Get ready to vote.

My friend, Terri Garey, is calling out for a favor.

As writers, we know all about heroes. Well, Terri’s brother-in-law is a real life hero and this is your chance to say thank you to him. He is a Federal officer who works on the FBI’s Innocent Images task force, tracking down internet predators. (Like on the recent Dateline report, TO CATCH A PREDATOR) He’s devoted 21 years of his life to making other people’s life safe and now he’s been nominated as an America’s Most Wanted All-Star.

The grand price is $10K and a trip. The winner is determined by votes. Please take a second and go vote for Phil Dubord at America’s Most Wanted All-Star.

Thanks.

Well, I gave in and finally got myself a My Space account.

So, if you’re also a member of My Space–make me happy and friend me.

This is all I needed…one more distraction. LOL

Well, I gave in and finally got myself a My Space account.

So, if you’re also a member of My Space–make me happy and friend me.

This is all I needed…one more distraction. LOL

Good luck to all my friends who entered the GH and Ritas this year. I have my fingers and toes crossed for you!

Extra fingers crossed for Maria Geraci. She has written a helluva regency-set historical. It came close to finaling last year. Anyway, this story deserves to not only final–but to win.

Good luck to all my friends who entered the GH and Ritas this year. I have my fingers and toes crossed for you!

Extra fingers crossed for Maria Geraci. She has written a helluva regency-set historical. It came close to finaling last year. Anyway, this story deserves to not only final–but to win.

fishdog’s flophaus: what a trip

Or, as I like to call it– A day of firsts.

#1 boy’s 1st real concert, 1st sex talk, 1st time getting patted down, 1st hubcap burger–all in one day.

And there are some pictures, too.

It’s a little long but very enjoyable–as only my husband could make it.

Are you sick of this topic yet? Well, tough noogies. This is my blog, dammit. Read it and like it.

Okay, so I may be a collage convert. It’s not going to be for everyone, just like doing Q&A sessions with your characters isn’t for everyone.

But, I’m trying to become a Plantser. Or mabye thats a Plotzer? I’m trying to combine my love for just letting the story come with plotting…It’s not easy, btw. But it’s something I have to learn in order to make a proposal work.

Anyway, I’ve had this new story swirling in my head for a while and the first two chaps came relatively easily, but it’s pretty plot heavy and it really has to be plotted out. My strengths are character and dialogue. This plotting shit is for people who like to plan.

When Barbara talked about the collages opening up her mind and helping her to see her story better, I decided to try it. Honestly, it’s not like I was really wasting time. I wasn’t actually writing and the collaging would at least focus my energy somewhat.

I had nothing to lose.

So, this is what I discovered. I have a very vivid imagination but when it comes to clipping pictures, I’m very literal…Sure, there’s some color and mood setting in my collage, but for the most part, it’s very literal. I found myselfdrawn to words and the emotion they pricked in me. The book will be sexy and even though I’ve known that, I was still surprised at how many evocative pics I clipped.

I am very in tune with my hero. He’s cocky (peacock and mirrors). My heroine, I’m still struggling with. I see her physically, and I understand her motivation, but she’s being very secretive. I’m thinking of just doing a character collage to see what happens. I’ve never been good with the Q&A stuff. Those have never seemed to evoke my imagination or press my characters into opening up.

But maybe the collages will?

Are you sick of this topic yet? Well, tough noogies. This is my blog, dammit. Read it and like it.

Okay, so I may be a collage convert. It’s not going to be for everyone, just like doing Q&A sessions with your characters isn’t for everyone.

But, I’m trying to become a Plantser. Or mabye thats a Plotzer? I’m trying to combine my love for just letting the story come with plotting…It’s not easy, btw. But it’s something I have to learn in order to make a proposal work.

Anyway, I’ve had this new story swirling in my head for a while and the first two chaps came relatively easily, but it’s pretty plot heavy and it really has to be plotted out. My strengths are character and dialogue. This plotting shit is for people who like to plan.

When Barbara talked about the collages opening up her mind and helping her to see her story better, I decided to try it. Honestly, it’s not like I was really wasting time. I wasn’t actually writing and the collaging would at least focus my energy somewhat.

I had nothing to lose.

So, this is what I discovered. I have a very vivid imagination but when it comes to clipping pictures, I’m very literal…Sure, there’s some color and mood setting in my collage, but for the most part, it’s very literal. I found myselfdrawn to words and the emotion they pricked in me. The book will be sexy and even though I’ve known that, I was still surprised at how many evocative pics I clipped.

I am very in tune with my hero. He’s cocky (peacock and mirrors). My heroine, I’m still struggling with. I see her physically, and I understand her motivation, but she’s being very secretive. I’m thinking of just doing a character collage to see what happens. I’ve never been good with the Q&A stuff. Those have never seemed to evoke my imagination or press my characters into opening up.

But maybe the collages will?

So, I mentioned earlier today that I did a collage for my current WIP this weekend. I know that Jenny Crusie and Barbara Samuel are big fans of the collaging thing, but I was very skeptical.

First off, it’s very difficult for me not to analyze why the hell I’m clipping certain pictures. Turning off my internal “editor” so to speak was a bitch. But I found a way to help relax the editor into submission. MAKER’S MARK. Oh yeah, baby.

I just snipped and clipped my way through about six magazines. I ignored the fact that I was clipping a lot of words and physical representations of my book and just clipped.

Barbara’s collages are mood and setting for her. Jenny finds theme in hers. I looked at my pile of scraps and thought, Kindergarten art project.
But, I wanted to give this a true shot. I put the collage together, just allowing my instincts to guide me. Here is the final product:It’s not a 3-D work of art. It’s not even pretty. But after it was all said and done, I looked at it, and GOT IT.

I have scenes in my head that weren’t there before. (well, they were there, just hidden) I have dialogue running through my brain. I have a sense of place and mood.

Just out of curiosity, what do you guys see in this collage? Is there anything that you really picked up on immediately? Anything you are really drawn to?