How Did I Forget How Great "Stand by Me" Is??

Photo credit here

Do you ever, for one reason or another, remember seeing a movie and thinking, "Yeah. Once was enough."? I must have had this reaction when I watched "Stand by Me" for the first time, when I was a teenager. I can't explain why, but it was always one of those movies that I was like, "Meh. I've seen it already." But, as my daughter and I were trolling through the movie selections on Amazon Instant Video the other weekend, I came across this movie and thought - "OK. Why not?"

Why not?? Seriously? What was I thinking??? I had somehow forgotten how FABULOUS this movie is. Or never realized it the first time around. Maybe it's my maturation as an aspiring writer, and well, as a basic human being, but I appreciate this story so much more now. The characters, the friendships, the "what ifs", the beautiful simplicity, the very "realness" of it all made me wish that I could write something just as good. It inspired me. And I just thought you all should know that ~ ;)

My 16-year-old daughter LOVED it, by the way. How could she not?  And just as a crazy, this-is-me-thinking-about-it-too-much aside to the movie and the actors...has anyone else realized how scary-alike the real actors and their characters sort-of ended up? Wil Wheaton/Gordie Lachance - both writers.  River Phoenix/Chris Chambers - both dead (so sad!!!)  Jerry O'Connell/Vern Tessio - both married with kids.  Corey Feldman/Teddy Duchamp - both turned out a little sad and crazy. Weird...

Anyhow - I thought it worth mentioning that your tastes and your appreciation and understanding for things can change with time and experience. Never hurts to give something/someone a second chance. Who knows - the second time around may even inspire you!

Happy Tuesday, y'all! :)

Writerly Wednesday!! Presence and Presents ~ :)

First of all, I want to thank my wonderful blogger friends who checked out my aspiring author interview over at Abby Minard's.  I love getting to know you all through interviews, tag-lists, I-got-an-award-and-must-now-list-seven-things-about-myselfs type stuff!  I hope you enjoyed getting to know a little bit more about me!! :)  And if you missed it...feel free to click HERE.

My writing advice today is simple.  At the Pike's Peak Conference, Deb Dixon (CEO of Belle Books) was a keynote speaker at one of our lunches and she said something that really kind of hit it home for me and for a lot of the other attendees:

"You must be present to win."

This adage applies to many areas of life, but for writing specifically - I took it to mean that you have to be in the now, you have to be actively present, writing, editing, networking, getting out there and working on your craft.  You also need to be present at conferences, online, and in the slush piles.  You must be present to win!

Case and point:  (in a round about sort of way...)

I don't usually consider myself a "winner".  Raffles, drawings, games, stuff like that?  Nada.  However, the company I work for is a HUGE supporter of Primary Children's Hospital and every year we have a slotted time-frame to hold as many fundraising events as possible.  I usually try to hit as many as my budget allows, but this year my schedule wasn't working with me.  I'm also leery to go to these events by myself.  Sure, I "know" the people hosting them.  But, I'm a shy gal and feel more comfortable if I have my daughter, one of my sisters or friends to go with me.  Well, this wasn't an event for my daughter...and beg as I did, none of my friends were available to go.  I almost didn't go.  But, yesterday morning I read a blog post (tee hee!) about the rewards of pushing yourself out of your comfort zone sometimes.  So, I picked up the phone and RSVP'd and went by myself.

And guess what?  I WON!!!  Not the game, mind you.  I still can't win at those.  But, I bought extra raffle tickets and CLEANED HOUSE on prizes!!  Check this out:

WOO HOO!!  Fancy perfumed soap, free hair cut, free deep conditioning treatment, candle, basket full of chocolate, spatulas, gourmet cooking mixes...BAKED GOODS mixes!!

And these super cute Emory boards!!  SOOO cute, right???

WINE!!

 I'm hauling this into my house last night, remembering I need to come up with a writing post today, and Deb Dixon's words came to mind.  Perfectly apt.  Had I stayed home, stayed comfortable, sat on my tush and watched tv all night...well.  To top it all off ~ I ate one piece of chocolate last night after I'd decided on the subject of today's blogpost and the message inside the wrapper was this:

Now, if that's NOT a sign, I don't know what is.  :)  You must be present to win.  Presence = Presents!!  What do you think?  Are Deb and I on to something here?  Put yourself out there, my friends!!  Hammer out that first draft, edit the crap out of it, revise, revamp and QUERY!  And I hope to see some winners very soon!

Inspiration and Marshmallows!!



For a writer - Imagination is the marshmallow and Inspiration is the fire that burns it into that toasty, yummy treat that we all crave (oh, you know you do – admit it!). Sure, the marshmallow on its own is a great little sugar-fix. But, isn’t it sooo much better toasted? Smeared between chocolate and graham crackers? (ummm, totally!)

Imagination is a wonderful gift! But, that little bit of inspiration that makes us want to take our imaginings to a whole new place is key to a writer.

A few things brought me to this post idea this week. Reading Elana J.’s reflection on her successful year! Read even a little bit about her journey and her writing/blogging/everything!! processes and you’ll be inspired! And then the fabulous Jen Daiker, whose inspiration to blog about Harry Potter this week (shucks, why wouldn’t you?) opened up a great opportunity for her! (Sooo excited for you, Jen!) And then, of course, we’re still in the middle of Nano month. Who couldn’t use a little bit of inspiration about now?

So, I Googled “inspirational quotes by writers” and I’m sure the majority of you have probably read these all before, but in case you’re having one of those writing days where you need a good kick in the tush? Here’s what I’ve got for you:

“There are times when quantity is at least as important as quality in learning an art.” Lawrence Watt-Evans (An EXCELLENT one for Nano)

“Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.” -Mark Twain (Notice I’m not keeping any of you away? That’s right – because you’re GREAT! Such a supportive, wonderful group of fellow writers I’ve found. *hugs!*)


“Experience is one thing you can’t get for nothing.” Oscar Wilde

“Writing a novel is like driving a car at night. You can see only as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.” E.L. Doctorow

“Becoming the reader is the essence of becoming a writer.” John O’Hara

“Read a lot, finding out what kind of writing turns you on, in order to develop a criterion for your own writing. And then trust it – and yourself.” Rosemary Daniell

“If you would be a writer, first be a reader. Only through the assimilation of ideas, thoughts and philosophies can one begin to focus his own ideas, thoughts and philosophies.” Allan W. Eckert

“Start early and work hard. A writer’s apprenticeship usually involves writing a million words (which are then discarded) before he’s almost ready to begin. That takes a while.” David Eddings

“Read, read, read. Read everything – trash, classics, good and bad, and see how they do it. Just like a carpenter who works as an apprentice and studies the most. Read! You’ll absorb it. Then write. If it is good, you’ll find out. If it’s not, throw it out the window.” William Faulkner

“Write what you care about and understand. Writers should never try to outguess the marketplace in search of a salable idea; the simple truth is that all good books will eventually find a publisher if the writer tries hard enough, and a central secret to writing a good book is to write one that people like you will enjoy.” Richard North Patterson

“When I used to teach creative writing, I would tell the students to make their characters want something right away even if it’s only a glass of water. Characters paralyzed by the meaninglessness of modern life still have to drink water from time to time.” Kurt Vonnegut

“I write as straight as I can, just as I walk as straight as I can, because that is the best way to get there.” H.G. Wells

“There are no laws for the novel. There never have been, nor can there ever be.” Doris Lessing

“The first thing you have to consider when writing a novel is your story, and then your story – and then your story!” Ford Madox Ford

“The task of a writer consists of being able to make something out of an idea.” Thomas Mann (This one goes good with my toasty marshmallow, am I right?)

“The difference between reality and fiction? Fiction has to make sense.” Tom Clancy

“If a book is not alive in the writer’s mind, it is as dead as year-old horse-shit.” Stephen King

“You must want to enough. Enough to take all the rejections, enough to pay the price of disappointment and discouragement while you are learning. Like any other artist you must learn your craft – then you can add all the genius you like.” Phyllis A Whitney

And ultimately - “He is able, who thinks he is able.” Buddha

(Source of Quotes found here)

So, you’re all like “King/Queen Inspired” now, right?  Good.  Now, go turn on that stove burner, stick a marshmallow on a fork, toast it, eat it….all set?  Now write!

Find the Story Friday!!! Lost & Found Balloons

Happy Friday, Friends!  :)  Welcome to my 1st official "Find the Story Friday"!  My plan with these (and this may evolve over time) is to post a pic of a person, place or thing that I found interesting and see if it stirs up a story in any of you as well.

Here's my pic of choice for this week:

And if this one doesn't quite inspire - here it is from a different angle:

These are my Lost Balloons.  I have to admit - I just thought they'd make kind of a cool picture at first.  But, as I got thinking about it from a story angle - I envisioned two things.

#1 - A kid's birthday party in the park.  Maybe the birthday boy/girl got their little hands on this lovely bundle of balloons - hoping it would fly them away.  Maybe he/she just wanted a bird's eye view of family and friends celebrating.  But his/her hands are a little slippery with melted icecream and the balloon bouquet gets away.  *tears*  Goodbye, balloons.

#2 - (the dark side of my brain)  A child is walking home with a balloon bouquet he/she saved all their pennies to pick up at the corner grocery store.  But, it gets lost in the struggle between child and kidnapper!  Eek! 

Just some of my thoughts... :)  What are yours?

Have a FABULOUS weekend!!  I'll be back on Sunday with a post about some great artists I know!

The Stonehenge Face...and other random thoughts

Did everyone "fall back" today?  :)  Thanks to the digital age - it's kind of hard not to.  Interesting question, though...anyone out there merely running on stand-alone battery power and electricity?

So, I went for a drive the other night.  Just kind of zig-zagged around town, with the heat on my feet, my sunroof open, and my I-pod blasting.  I started the drive with some upbeat tunes (Kesha, Taio Cruz, Usher, I think there was an AC/DC song in the mix) and somehow ended the ride with the likes of "Hold on to the Night" (Richard Marx), "Fields of Gold" (Sting), and "Fade into you" (Mazzy Star).  I was actually tearing up at one point.  I'm not entirely sure how it happened.  I did drive by a few old haunts....and I mean "haunts" literally.  I never realized how many places I thought were haunted when I was a kid.  The basement of the house I grew up in, the basement of an old friend's house, the basement of my secondary elementary school (which no longer exists....but the gas station where it used to be had an eerie glow...?)  It's not just basements...I know there's a theme there.

I also drove by my old junior high, which had just recently been gutted by a fire.  The rumor was that they were going to tear it down...on the fence, off the fence...but the fire sealed the deal.  Kind of sad, actually.  On my way to drive by my old highschool (still in working order, btw) I drove by Hilltop Lanes Bowling alley - where I spent MANY good times in my youth.  It was CLOSED!!!  Abondoned...sad and lonely and just sitting there, dilapidated...there was a broken window....  I guess, in retrospect, this was towards the end of my drive bringing on my onslaught of sad, slow songs.  Nostalgia.  Does anyone else have a soundtrack to yours? 

So, why do I bring any of this up?  Well, I was interested to see what kind of songs, images, people, places or things inspire one to write.  And then I thought that I just might need to have some kind of order/schedule for this whole blogging thing.  And here's what I came up with:  Find the Story Fridays!!  I'm posting early this week (what I'm calling, "Start the story Sunday") so, I hope you like it.  If it's completely lame...feel free to comment.  I'm not above constructive criticism.....or am I?  :)

But, I'm posting an image here that I snapped last fall on a trip to England (my first!!!  LOVED it!!)  It evokes a story, I believe.  What do you think when you look at it?  How would this face fit into a story?  Are you getting anything?  Hope so! 

Got it?  Now write!