Weekly Random Rollup

#1. Didn't I swear I was going to be a better blogger? It would be nice if I actually, yanno, followed through, huh? It's almost halfway through Friday and I JUST realized I didn't have this post up yet! Ahh, silly me.

#2. I think tattoos are cool. Not all tattoos, and not on everyone. I just think the ones that have special meanings are the best. They can be sweet and simple, or amazingly detailed. The talent that some of the tattoo artists out there have is astounding. But, alas. I will never get a tattoo. Why? Because I'm a chicken. There, I said it. So in the lieu of actually going under the needle, I've started doing this to myself and my children. A red heart on the side of a foot and a promise on a pinky! Gotta love fine point sharpies!

#3. We have a dog. She is a boxer. Her name is Lucy. But we had an "incident" yesterday, so for the foreseeable future, she shall be known as The Damn Dog or TDD for short. The incident, you ask? The Damn Dog ran away. So we moved a few weeks ago and we've not done a great many walks in the new 'hood with TDD, given that she runs around like a maniac in our huge backyard nowadays. Yesterday, she slipped out the door and took off. She is Husband's dog, but conveniently Husband was at work when this happened. So 3 miles, 4 parks, 2 neighborhoods, and 7 really nice strangers later, 2 chickies and I finally caught up to her. Ugh. Don't let that cute face fool you. She's trouble.

#4. Speaking of moving, this is IT! Tomorrow is the DAY! By that I mean, we'll finally have finished getting all of our crap out of the old place and either over to the new one or into the trash. I CANNOT wait! We've unpacked all the stuff we need to live on, but there's all the stuff that makes a house a home that's left and I am just looking forward to making our new house more homey! Also, in case any of you didn't know, moving sucks. And I don't think I ever want to do it again.

#5. Blogging's kind of tough, isn't it? Over the years since I started in ... 2008, Holy Crap! I've been blogging on and off for FIVE years and I didn't even realize it!! ... Anyway, I've sort of been wondering what do you like to hear or read or discuss on a blog? I mean, there's so much information out there on the interwebz, what do you find interesting? Open forum, kids, voice your questions, concerns, any bloggy thoughts you may (or may not) want to hear from me, or even just share any emotional outbursts you may have! I'm open ears!

Listening from Utah... Have a great weekend!

Bloggerly Help ... Please??

I'm stumped.

Looking for some help out there.

I've been sporadic with my blogging recently and I'm trying to figure out how to change that. I really miss the interaction with the blogosphere, but at the same time, I'm trying to find something engaging to blog about, something that is helpful to followers, or even just interesting for a couple minutes of your time.

So I'm looking to you out there for some help!

What would you like to see more of on my blog ...

Writing related posts? Things about the process, my process, experiences, etc?

Reading related posts? Book reviews and recs? Author interviews?

Random stuff about cute animals?

Publishing related posts - links to where I stay caught up on what's going on in the biz?

Pictures of deliciousness in the way of hot eye candy and tasty treats?

You tell me! Help a girl out :)

How Authors are Like Batman or My Theory on Blogging

*waves* Hi.

I know I've been sporadic in blogging. Life gets crazy sometimes.

Over the course of the past year or so, I've noticed a  wave of change within the blog-o-sphere. Maybe it's just me, but maybe not. Here's what I have noticed:

#1) People are blogging less. Those who used to consistently blog 5 days a week, are down to 2-3, if that.

#2) Topics of blogs are becoming redundant. This could be because of the blogs I'm following? Because these bloggers I follow are now at a different place than they were when I first started following them? Because people have less time to draft new blog posts, so they recycle old ones? I'm not sure.

#3) There's just less going on in the bloggerly world. With Twitter, Facebook, personal websites, Tumblr, GoodReads, Instagram, and everything else out there, I think people are reaching their limits with social networking and trying to stay connected. So they have to draw the line somewhere.

With those observations in mind, here's my theory on blogging:

The landscape of the virtual world has shifted to a point where priorities have to be made. Those priorities are generally chosen based on both audience-reach AND an author's comfort level. Some prefer Twitter or Facebook, others maybe a blog post here and there, but what it comes down to is OPTIONS. Authors are now more like Batman: with a whole arsenal of (interwebzy) tools on their utilty belts.

So really, don't feel pressured to use anything you're not comfortable with, because there are so many to choose from! Pick your tool and use what works for you.

Tetris Packing

Holy crow ... three posts in one week? WHAT is going on???

Yeah, it's probably because I'm prescheduling and trying to catch up on my bloggerliness.

I really am trying to get back into the writerly groove, like I said yesterday. I miss everyone and the interaction and how you guys just let me air my random thoughts and catching up with what everyone else has been up to and yeah. That was a horrible run on sentence, please forgive me.

Anyway, today is Wednesday and I'm actually not sure if I'm working. Because it's only Tuesday early morning as I write this.
I actually need to be packing right now. For the family trip to California AND for my trip to Baltimore next week. I'm not going to have time when we get back from CA to pack for the work trip, so I'm trying to be efficient. Hopefully it pans out.

As for CA, I have to pack for myself, Husband, 6yo, 3yo, and the bubs - who is currently 5 1/2 months old. That includes clothes, toys, toiletries, diapers, stroller, car seats, snacks ... oh, and my dad has just informed me that he'd like us to also include the 5-day cooler packed with a bunch of frozen items he'd like to take to his brother.

And somehow, this is all supposed to fit in the car?

Good thing I enjoy a good game of Tetris. Wish me luck!

What's Your Random?

I talk about myself a fair bit on this blog. My experiences and my strange and random life. But in all this getting back to blogging thing for me, I'd love to know more about you guys!

Are you writers who read? Readers who write? Lovers of books or just fascinated by my randomness?

Tell me a little about you guys! 

What have you been working on? 

What genres do you read and or write? 

And honestly, a question I so need help answering ... what books do I NEED to get reading asap? I haven't read anything new in ages (though I did just get Maggie Stiefvater's FOREVER and couldn't wait to start the end of that trilogy - thanks Cole!).

Anything else wildly entertaining or just plain random you want to share? I'd love to get to know you guys a little better!

Not a Quote, a Question Instead

This was supposed to post yesterday. Apparently I've been offline for far longer than I realized and have forgotten how to use just about everything. Ugh. Working on retraining myself. But anyway, think of this as waking up, thinking it's Monday, but really it's already TUESDAY so I totally just cut your week by a whole day. Cool? Yeah, I thought so too.

It's Monday. And I have no quote for you.

Well, that's not true. I've got lots of quotes, just none that felt right for today. So instead of some worldly wisdom from greater minds, you just get me. Hope you're not too disappointed.

I started this post last night and kept deleting it. Which is why it didn't post first thing this morning like it usually would if I was on top of my game and all that jazz. I just didn't know what to blog about.

I know I've been MIA for a while, due in some part to the dayjob, in other parts to being hit with what feels like every possible sickness / virus / ailment that could cling itself to me. But I've missed you guys.

I've been reading / blogging for a few years now, read lots on writing and books and authors and all that stuff. I don't claim to be an expert on anything, but like anyone else, I have my own thoughts on things. So why don't you tell me what you want, blog-speaking? Topic suggestions, book recommendations, random questions for me. I'm game.

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?

It's Cool to Be Kreativ!

Thanks to Amanda! She passed on the Kreativ Blogger Award to me!


I have to say, it took me a while to get going on this whole blogging thing and now that I've found what great and supportive writers are out there, I've made some amazingly talented new friends!

The rules for this award are pretty simple to follow:

1. Thank the person who nominated you for this award.
2. Copy the logo and place it on your blog.
3. Link to the person who nominated you for this award.
4. Name 7 things about yourself that people might find interesting. (below)
5. Nominate 7 Kreativ Bloggers.
6. Post links to the 7 blogs you nominate.
7. Leave a comment on each of the blogs letting them know they have been nominated.

* * * * * *

Soooooo, 7 interesting (and very random) things about me . . .

#1-My 4-year old and I were supposed to share a birthday - she was due on my birthday! But she decided she didn't want to share, so she waited a few days to show up.

#2-I wrote my first "book" in four 6-subject spiral bound notebooks in the 8th grade. I still have them in a box in my parents' storage shed. I haven’t read them recently, but when I last read them, uh, yeah, they sound like I was in Jr. High all right.

#3-Bacon . . . it is one of my food groups.

#4-I'm an almost insomniac. I can't sleep more than 3 hours or so a night or else I'm not functional the next day.

#5-Since I've been driving I've been in 4 accidents (none were my fault-really, I swear). 3 of them were with Dodge Neons. They're out to get me, I swear!

#6-My name was never supposed to be Wendy. I really was named after the wind. If I had come out a boy, my name would have been Rocky. As in, the Sylvester Stallone-boxer Rocky. (I'm so glad I'm a girl!)

#7-I read really fast - approximately 100 pages/hour. So, yeah, I DEVOUR books and I'm always looking for recommendations! So if you have any must reads I haven't gotten to yet, let me know!


* * * * * *

Here are 7 other Kreativ Bloggers for you to stop by and visit!

1. Being Beth
2. Writer Musings
3. Working My Muse
4. Words, Words, Words
5. The Screaming Guppy
6. Fire Drill
7. Notes From the Writing Chair

Go check them out!

How Nice!

Angie, over at Notes from the Writing Chair, gave me the One Lovely Blog Award! Sweet! Thanks so much, Angie!


I wanted to highlight a few other Lovely Blogs out there by passing on the award!


Beth Lahie over at Being Beth
Christine Fonseca at The Musings of Christine Fonseca
Amanda Bonilla at The Keyboard
Elana Johnson at Mindless Musings
Michelle McLean at Writer Ramblings

Thanks to these folks, I've learned so much about the writing process and have made some friends who can totally relate to the stresses of being a writer and of life in general. If you haven't already, go check them out!

Blocked by the Evil Pencils

I know I've been kind of quiet for the last week. Aside from the weekly quote, I didn't post ANYTHING last week and I feel guilty about that. When I first started this blog, I seriously didn't know what I was doing. I did 3 blog posts in 3 months. That's how pathetic I was. I vowed to be better. And I have been. Since then, I've been consistenly posting, not everyday but I've tried to post at least 3x a week. Except for this past week. I believe my issues bled into my blogging.

My problem (as for many writers/blogger . . . people in general) is that real life just sort of, jumps out at me and Ta-Da! throws my normal routine all out of whack. Real life. Gets me every time, sucking every little tidbit of creative mojo from my brain.

While we're on this whole lack of creative mojo, something I wanted to get out in the open: I've written almost nothing in the last couple of weeks. Revisions, sure. But new wordage. I believe the magic number might be something like . . . 10? That would be words, not paragraphs, pages or chapters. 10 words. I suck. Whew, I feel better just confessing that.

I blame it on the evil pencils . . . no matter that I do almost all my writing with my laptop or notebook & pen . . .

On a different note, I'm going to be attending my first in-person writing group meeting tonight. Totally stoked to meet some new people and learn some things. It has taken me a while, but I think I'm on firmer ground now, with the whole crit group / beta readers thing. (Thanks to everyone who helped point me in the right (write - LOL!) direction!)

Wordle

Recent Reads Update

Re-Tweet of one of my recent Twitter updates:

RT @windyaphayrath So behind on Recent Reads blog posts. Currently showing thru book 4 - actually in the midst of books 8 & 9. I read far faster than I blog.

A few things:

#1) I'm leaning away from full-on reviews of the books. Instead, just citing the book, genre, book number in my count to 100, and a blurb on my thoughts. I'll make sure to include a link to the Amazon or GoodReads page if you want more details on it.

#2) As soon as I tweeted and blogged (earlier today) this, I realized I had completely discounted a few other airport reads I picked up. Romance novels ;) I haven't read much in the genre before, but it was an emergency and I needed a good distraction. So I guess my reads are jumping all over the place now. YA, Romance, Commercial ... all fiction still. As one of my cohorts and I discussed, I just don't find a non-fiction on the economic impact of the Great Depression on current times great before-bed reading.

#3) I've added another section to my blog: Currently reading. This is hopefully going to help me stay on top of blogging my Recent Reads. My problem isn't so much the blogging part, but how quickly I read. I average about 75-100 pages an hour when I read for my own enjoyment, so by the time I sit down to write a Recent Reads blog, I'm generally 2-3 books behind already. If I'm not writing during my usual writing time, I've got my nose stuck in a book. Hopefully streamlining the blog posts and including updates in the currently reading section will help me.

Okay, that's all for now. Just wanted to throw that out there, because reading is like research, right? As much as I hate research, well, this kind I can/will definitely do!

What are you reading?

Thoughts to Share

So here goes. This is my first blog as I try to turn a new leaf and join the world of bloggers. I don't have a great deal of deep thoughts to share today, just a couple things that made me go... hmmmm.... I thought I'd share:

Firstly, Failure is one of the greatest forms of inspiration. Leigh Mitchell Hodges once said, "Failure is often that early morning hour of darkness which precedes the dawning of the day of success." For some that early morning hour is just that, a short amount of time before things fall into place. For others, that early morning hour seems to stretch out for ages and you just have to remember that it is only a matter of time before dawn will break and everything will be okay.

Secondly, is waiting. The adage goes, 'patience is a virtue.' I have learned that it is a virtue that comes and goes depending on the situation and all people possess it to some degree. Being patient really doesn't make waiting any easier though, even if all you're waiting for is bad news. Even if what is happening falls into the realm of 'prepare for the worst, hope for the best.'
You know, it reminds me of being a little kid and going to Disneyland for the first time. That giddy feeling of excitement in your stomach, though you're not sure if you're excited happy or excited nervous or maybe, just maybe, you could be excited scared. (That last one could just be me, scared to death my first time on Space Mountain - something about rocketing around in the pitch black darkness...) So you stay up late and get up early. You're dressed and ready before your parents can yell at you to hurry up. And then you get there only to wait. Hurry up to wait in line. Run to the next ride, hurrying to wait again. As though the sooner you get in line, the faster the line's going to move. Yeah, right. That's what it feels like. Hurrying to wait.

Yeah. It sucks.

Blogging

I've come to find that maybe I'm not so good at this whole blogging thing... I'm going to have to work on it. Three posts in three months... Today is the day...