm feeling the positivity today.

Getting Information Across, Part Three: Internal Thoughts

This is part three in a three part series. I haven't thought of anything else--yet. Mwa, ha, ha!

Part one discussed dialog and part two addressed narration.

Anyway, let's move on to internal thoughts. I'm not sure you need a lesson in what these are, but here goes. Internal thoughts are the internal thoughts of the narrating character. They are not spoken out loud and are usually offset by italics.

I'm just going to get this out there. I'm am not the hugest fan of internal thoughts. I think they are appropriate in many situations, but I think sometimes, just sometimes, they are overused. Here are a couple of reasons why:

1. Repeatage. Remember the old mantra of saying something once and moving on? I think many, many times, authors use internal thoughts to say something again. Just to get the point across that hey, this is important. And I don't think that's necessary. It's just a more annoying way to say something you've already said.

The same rule applies here that applied to dialog. Don't have your main character thinking about stuff they've already said out loud. Or have them think it and THEN say it out loud.

2. The herky jerky. Sometimes I think internal thoughts cause a disruption in the flow of narration. You've got a great thing going. Don't interrupt it with internal thinkage. This is especially true while writing in third person, because internal thoughts are in first person. And this constant switch back and forth is a bit jarring if done repeatedly.

I'm also not a proponent of having the character think to themselves, Think, think. You can do this. Um, they are thinking. They're thinking, Think, think. You can do this. Not actually thinking about the problem, so yeah. Not a fan. Also, the reader does not need to know everything the main character is thinking. We don't need a stream of conscious thought spewed out on the page and stalling the forward motion of the writing.

Now internal thoughts are a good way to get an "Eureka!" moment into the writing. Like when your main character realizes something for the first time, but wouldn't say out loud. I also think internal thoughts are great when a character thinks something that surprises them. Most of the time it completely surprises me too, but getting inside their head can really help to flesh out a character. So they have uses--and in the hands of a capable author, internal thoughts don't detract from the story, the writing, the flow. They're like seasonings--they make it better.

Basically, I like to get most of my information across through narration and dialog. Internal thoughts are great for getting closer to a character, but not an effective tool to reveal major plot points or drive the action forward. In many cases, I think it's wise to look at the internal thoughts in your writing and see if they can be eliminated and woven into the narration or dialog surrounding them. Again, that doesn't mean I've never met an internal thought I didn't like, I just think they should be used like red pepper flakes. In moderation.

What say you? Were you as shocked as I was about American Idol's winner? Did you see Glee? Are you ready for a new season of "So You Think You Can Dance?"? Does my hair look like a toupee? What is that on the mirror? Do these capris make me look fat???

Whoa. Was I really thinking all of that?

I *heart* Adam Lambert

Yeah. That is all.

Things I Can't Live Without

My blog holiday post last week got me thinking about real things I can't live without. It didn't help that that very morning, I was aroused from a deep sleep when I heard my garage door open. See, I thought my husband had been in the shower, the water was running. I love that white noise while I sleep. But I digress.

The shower was off. The garage door had opened. My heart felt like lead. I didn't even have to get up to know what was going on.

The hot water heater had gone out. Again. That's right, peeps. AGAIN. Just fourteen months ago, I gave up a right kidney to keep my tiny townhome supplied with hot water. Seriously. With what a plumber costs, that's about what it took.

So here I was again. I didn't shower. Went to work. Was on the phone when my first class (of 6th graders) came in. When I hung up, I told them I was having a life moment and that this was my "unshowered" look.

They all stared. They had that look in their eyes like they weren't sure if I was kidding or not. Then one of them said, "Mrs. Johnson, it looks the same as your showered look."

*major snarfage*

So anyway, now I've been thinking about things I can't live without. And you guessed it. Hot water is way up there. Here's my top five, in no particular order.

1. Reality TV
2. Music
3. Hot water
4. Dove dark
5. My kiddos

Hmm...writing didn't make the list, but it would probably be in the top ten. What's your top five? Lay it on me baby. I showered today. In super-hot, scalding water. And no, I still have a functioning kidney. Barely.

Getting to Know You...

Getting to know all about you. Yeah, cue the music, people. (And name that movie/play, if you can.)

Okay, I don't know how many of you are actual subscribers and how many of you slipped and accidentally hit that subscribe button and now you don't know how to undo it. But I'm glad you're here! I love blogging, and I love comments.

So today is "Getting to Know You" day. I want to know who you are! I can see my followers (and I always try to click on you and follow you back. Yes, I have the sheep syndrome from time to time.) and it's fun to see your tiny heads on the side. But I don’t really know you.

So here's the deal. Leave me a comment with who you are. Who you hope wins Survivor or American Idol. What you do for a living. Your favorite food. Whatev. A short little blurb about yourself.

If it were me, I might say something like this: "I write YA fiction, adore reality TV, drive way too fast, and wish bacon alone could sustain life." It doesn't have to be like, your entire life history or anything. But just a little something to get to know you.

And I'm gonna bribe you to do it. Food usually works with teenagers and husbands, but since I can't send you my infamous chocolate pie through cyberspace, I'm going to offer up a copy of TANTALIZE by Cynthia Leitich Smith. Hey, the book is about a girl who runs a restaurant and that's totally food-related, so it's all good. So get introducing yourselves!

**Winners will be chosen by random number. No Sprite-spewage on this. Although bonus points will be awarded for that. ;)

New Hair Pics!

EDIT: I redid the pictures because they were so dark. Who knew?

Okay, so around October of last year, I became dissatisfied with my current hairstyle. (That sounds so professional. Dissatisfied…) Anyway, I've pretty much had the same hair cut for about eight years. Some might say it's because I'm so consistent. Yeah, let's go with that.

Anyway, so I was out enjoying the last of the fall sunshine at Gardner Village. While eating lunch, I saw a woman and she had the cutest hair cut. Now, if I would have been with my husband and kids, I would have said how much I liked it, received some noncommittal grunt in return and that would have been the end of it.

As it was, I was with two sister-in-laws and my mother-in-law. I mentioned it, expecting the same gutteral noise I always get from the DH. I should have known better. My SIL jumps up and tells the woman how much we love her hair. After much gushing by all, out comes the cell phone and pictures are taken.

I love my sister-in-laws.

Anyway, I took the picture to my stylist (as they are called these days), but my hair wasn't long enough in the front. So she cut it in the style, with the intention that it would look more the way it was supposed to the next time I came in.

This was Thanksgiving. I haven't been back because I've been see-sawing with myself over what I really want to do with it. Sometimes I think it looks like claymation. Sometimes I think it looks all right. Sometimes I think it looks like a toupee. It's really been quite embarrassing to go out in public at all.

Until yesterday. That's right. I got a haircut.

And since I *heart* those infomercials with the before and after pictures, I took some of my own. Hee hee.

Before: Yeah, see why I can't go out in public? Ugh. Not to mention that I have no makeup on in this picture and I haven't tweezed in, like, forever. There's only so much a girl can do.























And...after:

Yes, I dyed it. Dark. Really, really dark. No, I am not a vampire. Nor do I want to be a vampire. I just like dark hair. I might put some highlights in it later on. Maybe some red, whatev. Cuz hair just isn't hair unless it's not your natural color. At least that's my mantra.

I love it. Love is not even a strong enough word for how I feel about my hair right now. It's finally long enough in the front to pull off the whole holy-crap-my-hair-is-like-fifty-different-lengths look.

Here's another one from the side so you can see how uber-short the back is. I haven't actually had to do it myself yet, and that may be a little problematic. We'll see.

And yes, I did take in Adam Lambert's picture. I'm sort of channeling his sultry look in this photo, which I know Kate is just gonna love. Oh well, I've been doing the photos forever and it's annoying. So there. That's as good as they're gonna get.

You Tell Me

So I need a ranting session. I know, I know, I usually subject my friends to this kind of stuff, not the blogosphere. But I needed something to post for today, so this is it.

I think it's a well-known fact that I *heart* Miss Snark's First Victim. I entered the Drop the Needle thingy going on over there. Here's mine. Feel free to tell me what you think (here or over there). Suckage? Dude, you'd read this? Worth sitting down and pontificating on what the freaking ending should be? (Yeah, it's one of those WiP's.)

If you haven't joined the festivities over there yet, you should. It's a fun time for all.

Also on my mind as of late is the trend in young adult fiction. As a lover of YA stuff, I find myself constantly throwing books in the trash. That's right. Books. In the TRASH. When did young adult novels become R, or even X-rated? I mean, teenagers can't get into the movies, but they can read all about it. I'm not a fan of that, which has me reconsidering my love of YA stuff. What say you?

Let's see...what else? What's a blog post without a mention of American Idol? My severe addiction to reality TV has not been addressed on the blog. (I do try to hide some of my indiscretions. ) But it's bad. Maybe even worse than my insane addiction to the Internet. Survivor, The Amazing Race, The Bachelor, Dancing With The Stars, So You Think You Can Dance, and of course, American Idol.

I'm shouting out for Adam Lambert. Love the guy, even though he does wear eyeliner and that's not usually the way I roll. I'm also pulling for Danny Gokey and Alexis Grace. Who do you like?

[rapid topic switch]

I've also noticed that a lot of people post pictures with their blog entries. Hmm...I do not do this so much. I wonder why that is. (Laziness? Undoubtedly.) So I'm wondering, do I need to put pictures with my posts? I mean, I like pictures and all that, and I almost always comment on them. Maybe I'm just picture-challenged. I can never find one that fits perfectly, certainly not like some other people I've seen. Maybe that's it. Fear of being picture-inferior. Thoughts on the whole picture thing? Or just my insecurities? (Man, who knew this ranting stuff would be like therapy?)

Whatev. You tell me.

General Hilarity

I love to laugh. I think everyone should have at least one good belly-laugh every single day. So today's post is going to be things I found funny enough to use my belly-laugh on. They may or may not be funny to you, because, well you know, sometimes you just have to be there. But here goes.

This past weekend, I was hanging out with my brother and sister-in-law and another sister-in-law. I was with relatives, sheesh. Both SIL's who were there are super-skinny, and I think we've all established that I'm not. So they know I'm doing the Biggest Loser thing at school--I interrupt this for a public service announcement: I lost 4 pounds last week. Did I tell you I was going to kill this thing?--and they were telling me about the exercise they do.

One SIL then said, "I love raisin bars. I have some for breakfast, some for lunch, and then a sensible dinner. It's like the Slim-Fast plan, only different."

I lost it. My belly-laugh was way too loud. It was just soo funny. In case you don't know what raisin bars are, think of raisin-filled cookies with no top crust. See? Carb-counters of the world, you could be on the raisin bar diet.

Then we started playing Wizard. It's this card game sort of like hearts. The same SIL goes, "So I have to play...(looks around the table)...clovers?"

I was like, "Um, they're called clubs." Spew!

These things may have been funny because I was on my second Mucinex pill of the day. I don't know, but I seriously could not stop laughing.

My SIL's are my favorite people. On to something different. In a forum I participate in, we were discussing which word to use for something, I can't even remember what. The choices came down to "with" or "using". The general consensus came to "using." One lady posted, "I like using too. *snort*"

That caused a fit of online giggling, rolling on the floor laughing, and other general mayhem. It was FUN-nee.

I'm gonna go confessional on you now. I love reality TV. I even DVR'ed "America's Toughest Jobs" and it should have been called "America's Dumbest Show." I watched almost to the end. Anyway, so we're watching American Idol this week. My husband says, "Is that an apron Paula's wearing?" I almost died laughing. Let me see if I can find a pic. I can't. Oh well. It was the black, sparkly one that really did look like an apron. Very funny.

That's all I can think of right now. But I'm going to have a funny contest on my blog this week...get ready to use those weird and wonky words you've been seeing around...while commenting...