A THOUGHT FOR THURSDAY

Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose
by
John Singer Sargent

A thought for Thursday... and any other day you like:

I still find each day too short for all the thoughts I want to think, all the walks I want to take, all the books I want to read, and all the friends I want to see. 

             John Burroughs

DONALD MAASS WRITING TIPS FOR WRITERS OF THE 21^st CENTURY NOVEL:

2 What does your category of novel excel at?  Embrace that…then outdo it. 

                  #21stCenturyTuesday

PARANORMAL

My genre excels at adding the jam in the doughnut: the unexpected, the sweet, and the challenge.

WHICH CATEGORY OF NOVEL ARE YOU WRITING, AND WHAT DOES THAT CATEGORY EXCEL AT?

10 WAYS TO MAKE MY READING LIFE BETTER

I have decided to join and post with The Broke and the Bookish's Top Ten Tuesday.

I love a good list ;)

If you would like to join follow this link

I have been reading Holly Black: Tithe and Valiant so far. I love the summer, I finally get to read the books that have been marking time (in dust) on my TBR shelf.

August 20: Top Ten Things That Make Your Life As A Reader/Book Blogger Easier (maybe it's Goodreads or your library or different resources etc. etc.)

TOP TEN THINGS THAT MAKE/WOULD MAKE MY READING EXPERIENCE EASIER

1.         A large comfortable chair

2.         No clutter or mess (in my eye line)

3.         Reading glasses (sorry to be practical but without my glasses reading is a pain in the head ;)

4.         A range of books to choose from because sometimes the mood must be matched to the reading material

5.         A good reading light angled to perfection – bright but not glaring

6.         Soft music to add to the ambiance and drown out the more unwelcome noise distractions

7.         An electronic reader within reach just in case I HAVE to read a book - RIGHT NOW!

8.         A barista to top up my drink would be a nice addition to the reading experience

9.         I have a garden reading nook – summer house – it’s perfect except for the bugs it attracts. I can’t kill them! So I need reading assistant whose main job is to fan the air and keep the bugs moving on.

10.       The web for an endless source of advice on what I might want to read next

I have just completed an MG novel, it’s ready to query. I'm moving on to the YA idea I’ve had irritatingly clawing at me while I've been doing rounds of edits and revisions. Now, I'll find tome to let it scratch at some paper.

As always, I’ve been following Don Maass’ advice when planning my novel.

DONALD MAASS WRITE TIP FOR THE 21st CENTURY NOVEL:

1 Be honest: There’s a category cliché in your novel.  Reverse it, twist it or kill it.  #21stCenturyTuesday

Truthfully, I had trouble with this one: the loner, troubled, gifted teen has to have a feckless mother. I guess I could give her a devoted (but physically) distant dad. It seems that it’s important that she is neither overly keen nor particularly reluctant either.

WHAT OTHER MUST-HAVE WOULD MAKE MY READING LIFE EASIER?

WEEKEND WRITING WARRIORS - 8 SENTENCE SUNDAY

If you are interested in follow this link: WWW

It has been so long since I posted - after my rash of consistency - I'm right-embarrassed. ;) But, here we go -- back to the old routine:

I'm hardly back from my holiday and I'm already thinking about the end of summer and my new Y2 class: fourteen days and counting!

The highlight of my week - after getting home on Wednesday - was entering a story in the Undiscovered Voices Competition run by SCBWI BI. I have never entered before. *eep ;)

As I'm only a weekend writer of Romance, Darrah is still having trouble with Sark Hale Tarla; although, today, she is feeling a little lost.

In a time long past in our history, a Sarkisian ship is stranded on Earth. Assimilation is at an early stage but it has not proven to be an easy option for either people. Now, Hale has been assigned to Darrah and her arm of men. His role is to smooth over any diplomatic - or worse - problems that might arise in the Outlands, where the Sarkisians were allowed to settle, when they are sent to find the missing human heir to the Thorn Throne, Erishdren. Rogue Sarkisians are thought to have been behind the abduction.

Darrah woke as a chill breeze lifted the fine hairs at her nape. She sat up and forced her senses to absorb the scene around her as she confirmed the stillness, and the scentless air.

It took moments to control her breathing. She had to calm her racing heart, and build composure at the core, to ready herself to deal with the dizzying rush of information.

Not one who expected to see the same four walls around her when she woke, Darrah took time, as she checked close, near, and more distant, that there were no apparent dangers, to recall her whereabouts and her current assignment. The foliage on the trees moved only with the wind, and the shadows conformed to the expected shapes and sizes. The high-pitched calls and other sounds were exactly as she would expect in The Forest of Drer, all species of the Outlands: peckers, blackbirds, nutscurries, and fleetdeer. Only her glance had confirmed that the other tents were empty – hide walls raised – and her bow rested on a rock a long-arm’s reach away.

DONALD MAASS Write Tip #72

Is your setting historical, exotic or invented?  Add immediately one common thing we’ll recognize from our own reality.

DID YOU FIND SOMETHING EXCITING TO DO DURING JULY AND AUGUST? HAVE YOU POSTED THIS WEEKEND?