Writer Resource o' the Week #5

Hello, hello....
Checking in with a writer resource of the week---this one is:

Absolute Write

www.absolutewrite.com

Free newsletters? Market information? Cool stuff? Dang! where do I sign up?
Oh, that's right, at Absolute Write.

Chatting with Manic Readers

I will be chatting with manic readers online with their Yahoo group on July 23.
Woo hoo!

Writing retreat--part 1---BEES!

Hi all...I am writing from a wonderful writer's retreat. How great to get a chance to relax and enjoy.
What I'm working on?
Finishing up a collection of short stories (rewriting, polishing)
Pounding out a draft of novel #3 (as much as I can get done)
Working on a short non-fiction piece

Just arrived in town and found out that the place where we stay has bees living in the wall. Oh my! They've had to partition off one room, because bees were coming in through the vents....not a lot, I mean, not like a Stephen King movie or something...but we're okay. They're trying to save the bees and coax them out because there's a shortage of bees or something or other...
...and I've run into someone who seems to collect plastic bags. I find that very interesting....
more to come....

I'll keep you posted!

conspiracy of the teeth

Okay, I lied.
I did not blog.
I didn't write.
I have spent my time worrying about things like---possible work layoffs, my inability to find a date since the Reagan administration, and what the @#$@#$@# my wisdom teeth are doing. [yes, I'm 37, and I still have my wisdom teeth. They've decided to make an appearance. A painful one]

AT least, that's my excuse for not being more regular about writing. Julia Cameron in "The Artist's Way" has a good deal to say about the psychological happiness of creativity for creativity's sake--
..but I was a slacker.

Therefore, I've set my goal to revise a collection of my short stories and start shopping it around by the end of this year.

Oh, and here's my "the dog ate my homework" drama about my lack of blog entries."

Okay, so spare me the lectures about how I should have had that rite of passage--wisdom teeth removal-- when I was 17 or 21 and the roots of these buggers were no where near my facial nerve, which they are now...
...bottom line, they're still here. The doc says there's more of a risk taking them out then leaving them in...and since the pain has subsided, probably best to do the watchful waiting thing.

So that's my story---I was minding my own business, getting ready to get caught up on my blog, when all of a sudden---the teeth started their own conspiracy:

Wisdom #1 = "No you don't. No writing weekends for you at your super cool friend's place in Georgia. I want to give you pain. NOW! While you're driving! Lots of pain! Go to the ER--ha, ha, ha, ha!"

Wisdom #2 = "An ER in Charlotte at 9 p.m? She won't go. Oh hey, I want more of that Tylenol."

Wisdom #3 = "I just wanna... I mean (hiccup) I went over... I mean...what-what are we doing anyway? (wisdom tooth #3 is something of a lush)

Wisdom #1 = "Come on guys, this is our time to take over the mouth."

Wisdom #2 = "But there's no room!"

Wisdom #1 = "Oh, her mouth is big enough. Trust me."

Wisdom #3 = "You know... I love you guys... I really do... you are my best (hic) friends in the (hic) world... I just...hey...where am I again? What-what are we doing."

Wisdom #1 = "Fools. Fools."

Wisdom #2 = "She's playing Creedence again."

Wisdom #1 = "How did I get stuck with you guys. #4 was the lucky one. She got him out early."

Wisdom #3 = (singing) "Doot doo doo Looking out my back door" (hic)

I'll be back with more regularity.
But first, answer this---does anyone have any favorite movies about writers? Tell me.
D

Where have I been?

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know. I'm one of those pathetic blogger writers who doesn't blog every five minutes. Actually, I've been on the road a good bit of the time and have been sick with sinus crap--and on some high-powered antibiotics since I got bitten by a few deer ticks. So I've been feeling very puny, but puny beats Lyme disease anyday.

Since last time I posted some words I like, I'm posting some words I hate....

Condiment
Yes, I know, (insert third grade snicker here). I just hate the way it sounds like something it shouldn't when all you want to know is if they've finished filling up the ketchup bottles.

Plethora
I can't seem to ever pronounce this one right.

Aubergine
That's eggplant. Or a shade of purple. I have trouble remembering that one as well.

And the word I seem to dislike most of all (and the one that I try at all costs to avoid using in public) exacerbate.

Words I Think Are Totally Cool

Hey guys.
To increase my dorkiness factor (as if it couldn't be increased any more...)
I thought I'd provide a list of words that I think are really cool.
As writers, we need to, and should, have a love for the language in which we write---or just an appreciation for languages in general.

These are some words that I really think are neat. I love the way they sound, and I love the way they feel on your lips when you say them. These are my top ten:

kiosk
facetious
pathetic
thousand

reminisce

epitome

kayak
quaint
queue
phosphorescence

You'll notice, for whatever reason, I seem to like the hard "k" and the "qu" sounds. Also a lot of the "f" sound. Go figure...
Next week---words I dont' like.

Got any of your favs? Post them! I'd love to take a survey of some of my writer buddies favorite words.

Yes, I'm still kicking

Okay, I'm a terrible, doofy, inhuman being because I'm ashamed to say that I've not been keeping up on this blog like I should have.
Oh well, always time for a new leaf. Things have been kind of stressful with me as of late, but I'm trying to stay very zen about things, remember God is in charge, and not delve into binge-related "stress eating" ----

And now it's time for (drumroll) -- the long awaited
WRITERS RESOURCE OF THE WEEK
(back after a hiatus)

This one is the Association of Authors Representatives.
It's a good place to find an agent. Also, check out their code of ethics.
If I remember correctly, there is no regulatory body for agents---though most reputable agents are a member of some professional organization (but they don't have to be. Dang, a confusing business.)