Perfectionism

See, I told you I loved this subject:)

Did anyone read that old book, Diary of a Mad Housewife? I read it ages ago and loved it. It's about this woman who is having all sorts of middle-aged angst in upper middle class 1960's New York. Her husband is a social climbing pompous ass, her children are snobs and the man she ends up having an affair with is mean. Really mean. She thinks she's losing her mind and keeps a diary about her experiences. In a wonderful twist, her husband goes to her old shrink, who in turn tells him that Bettina isn't the one who is nuts, he is. Bettina realizes that the person she really wants to be is a homemaker... not the modern, social climbing version of the word, but the organized, motherly type. I thought it was fabulous that a feminist book would have the woman making a choice like that because it isn't very PC. But I think the operative word here is choice.

So what does that have to do with perfectionism? Well, when Bettina couldn't sleep she would think of this woman, (I can't remember the name she gave her organized alter ego) and keys... the keys to the perfectly organized pantry, the cupboards of dishes, put away in just the right place, the polished silver... this would make her feel warm and fuzzy and put her to sleep.

I know the feeling. I would love to have my linen closet be full of perfectly ironed and folded linens. Hell, I would just like a linen closet filled with something besides limp, hairy blankets and old movies. I want my hutch to be filled with lovely vases, wine glasses, and silver trays for entertaining.(Right now, the hutch is a drop off place for everyones crap, broken sunglasses I plan on fixing someday and the dog's leashes) I would love to have printed out list of things to do in the garden each season, and then actually do it. I want my home filled with freshly cut flowers, arranged by me. (If I do manage to get some flowers, I usually leave them out way longer than the pull date.)I love the thought of actually washing and cleaning your winter clothes and putting them away.

I really, really, really love the thought of being that person. I just can't quite seem to make it. I'm too tired for one. I'm too busy for another. I mean, who would write while I was planting bulbs for drifts of spring daffodils? And three, it would give my perfectionistic, type A little superman of a husband WAY TOO MUCH satisfaction.

And I'm just too much of a rebel to allow that.

But I did make homemade granola yesterday.

Forgetting the Sugar....

I want to be perfect... those of you who know me know that I tend to throw myself 150% into whatever it is I am doing... motherhood, writing, community service, whatever.

But I have yet to achieve perfection and it pisses me off. The odd thing about this is that I'm not really a perfectionist. Believe it or not, I have an award winning, "oh, well" kind of attitude. I can live with good enough... especially when it comes to home stuff. I know I'm not a real perfectionist because I live with one. Now my dh... he's a perfectionist. A true blue, sees every little flaw, kind of perfectionist.

Not me. I have selective perfectionism. I don't care that I have a dust bunny the size of a shetland pony inhabiting my bedroom. But I am flaming mad that I forgot to put the sugar in the cranberry oat muffins this morning. I got up at 5am to make my family nutritious, fragrant muffins before they head off to school and work. I whip it all up, bake them to golden perfection and serve them, only to find they taste more like cranberry oat biscuits. Gross. Muffins need sugar. In this case, a half of a cup of brown sugar.

It's kind of the story of my life. Great intentions, but I just can't seem to achieve what I want to. Like Anne of Green Gables and the perfect pink cake-- seasoned with liniment instead of vanilla.

I really do want to be one of those moms who's lives seem effortless. Who somehow manage to do everything and keep a svelt size 6 figure. I see them on my way back from taking megs to school, all dressed up in their SUV's, on their way to work, having just delivered every child to the proper school, dropped off the blockbuster movies, arranged a playdate for afterschool and ordered dinner from Dinners Done Right.

I can't even manage to remember to put sugar in the muffins.

I like this topic. I think I'll make a week of it. You have been warned....

I'm Back with a To Do List...

Can't even tell you how wonderful it was. We are back and very relaxed... so not ready for work, but it is Monday. I have nonfiction work and fiction work and need to make a list...

Get sources for Coffee and Pregnancy
Finish revising chapter one of Laguna
Write chapter two of Laguna
Get sources for ovulation detective
Get sources for negative thinking


We have JA Konrath answering questions on my fiction writer's discuss publicity list... I am very excited to have him on. If you want to join the conversation send an email to fictionwritersdiscusspublicity-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Happy Monday!

Goodbye my Friends!

Am leaving in a few short hours for the wilds of the Oregon coast where my Dh and I will be snuggly ensconced in a Victorian bed and breakfast. There we will watch the storms come in, drink loads of tea, coffee and pinot, read, cuddle and watch movies. No one is going to be there tonight except us, snug in the starlight suite with our fireplace and hot tub.

Have a great weekend!

Wappoos part deux....

Does anyone remember the great waffle debate I had with one of my foster children? My beloved Zoe Monster is now with my best friend... I had to let the children go after my mom moved in with lung cancer, right? She still has them because... lots of reasons.


Here is the original breakfast conversation I had with Zoe Monster last March.



As heard from the breakfast table this morning:


What you doing?
Making waffles for Karen.
Why?
Cause she's hungry.
Why?
Cause she just woke up.
Why?
Cause she was done sleeping.
So she huny?
Yes.
Zoe huny too.
Zoe already ate.
Why?
Cause you woke up at 6am.
Why?
God only knows.
What are you making?
Waffles!
I have wappoos too?
Okay.
Why?
(gritted teeth.) Cause you wanted some.Here.
Tank you.What are you doing?
Making a waffle for Karen cause the one I made us was too hard for her so I am making her a soft one.
Why?
Cause she can't chew a hard one.
Why?
Cause she doesn't have enough teeth.
Auntie? What are you giving Karen?
Waffles!
Why?
(Silence)
Auntie?
What Zoe?
What are you eating?

This is my dear friend Ann having a morning conversation with the Zoe Monster just this morning. (as taken from her blog http://afriedrick.blogspot.com/)


Monster: Teri had that kinda cereal

Me: Good

Monster: It good cereal

Me: Yep

Monster: Teri sit on the patio with me and eat her cereal

Me: Yep

Monster: Teri nice

Me: Yep

Monster: I like dat cereal

Me: silent

Monster: Can I had that cereal?

Me: No

Monster: Why?

Me: You wanted Life

Monster: I don’t want life. I want dat cereal

Me: Sorry, you’ll have to eat what you asked for

Monster: Teri give me dat cereal afore

Me: I’m sure she did

Monster: What it taste like?

Me: cereal

Monster: Teri like dat cereal

And on and on and on it went. I am not a morning person. Someone shoot me please.

Proof positive that the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Monday News!

First off, sincere felicitations to the talented Lisa Schroeder who is celebrating the release of her YA book, I Heart You, You Haunt Me. I picked up the book and read it in one afternoon... it is that amazing, and beautiful. You can congratulate her here: http://www.classof2k8.blogspot.com/

The Deb Dixon workshop was out of this world, though I've decided no matter how good a class is, I'm good for two hours and then I'm done. Can't process anymore information. I need about a two hour break and then I'm good for more. No wonder I skipped school all the time. I bought Deb's book and got it signed and it is blowing me away. While skipping, I filled out a GMC chart for my MC in Laguna. Great stuff.

In other news, I'm taking off on Thursday for a four day weekend at the Sandlake Country Inn Bed and Breakfast. I need it. He needs it. Plan on taking books and magazines and no work. Pure relaxation, baby!

Celebration!

I finished that scene I was having so much trouble with, thereby finishing the chapter.

Celebrate with me... Because I'm soooo happy it's done and pretty pleased with how it turned out. We'll see what my Cp's think!

This weekend I'm going to a Deb Dixon GMC workshop. Am so excited to hobnob with writers and I have heard she is fabulous.

Have a great one!

Seven Random Facts About Moi

Jaci Burton tagged me, so here' goes...

1. My name isn't actually pronounced Teri it was supposed to sound like Teree... like Marie, but everyone started right out calling me Teri, so my poor mom gave up.

2. I skipped school like a wild thing, My teachers never believed that I would sneak outside on good days to read. Sorry, but SE Hinton is just so much more fascinating than math.

3. Unlike Gena Showalter, I think cowboys are hot. But then again, I was raised in Alfalfa, Oregon.

4.I didn't get my driver's liscense till I was like 26. I still have a irrational fear of driving in big cities. Oh, and I can never spell lisence right. Never. Ever. My brain won't remember.

5. I have trouble spelling certain words. Like conscious. Or is it consious? Anyway, I have a whole list of words my brain refuses to remember.When I do spell them right I can never remember if that is the right way... very odd.

6. I have discalcula. It's like dislexia only with numbers. I can't even take phone numbers down right.

7. I almost never do memes. I think I'm pretty boring and the things about me that aren't boring... well, I don't know you nearly well enough to tell you!

Oh, and the scene still hasn't jelled for me yet. Maybe today....

Scene by Scene

So I'm working on my new proposal and I'm having a little difficulty. I was unsure as to where the best place would be to start and now that I think I have a place and have created a great first scene, I'm having trouble getting it just right. It's a break up scene and not a lot happens... She is breaking up with him because she's running away, but he doesn't know it. I want lots of conflicting emotion here and it has to be a fully realized scene, if you know what I mean. It's the second scene of the book and this guy won't make another appearance till the end of the book... but he is the primary love interest. So this is the only live appearance he's going to make for a couple of hundred pages, so he has to be compelling even though she's listing the reasons why they can't be together.

It's hard as hell.

I want all the physical and emotional tension that comes with being a teen and being conflicted about someone you love. I've made a start on it, but am not completely happy with it. This proposal has to be fantastic and that may be another reason why I'm so obsessive about it.

I'm hoping it will click today. I'll let you know.

Monday Stuff

A bunch of wee announcements today... well, actually, some of them are pretty big and pretty darn cool:

1. 2k8 is officially in session! Check out our website here: www.classof2k8.com to see the group of 28 talented middle grade and young adult writers who's debut books are coming out this year. Check this out!



Pretty awesome, eh?

2. Am blogging up at Teen Fiction Cafe today. Are you a rereader? Check it out at http://www.teenfictioncafe.blogspot.com/

3. I wrote 2 1/2 pages on Laguna, but not sure if I'm going to keep them... I may start the book someplace else. Not sure where though. HA! Sound familiar?

Okay, must run. Have tons more stuff to do!

Another Synopsis Finished!

So I finish the synopsis for Looking for Laguna. And It's pretty good. Then more ideas come and it's better. So I tweak somemore cause I am getting really excited about it and little bits of dialogue are coming to me as I drive and the characters are revealing themselves in all sorts of ways. So I post to my CP's (haven't heard back yet)but I know this is a good one and I am sitting in front of the computer screen all giddy cause it's turning out so well and then it hits me. The Twist. The twist to end all twists. So I pitch it to my daughter. And she loves it and gives me a couple more ideas. Told me she can see it as a movie.

So without even talking to my CP's I send it out and my agent loves it.

And I am so excited to start working on it.... But I have a wee girl today and a hundred other things.... so it will have to wait.

How do you get your inspiration? Usually inspiration doesn't come this fast for me. I only hope the book is this easy!

Update on moi

Spell is out the door to my agent!
Rough of Exchanged synopsis is finished and to CP's

Those are the two biggies. My first synopsis of Exchanged is pretty dry. Not a lot of emotional growth. But honestly, it's such a far cry from the type of stories I usually do that I haven't really gotten into the style... probably because I'm still not sure what kind of style I'm going to be using. My son and I still don't know if we want to do it in third person or first. He isn't sure what his style of writing is so that's no help. I'm pretty used to first person, though my romances are done in third. And it's pretty serious as the kid is in the middle of an unexpected war zone.

I bought a three ring binder and a notebook for the book yesterday. Since it is set in Slovakia, we have a lot of research to do and I want the notes to all be in one place. My son is a genuis at research, though I wish we could actually go there!Anyone familar with Slovakia?

No word on the nonfiction front. Still waiting to see if I have to go to McDonalds and get a job or not. HA! That'll cut into my writing time.

Looks like I'm going to be pretty busy this term, though. Ethan has to be taken to school all this month because we didn't buy a bus pass. He also has extra math classes twice a week. Plus Driver's Ed on the weekends. I'm also taking advantage of the National Body Challenge's Free Bally's pass and going to the gym a lot. Add in the interior decoratoring class I'm taking with my mother and I have a pretty full schedule without working on Non-Fiction or getting a job.

Right now, I could really use another book contract, so wish me luck!

Back to Work (Or Not)

You know, when I was trying to think up a topic for today's blog post all that kept coming to me was how overwhelmed it made me feel.

Not a good start to the week if the thought of a blog post does you in. I check the calendar. Ahh. PE-EM-Es week. That would be why I woke this morning with a special irritation toward my beloved dh. (And here I thought it was because he set the alarm clock 20 minutes early for some odd, inexplicable reason) Of course, waking up to your dog dragging yesterday's garbage all over the floor doesn't help either. (Yes, the same garbage you asked your eldest to take out last night.) So now I'm pissed at the dog, (in the corner looking at me with big brown eyes) the dh, (who ended up cooking his own damn breakfast) and my eldest. (Who at the moment is sleeping away, not knowing that he's getting up to mommie monster.)

Sigh. Please God, let my final revisions go better than this.

Of course, this is the first real day back to routine after the holidays. I'm sorry if you had to go to work last week after New Years, but for those of us who's clocks are set according to school, this is the first day back. Really hard on Moms who spent the break staying up too late watching movies with their teenage daughters, eating and drinking too much, and sleeping in too late.

I wasn't ready for vacation to end. By the stomping from her bedroom, neither was my daughter.

For those of us who write, it's truly the beginning of the new year. Editors and agents are back at their posts and hopefully getting to MY manuscript. Deals will be made, submissions will be sent and marketing campaigns will be launched.

As soon as I send this manuscript to my agent, I will be starting on a new project. One that I haven't been over and over and over. New stuff. For the new year.

The Class of 2k8 blog and more

The class of 2k8 is a group of 28 debut middle grade and young adult authors who have banded together to reach librarians, teachers and booksellers. I am lucky enough to be a part of the group. The website isn't quite ready, thanks to technical difficulties, but our blog is hopping! Check it out! We even got a mention in Galley Cat!

http://www.classof2k8.blogspot.com/

Along those lines, I have realized that my book comes out this year and I must start the promotions wheel turning! I am both excited and daunted by such a huge undertaking. I know I'm not reinventing the wheel so I started a yahoo group called fiction writers discuss publicity. That way we can put our collective heads together and come up with some great ideas.

Here's the blurb about it: This group is for contracted or published novelists to discuss publicity tips on promoting their books. Included will be branding, methods, how to create successful events, cross promotion and other publicity tips. This is not for spamming the list with book advertisements, but rather a place to brainstorm and get tips on promoting your book.

If you fit the description, you can sign up by sending an email here: (keep in mind that you already have to be signed up for yahoogroups for it to work:)

fictionwritersdiscusspublicity-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Have a list as long as my arm to do. Hope you all have a wonderful New Year!