Quote of the Week

"The best time to plan a book is while you're doing the dishes."

Agatha Christie

We Interrupt the Random Stuff with Compelling Characters!

Today I'm joining about 150 other bloggers out there for a bit of a blogfest-blogpalooza and we are all giving you our spin on "Writing Compelling Characters!"

I don't generally do a lot of "how to" posts or what not, because I really think everyone has their own style and that is one of the most important things for a writer--knowing who you are and what your writing style is. You don't need me to tell you how to write.

With that in mind, I'm going to tell you my thoughts on compelling characters and something I always try to keep in mind:

If this was a real person, would I care about this character?

This is a question I ask myself because I think the compelling characters are the most memorable ones. Art can imitate life and vice versa. People who may only have a cameo, or very small, brief parts in our lives may end up making huge impacts that can stay with us forever. Chances are, if this is character is a person whose appearance in my real life could change my life, whether I love them, hate them or recognize them as just a passing acquaintance, will I remember these people/characters?

I guess, the other part of my big question to think about is the word "real." Compelling characters ARE real, they are multi-dimensional. There is depth to them beyond just being good or bad. They are characters that have flaws, strengths, weaknesses . . . these are characters with a soul - whether good or evil. And with that in mind, a compelling character is one thatis developed to where they could come right off the pages of a book and you could run into on your next trip to the grocery store.

Sorry if I'm a bit rambly in this post, running on a week of very little sleep and feeling almost zombie-ish. Plus, a little short on time with day job and kidlet stuff going on.

Regardless, those are just what my thoughts are. As a writer, if I can answer that real person question, I'm all set. As for you, what do you think?

YanYan is Yum!

Sorry, I meant to post this earlier, but things have been a bit crazy. Hence the reason this is not a more fabulous post.

However, the important part is .... Who gets the Yum?? Well, the YanYan, but seriously, it is chocolate hazelnut YUM!

And without further ado, according to random.org the winner is

L.T. ELLIOT!

LT, shoot me an email on the best way to get the goodies over to you!

H.O.W. I Stay Calm

It's hard. Sometimes, damn near impossible.

H.O.W. do I do it? I have ADD and --ohhh look,

jedi squirrels!! Oh, wait, where was I? Oh, yeah.

H.O.W. to stay calm. Like I said, it's difficult. Especially as a writer where there's so much waiting and uncertainty and wondering and waiting and waiting and waiting.

Like when you send out a query. And wait. And wait. And wait.

Or if you're past that stage and out on submission. Waiting. Waiting. Waiting.

Or when you enter the Utah Chapter RWA Hearts of the West (aka HOW) Writer's Contest. And wait. And wait. And -- what? Wait, WHAT?

I'M A FINALIST IN THE Utah RWA H.O.W. Contest!!!

Check it out at the Utah RWA site.

And now I am doing a little bit of this:

Because, well, all good things should be shared and celebrated!

And I'm doing a lot a bit of this:

Why? Because losing myself in another story is H.O.W. I stay calm.

Keeping my fingers crossed! If you've got some good news let's hear it!

Quote of the Week

In lieu of a quote this week, I'd like to ask everyone to please keep the residents affected by the #HerrimanFire in Herriman, UT in your thoughts and prayers.

As of when I'm writing this post at 11:46 p.m. on Sunday night, over 1,200 residents have been evacuated and at last count, 3 homes have been completely destroyed. By the time you read this post, though I pray they won't be, I'm certain both those numbers will be significantly higher. Currently, the fire is 0% contained due to high winds / gusts that are making the fire's path unpredictable.

If you'd like more information regarding the Herriman Fire, which has also been called the Machine Gun Fire due to the cause of the fire (started at the machine gun range at Camp Williams), here are some links you can check out.

#herrimanfire on Twitter

@UtahRedCross

@BeReadyHerriman

Wishing safety to all those affected.

Random Stuff Friday ... and a CONTEST!

1. Little Greeny's back and better than ever. The extra investment in the Geek Squad warranty stuff = Best. Plan. Ever. So now she's got a better hard drive (because they weren't sure what I had, so the guessed and I ended up with an upgrade.) AND they backed up my stuff for free! (normally they charge $100). And the whole thing only took about 25 hours, from drop off until I was able to pick up. Yay! Go Geek Squad.

2. Holy crap, I had no idea that being without my computer for a day would totally throw off my jive so much. But it did. It totally felt like I've been off my game this week - not tweeting like normal, not facebooking or blogging or anything! I feel like I've ended up so disconnected! So now I feel like I have to make up for it. We'll see if I actually can.

3. In addition to my lack of social networking this week ... I have barely been writing. Or rewriting. Or revisioning. Like I said. So off my game. I need to get my crap together. Hoping this 3-day weekend will help - at least on the R & R side (that's rest and relaxing, not rewriting & revisioning). Should help me get my game back right? Let's hope.

4. Last night was crit group night. Can I just say how much I adore my crit group? Love these ladies. Yes, that's right - Ali, Sheralyn and Nichole, I'm talking to you!! They're a ball to hang out with and brainstorm with and they always know just how to keep you grounded. As I've said on Twitter, I'm not exactly uber-techie, hence the shipping Little Greeny off to Geek Squad when she got sick. So this is a little bottle cap magnet one of my crit buds gave me - it's even green to match Little Greeny.

5. Speaking of crit group, we were talking about weird food. I don't remember how the topic came up, but I've eaten my fair share of bizarre foods (by American standards). My family's originally from Southeast Asia and there's loads of things that seem relatively normal to me, but according to some people, are bizarre. Cow tongue, tripe, chicken feet, balut (embryo eggs) and duck blood, just to name a few things.

AND because I decided just right this moment that I want to give something away, all you have to do is leave a comment and tell me what the MOST BIZARRE THING you've ever eaten is and you could win this lovely notebook, along with some Sharpie pens, very normal things for all writers to have. And that's not all! I'll even throw in one of our family's favorite treats: YanYan crackers with chocolate-hazelnut dip! Seriously - the treat is YUM!

And because there's totally yum foodage involved and some countries are so not down with the yum, I have to keep this a USA only contest. Sorry to the international peeps. I'll leave this contest open until, oh, let's say 10:00 pm Mountain time next Tuesday, September 21. The last day of summer. *sigh* I'll pick a winner with the help of random.org.

Oh, and if you decide you want to tweet the contest or FB it or whatev, let me know and I'll throw in an extra entry for you!

Okie dokie, all, have a great weekend!