If you'd like to see what I'm up to, please come visit me at my new home: Positively Cyn-full.
Thank you and HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Monday, January 3, 2011
Monday, November 29, 2010
moving
Come join me at my new and probably not much improved blog at: www.cynthiaselwyn.blogspot.com.
Thank you for your patronage. ;)
Thank you for your patronage. ;)
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Book Giveaway!
All you need to do is click on the link and comment on Carrie's blog: Sweet Release's sweet release
Ain't that a purty cover?
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Conflict...
...there's never too much conflict in a story.
Last night, I figured out what my hero has to do to solve his problem. My problem is--will it be so much of a sacrifice for him? Or is it something he'd be happy to do anyway?
Could the conflict be that the woman he's going to sacrifice for not want him to sacrifice himself? Or that she doesn't believe his sacrifice will make a difference? And how many times can I use the word sacrifice in one post, anyway?
Perhaps the conflict will come from the way he'll have to leave his family--literally--never to return. Can he do that? Will he do that? His entire existence will not only change, it will end. In fact...so might he. Maybe. I'm not sure.
Rats. It's hard to play God.
Last night, I figured out what my hero has to do to solve his problem. My problem is--will it be so much of a sacrifice for him? Or is it something he'd be happy to do anyway?
Could the conflict be that the woman he's going to sacrifice for not want him to sacrifice himself? Or that she doesn't believe his sacrifice will make a difference? And how many times can I use the word sacrifice in one post, anyway?
Perhaps the conflict will come from the way he'll have to leave his family--literally--never to return. Can he do that? Will he do that? His entire existence will not only change, it will end. In fact...so might he. Maybe. I'm not sure.
Rats. It's hard to play God.
Monday, October 4, 2010
The Muse has paid a visit!
YAAAAAY!
I'm happy to report that I wrote seven pages (that's almost two thousand words) of a novella this weekend.
It's a Christmas story and it probably won't make it to the publisher in time, but...well, if that's the case, I'll just post it somewhere. Like, here. The title is, Naughty Can Be Nice. (Hmmm...do you suppose it might be a tad erotic?)
Dear Muse, thank you for the visit. I've missed you so much! You're always welcome to pay a call to this writer's domain.
Speaking of domains, I've been trying to figure out how to get my webpage up and running again. It's been quite a while since I've thought HTML-ishly and quite frankly, I blocked a lot of it out. So if anyone has any ideas/tips/sites/information, please--send it my way. I'm lost!
On that note--I've got another 3K (at least) to get through to finish the story. Just as a teaser (heh), here's a little bit of it.:
Gee...that doesn't sound very erotic, does it? Ho, ho, ho...you'll have to wait until Christmas to unwrap this gift. :)
I'm happy to report that I wrote seven pages (that's almost two thousand words) of a novella this weekend.
It's a Christmas story and it probably won't make it to the publisher in time, but...well, if that's the case, I'll just post it somewhere. Like, here. The title is, Naughty Can Be Nice. (Hmmm...do you suppose it might be a tad erotic?)
Dear Muse, thank you for the visit. I've missed you so much! You're always welcome to pay a call to this writer's domain.
Speaking of domains, I've been trying to figure out how to get my webpage up and running again. It's been quite a while since I've thought HTML-ishly and quite frankly, I blocked a lot of it out. So if anyone has any ideas/tips/sites/information, please--send it my way. I'm lost!
On that note--I've got another 3K (at least) to get through to finish the story. Just as a teaser (heh), here's a little bit of it.:
“You’re not real! I hate you!” The tiny girl screeched, hauled back her foot and let Kris have it—right in the leg--before dashing off into the children’s hospital Christmas party crowd.
“Oh, that is so not nice.” Kris bent to grab his knee and looked around for the parent of the pint-sized perpetrator. No one appeared ready to claim the kid, and he couldn’t blame them. If that were his child, he’d deny it, too.
They were probably hiding from the brat. And she was a brat. He knew it. His Santa-Spidey senses weren’t just tingling, they were screeching. Naughty! Naughty! Because he damn well was real.
Gee...that doesn't sound very erotic, does it? Ho, ho, ho...you'll have to wait until Christmas to unwrap this gift. :)
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
The Food Fairy Came!
This post is intended mainly for any readers I have who are (God, I hate this term) homemakers. The rest of you can roll your eyes and go read something more interesting. Like...the weather.
For the trapped-at-home moms out there: The Food Fairy arrived! And she looked like a member of ZZ Top with a lip ring.
I don't know why I haven't taken advantage of this before now. Stop&Shop has this wonderful service called Pea Pod, and for a delivery fee of $6.95 (minus $1.00 because I scheduled my delivery for a "special" time where you receive a dollar off), they did my shopping, put the food into bags, loaded them on the truck and actually carried them into my house!
In my glee, I overtipped ZZ, but you know what? He saved me from listening to the incessant pleading of a three-year-old to buy gum, or candy, or ice cream or any product featuring one of his favorite (at that second) character (damn you marketeers of corporate America!). Plus, because I created my list on my computer during a (relatively) quiet moment, I could think about what I was doing and work from an organized list. AND--I could add to it later, when I realized we were out of milk. (Again. Honestly, it would be cheaper to buy a dairy cow and leave her in the back yard. Plus, she could mow the grass for us. But I digress.) Items were on sale, just as they were at my local store, and--if I were the type of person organized enough to do so--I could have used coupons for even larger savings. If they were out of an item on my list, I could elect to have them substitute a similar product, or not.
I suppose the only downside to this is, if I purchase produce, I don't have the opportunity to inspect each and every piece. However, as we've spent the past year shopping at a market which insists upon shrink wrapping produce together into a styrofoam tray, this is not such a bad thing. I've gotten used to cutting out bruises and bad spots.
Truly, Pea Pod is a wonderful, time saving and ultimately (because the tendency to impulse buy is reduced) a money saving thing. I love the Food Fairy, even if she does look like ZZ Top and I'm going to summon her to my home again!
For the trapped-at-home moms out there: The Food Fairy arrived! And she looked like a member of ZZ Top with a lip ring.
I don't know why I haven't taken advantage of this before now. Stop&Shop has this wonderful service called Pea Pod, and for a delivery fee of $6.95 (minus $1.00 because I scheduled my delivery for a "special" time where you receive a dollar off), they did my shopping, put the food into bags, loaded them on the truck and actually carried them into my house!
In my glee, I overtipped ZZ, but you know what? He saved me from listening to the incessant pleading of a three-year-old to buy gum, or candy, or ice cream or any product featuring one of his favorite (at that second) character (damn you marketeers of corporate America!). Plus, because I created my list on my computer during a (relatively) quiet moment, I could think about what I was doing and work from an organized list. AND--I could add to it later, when I realized we were out of milk. (Again. Honestly, it would be cheaper to buy a dairy cow and leave her in the back yard. Plus, she could mow the grass for us. But I digress.) Items were on sale, just as they were at my local store, and--if I were the type of person organized enough to do so--I could have used coupons for even larger savings. If they were out of an item on my list, I could elect to have them substitute a similar product, or not.
I suppose the only downside to this is, if I purchase produce, I don't have the opportunity to inspect each and every piece. However, as we've spent the past year shopping at a market which insists upon shrink wrapping produce together into a styrofoam tray, this is not such a bad thing. I've gotten used to cutting out bruises and bad spots.
Truly, Pea Pod is a wonderful, time saving and ultimately (because the tendency to impulse buy is reduced) a money saving thing. I love the Food Fairy, even if she does look like ZZ Top and I'm going to summon her to my home again!
Monday, September 6, 2010
Point of View. Again.
I'm editing yet another manuscript where the author's point of view hops all over the place and I'm perplexed. Why is this happening?
Is there any way I can help writers understand this concept or learn this technique? What do you need to know? What don't you understand?
Because I'm getting cranky, people. Really, really cranky. To the point where, if I see even a shade of headhopping, I'm going to start rejecting manuscripts without a second thought. I don't want to do that, though. I'd really rather see if I can teach what needs to be taught and help writers--especially new writers--get published. I'm tired of trying to teach and edit at the same time. It's distracting me from the other things, like plot holes and grammar mistakes.
My attitude is becoming; "if you think you're advanced enough to be published, you'd better have a good understanding of point of view. Your homework should be done. You should be well-learned in your craft already. If you're not, go back to work until you get it. I'm here to edit your manuscript, not do a seminar for you." Grrr. (I should change back to Lighthearted Writer, Darkhearted Editor. Seriously. Grumble.)
But I don't like that attitude. I'm a teacher at heart and I want to help. Please, my few but wonderful readers, send your writer friends here and tell them to leave their questions about point of view in the comments, or send them to cdyates@ymail.com if they find they can't access the comment feature. Tell them all questions are good questions (as long as they pertain to the subject, of course). Tell me: What don't you understand? What do you need to know? Why don't you understand why you can't see one scene in multiple points of view?
The thing is, I remember being a new writer and joining a critique group.When they told me I needed to learn point of view, I went to the library (this was in the days before Google) and looked for books about it. I found one. And it didn't help. Instead, my patient crit partners taught me point of view.
It's a strange thing, really. It's so difficult to understand until that lightbulb moment, yet so simple once you get it. So--how can I help you turn on your lightbulb?
Is there any way I can help writers understand this concept or learn this technique? What do you need to know? What don't you understand?
Because I'm getting cranky, people. Really, really cranky. To the point where, if I see even a shade of headhopping, I'm going to start rejecting manuscripts without a second thought. I don't want to do that, though. I'd really rather see if I can teach what needs to be taught and help writers--especially new writers--get published. I'm tired of trying to teach and edit at the same time. It's distracting me from the other things, like plot holes and grammar mistakes.
My attitude is becoming; "if you think you're advanced enough to be published, you'd better have a good understanding of point of view. Your homework should be done. You should be well-learned in your craft already. If you're not, go back to work until you get it. I'm here to edit your manuscript, not do a seminar for you." Grrr. (I should change back to Lighthearted Writer, Darkhearted Editor. Seriously. Grumble.)
But I don't like that attitude. I'm a teacher at heart and I want to help. Please, my few but wonderful readers, send your writer friends here and tell them to leave their questions about point of view in the comments, or send them to cdyates@ymail.com if they find they can't access the comment feature. Tell them all questions are good questions (as long as they pertain to the subject, of course). Tell me: What don't you understand? What do you need to know? Why don't you understand why you can't see one scene in multiple points of view?
The thing is, I remember being a new writer and joining a critique group.When they told me I needed to learn point of view, I went to the library (this was in the days before Google) and looked for books about it. I found one. And it didn't help. Instead, my patient crit partners taught me point of view.
It's a strange thing, really. It's so difficult to understand until that lightbulb moment, yet so simple once you get it. So--how can I help you turn on your lightbulb?
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