Rainy Days and Mondays #19

It's a rainy Monday.

But it's a good day. The PennWriters conference this weekend has inspired me to return to my blogging. So, here's to a fun video for Rainy Days and Mondays.

Intellectually, I can't possibly buy it, but it's still pretty entertaining. And it's dedicated to Hero, my little pup who's in surgery today.

Enjoy.

Deferring to my students. . .

I won't be blogging for a while (big surprise, right?).

But my students will. I'd like to defer to them. Please take a peek at what they've been working on for the past few months, and offer a comment or two when you see things you like. I know they'll appreciate it.

The blog is: http://wccc-awritersjourney.blogspot.com

Thanks for your support.

If Writers Were Hockey Players

If writers were hockey players, several New York City literary agents would be missing a few teeth.

More specifically, if I were an Ottawa Senator, I would throw a childish tantrum any time I don't get my way, or even when I do.

Disclaimer #1: I'm a Pittsburgh Penguins fan.
Disclaimer #2: I get that fighting is a part of hockey.

Still, there's a difference between starting a fight to create a momentum shift in a game and pushing, slapping, and punching the nearest Penguin every time the referee blows the whistle.

Maybe I'm just sensitive to athlete behavior with two Pittsburgh Steelers, who will go unnamed here because they don't deserve any more media attention for their transgressions, in the news lately for misbehavior. Let's be honest, these are grown men. They should know how to behave themselves.

Why is such behavior of smacking around the closest human being to you when you get excited acceptable?

I have absolutely no idea.

But I do know if I were a hockey player, my husband would have black eyes on a regular basis. He's a great guy. We have a good marriage, but what I'm saying is this isn't rational anger. It's frequent and unbridled.

If I were a hockey player, I would have to put rubber bumbers on my Jeep to protect myself from all the drivers who are in a rush to pull out in front of me but in no rush to go anywhere. If I were a hockey player, I would plow right through their little Chevy Cavaliers, leaving them on the side of the road to wonder what the heck just happened.

If I were a hockey player, the woman at the grocery store who chit chats about all the wrongs committed by her boyfriend, best friend, and in-laws as she bags my groceries would be covered in egg yolk.

If writers in general were hockey players, the literary world would be quite different. Agents would attend writing conferences wearing pads, helmets, and mouth guards. They would have to.

Critics would write reviews undercover. Their faces and identities would be more protected than governmental witnesses to gang violence.

And when authors make the New York Times Bestseller List? Look out. Nothing can contain that excitement. Well, human rationale can. But apparently, that's lacking if you're a hockey player (i.e. an Ottawa Senator).

Am I the only one who sees this? Just today, my brother said he doesn't care that above-alluded-to Pittsburgh Steeler cannot behave himself off the field, as along as he keeps winning on it.

I'd like to see a man behave like a man. I wonder if these guys let their kids watch them play hockey. I really hope not.

The little ones might be sitting at home thinking, "If I were a hockey player..."

In Living Color

After chatting with some friends today, I realized Fire Marshall Bill actually graced the screen of In Living Color.

Oh, In Living Color.

Talk about a blast from the past.

No rain, and it's going on Friday. Yet, why not another fun video?

If you loved the show, this will bring a smile to your lips.

Rainy Days and Mondays #23

When I was killing time I don't have to kill on YouTube, I found a blast from the past. One of the best characters ever on Saturday Night Live is the ever-safe Fire Marshall Bill.

If you're ready for school to be out for summer, maybe you can invite Fire Marshall Bill for a lesson.

Let me show you something...

Rainy Days and Mondays #22

My day is jam-packed with revisions, edits, and catching up on grades for my patient students who are anxiously awaiting news on their first essays.

So, I'm going to make this short and sweet. It doesn't evoke laughter, but if you're in the publishing world in any way, this should brighten your gloomy, rainy (in Pittsburgh) Monday.

I can't embed it, but it's certainly worth the trip. Take a look.

Tuesday Tips: Be Smart not Stupid

I attended the Write Stuff Conference sponsored by the Greater Lehigh Valley Writers Group this weekend and learned a lot. I'm not the kind of student who sits in the corner and never speaks. When I have something to say, I open my mouth.

But when I don't, I listen.

Under the guidance of an internationally acclaimed writing teacher James N. Frey, a class of about 60 plotted out a book from beginning to end in two days, his Plotting Like the Pros workshop. Jim, as he calls himself, took suggestions from those in the room, and at times the debate became intense.

One writer insisted our character, a tech sergeant in the Air Force, would live off base. Another demanded we drop her in the barracks. Still a third won everyone over in saying she lives in a little cottage on base.

And so the two days went with arguments and demands until we finally had a good story. I could never write it. Too much science, but it was a good story.

Some writers in the room, myself included, sat back and wondered why these small details mattered at the moment, but when Jim excitedly said the words, "That's a great idea!" to someone, we knew.

People love it when they're right and even more when they're recognized for it. I'm no exception. Yet, as I sat in the windowless room learning about plotting from a pro, I thought of the quote that's scribbled in purple dry erase marker on the corkboard next to me.

And it's today's tip.

"Anyone who loves knowledge wants to be told when he is wrong. It is stupid to hate being corrected." -Proverbs 12:1

Rainy Days and Mondays #21

A whole week has passed, and no other posts. Sorry about that.

I attended the Write Stuff Conference sponsored by the Lehigh Valley Writers Group in eastern Pennsylvania, and it was fantastic. I'll have more to say about that in the future, but today, it's rainy outside, and it's Monday.

I love watching a few minutes of Ellen when my day isn't going so well. It makes me laugh and refreshes me. So, here's one of my favorite Ellen moments. By the way, Dennis Quaid is even handsomer in person!

Here you go:

Rainy Days and Mondays #20

It's a two-for kinda day. It's Monday and it's raining in the Pittsburgh area.

So here are a couple laughs. I love these videos. You may have seen this first one before.



However, this one might be new to you. Pay attention when Mom comes into the room. It's hilarious.

I Missed You!

How like a winter hath my absence been
From thee, the pleasure of the fleeting year!
What freezings have I felt, what dark days seen!
What old December's bareness everywhere!
~William Shakespeare, "Sonnet XCVII"


Hey, everyone...everyone who has not been paying attention to my blog as there hasn't been much to read.

I'm back.

Maybe it's the gorgeous sunshine, the feeling of spring. Not quite sure, but I miss the diner. Time to open the doors again.

I'm still writing a lot, revising two manuscripts, and trying to keep up with my online students who have just submitted their first essay, expository essays featuring their hometowns in some way. I look forward to reading them. Some of the topics are great.

But I miss all of you.

So, I'm back to blogging. I'll have something fresh and fantastic for you on Monday for the revival of Rainy Days and Mondays.

But today, it's all about returning after a long hiatus. So, what have you missed? I received several rejections for THESE WALLS CAN TALK (previously titled THE DINER ON THIRD, and the impetus for starting this virtual diner). I still have a few submissions floating around the literary agenting world, but I'm not too hopeful. The manuscript needs work, so that's what it is getting.

While I let THESE WALLS CAN TALK sit for a few months, I drafted another YA manuscript, BROKEN. I promise to tell you more about BROKEN in coming months, but it's a lot of fun and incorporates prom, summer camp, growing up fast, and a love square (not a triangle, but a square!).

I spent last weekend at the Sisters in Crime Writing Retreat and survived the flood of the Youghiogheny River in Confluence, PA. For proof, check out our president Annette Dashofy's blog.

This weekend is the New Kensington Rotary's annual fundraiser, Rotarama. Speaking of prom, I'll be wearing my junior prom dress. So glad it still fits.

Next weekend, I'll be driving east for the Lehigh Valley Write Stuff Conference. So I'll have a lot to blog about in coming days.

Check back for it!