Writerly Wednesday - A Useful Limerick or two...

There once was a girl bent to query
her novel about some daft faerie
she opened with "He..."
The agent did flee
And now the girl's gorging cold dairy.

1.  Ahhhh...the debate about opening your novel with dialogue.  You can click HERE to see what agent  John Sternfeld of the Irene Goodman agency has to say on the subject (plus some other query-don't tips!).

There is a blog called Falling Leaflets
a follower, here's what he or she gets
Writing tips galore
scroll down and there's more
You'll love all the info, is my bet(s)

2.  Seriously - if you aren't following Jess, you need to check out her blog of wonderful writery references.  The other day she posted this great list of 50 things your novel will be judged on.  Check it out HERE!

There once was a writer who cried,
"I think my creative muse died!"
No worries, take stock
It's just writer's block
Eat chocolate to pass the time, bide.

3.  Let's see, I've recently blogged about Brain Freeze and using I-Tunes shuffle to magic 8-ball my way through writer's block.  Why?  Because I have this accursed affliction!!  But, I want to thank everyone for their encouraging comments and tips on what gets you through it.  Everything from eating copious amounts of chocolate to visualizing your story via a brain-movie - I appreciate the support and suggestions!  And just for fun - I googled some other ideas for getting through writer's block that you can read about HERE.

If there's anything you'd like to add/comment on - I'd LOVE to hear it!

And that, my lovely peeps, is all I've got for you this Writerly Wednesday!  Happy Writing/Editing out there!

3M - In which I-Tunes becomes a Magic 8-ball...kind of...

First of all - just wanted to wave a BIG HELLO to all my new followers and fellow crusaders!  *waves*  :)  The buzz and support from Rach's fabulous crusade has just been wonderful.  Trust me - the rest of my Monday will be dedicated to following/following back.  My pleasure, of course!

In other news...  So, I've had a wicked case of writer's block lately.  I've been reading, I've been blogging, but I've written, oh, maybe a paragraph or two in the last week or three.  I open up my MS and can only re-read what's already there or stare at a blinking cursor.  Not fun.

I tried turning to other artistic media for inspiration, but my Veronica Mars DVD marathon this weekend, despite its witty banter, didn't quite do it for me.  I'm sitting here and aside from what I'm typing, my mind is rather blank.  Argh!  You hate writer's block when it happens, right?  And if it never happens to you, well...you suck you're very lucky.

So, I'm turning to another artistic medium to see if it will crack this hazy brown brick in my brain.  My I-tunes library.  I figure all the songs in it are there for a reason.  They've inspired me in some way.  My approach is initially for fun - but, I encourage you all to play along.  (*and if you don't have I-tunes, any music library/collection will do)

Today - I-Tunes shuffle will serve as a writer's block magic 8-ball.  Kind of. 

The idea behind the 8-ball is to tell the future in a vague, could-really-apply-to-anything manner.  I-tunes shuffle, obviously, will give different results.  *However - this is by no means a guide to the future writing in my MS.  It's merely to get the creative juices flowing.  If nothing else - I might have fun figuring out how to make my villain use....*pauses to shuffle*... "There She Goes" by Sixpence None the Richer to his/her advantage...

OK - so my random MS question of the day?  "I will find inspiration regarding the relationship between MC and (bleeped-out specific relative) by listening to...*again, pauses to shuffle*... Peter Murphy's "Cuts You Up".  Hmmm....interesting...(a tad disturbing, maybe)...but interesting.

OK, now it's your turn.  Any part of your current work giving you some trouble?  Ask a question and Shuffle It!  And please let me know what song you end up with?

Happy Mood Music Monday!