Welcome To My World

It occurred to me the other day that I haven't been posting much about what's going on with me. After all, this blog is supposed to be about the trials and tribulations of an aspiring romance writer. *grin* So, below is a little about what I've been up to-besides the normal, every day things like, cleaning the house, making dinner, doing the laundry, attending the occasional job interview, picking up the grand kids from school and watching them from 3:00 to 5:30 PM Monday through Friday. Welcome to my world... First and foremost on my list is the upcoming MUSE ONLINE WRITERS CONFERENCE. I've been getting ready for it all week long. It begins this Monday, October 8th and I'm sooo excited! Since I registered for a LOT of courses (I hope I didn't over-do it), I have a lot of preparing to do. I've been to the website several times to learn my way around to get a feel for the different forums. It looks a bit confusing at first, but it isn't, really. Ever the good little student, I've already downloaded my course handouts, printed them out and have been going over them as suggested by Lea Schiza. I picked up a binder at The Family Dollar store the other day, and organized all the handouts by day, time and course. You can't be too prepared, I always say. Lea Schiza also runs The MuseItUp Club, an online critique group, which is a spin-off from the conference (or the conference is a spin-off from the critique group, I'm not sure which). I've been toying with the idea of joining, but I still haven't made up my mind yet. I think I'll wait until after the conference to decide. I broke down and joined NaNoWriMo, which starts November 1st. This will be my first attempt at NaNo. They suggest that you buddy-up with other NaNo participants, so, I would like to find a few partners for support. If you're registered and looking for someone to partner up with, I'm your huckleberry. Just leave me a comment with your email and/or buddy name and I'll contact you and add you to my list or you can add me, which ever works. I'm wondering how it will go. I hope it goes better than my attempt at Candace Haven's Fast Draft class. What a disaster that was. Actually, it started off pretty good, but before long I fizzled out. And speaking of the FAST DRAFT class... Revision Hell, which is the second part of Candace Haven's FAST DRAFT class, is going on just as we speak, over at the Write-Workshop loop. I'm ashamed to say that I haven't even read one post or revised one word. Makes me wonder how I'll do in NaNoWriMo next month. I realized that I've been spending WAY too much time online reading blogs, and that's not good. It's become an even greater diversion from writing than reading emails. So, as much as I hate to, I'm afraid I'm going to have to limit my daily blog visits to three or four a day. I will surely miss them. But, it's not forever. I will be back! Also, I'm contemplating getting my laptop (or maybe my AlphaSmart) out after the conference is over, and using that when I write instead of my desktop. My desktop has way too many diversions. It's a procrastinators (me) dream. Since my laptop isn't live (it could be, but I won't go there) and my AlphaSmart isn't designed to go online, I won't have access to my emails and blogs, therefore, I won't waste my writing time reading them (although, it's not a waste. I love all my blogs and I look forward to reading them every single day). The more I think about it, the better it sounds. Maybe I'll try it out for a couple of days and see how it goes. One more thing that will have to wait until after the conference. I have been trying to keep up with a few other online classes that I've been attending this past week. The first one, which I just recently discovered, is on the eroticromanceworkshop loop. This is a loop for free romance writing courses, something like the old WRITERS CRAFT eLoop. Boy, what a great writer's resource that was. I was devastated when it folded and I've never found another like it. Author's like Lucy Monroe, Laurie Campbell, Kate Walker (she did her 12 Point Plan, if I remember correctly) and other published authors presented classes there-it was a wealth of information. This week on the eroticromanceworkshop loop, Kristan Higgans gave her IDEA TO OUTLINE workshop and next week Sharon Bidwell will present the POV/SETTINGS WORKSHOP. I'm especially looking forward to that one. I need all the help I can get with POV. I've got first person down, and third person. In fact, I have most of them just about figured out, however, I still get confused on the sub-types. For instance, 3rd person omniscient. What is that? Limited third person. Another good question. Why can't it just be simple and straight forward. First person, second person and third person ONLY? I guess that'd be too easy. While writing this post, I was prompted to look through my writer's library for a reference book on POV, and, to my horror, I realized I don't have one! How could that be (I wonder if this is a form of self-sabotage)? However, just for the record, I'd like to add that I DO have CHARACTERS & VIEWPOINT by Orson Scott Card, and it talks a lot about POV. Hopefully, between the book and the workshop and the upcoming conference, I will learn the differences. Just FYI, I've entered Leah Michaels CHASE THE DREAM Contest faithfully every week since it started and I still have not finaled. Guess I'll keep submitting. All I can do is try. On another note... I signed up for a free 7 week Meditation Class here in my home town. It meets every Tuesday from 6:00 - 7:00 PM. I figured this would be the perfect opportunity to learn about meditation, since it's been on my 'TO DO LIST" forever. However, I missed the first class because I was forced to drive my son home when his car decided to take a crap (that day of all days) a half an hour before the class started. His house is a thirty minute drive from mine, so, it couldn't be helped. No matter, I will make next weeks class - come hell or high water! I just finished reading Deborah MacGillivray's IN HER BED and I'm about half way through RISING WIND by Cindy Holby. Next on my TBR list is THE IRISH DEVIL by Diane Whiteside. Actually, it's a toss up between that and THE PREACHER'S DAUGHTER by Cheryl St. John. Either way, I'm sure I won't be disappointed. Oh, I almost forgot to mention that I've added a link for you to subscribe to my blog through email. It's posted on the right side of the blog and way down at the bottom of the page. I've subscribed to a few blogs who use the mailing list and I really like it. The new post is delivered right to your mailbox. Pretty nifty tool. That's just about all the things I can think of at the moment. The timer just went off in my kitchen-time to check on my country style BBQ ribs. So, how about you? What have you been up to lately? If you have a moment, leave a comment and tell me what's on your agenda. Happy writing (and reading)!