Cliche

I was watching some videos of women caught on tape soliciting murder-for-hire.
http://by117w.bay117.mail.live.com/mail/TodayLight.aspx?wa=wsignin1.0&n=632440256
Interesting stuff, but hardly novel. If you tried to write that, you could count on getting the "that's cliche" line from critics, editors, agents, etc.

But, IMHUO, cliches are cliches because **it happens**. Happens all the time.

• Women get pregnant to trap a guy into staying with them
• Spouses murder for life insurance policies
• Lovers murder over jealousy
• Spouses abuse each other
• Cops are often dysfunctional
• Gangs deal drugs and murder in drive-by shootings
• The Russian Mafia exists, along with many other mafia/gangs

So...why can't we write about them? I've always believed that we can write about them, that it's all in the presentation. What I haven't figured out is **how** to write those situations so they aren't quite so cliche.

How do you do it? What are your thoughts on the dreaded cliche?

Grrr...I'm rusty

A great opportunity dropped into my lap a few days ago. The president of another local writer's organization invited me to a workshop with a wonderful editor/writer who has given workshops through my RWA chapter in the past.

The editor will be reviewing the first 15 pages of each student's mansuscript. Only problem is that I've had these first pages reviewed recently by a best-selling author who gave a similar workshop through our RWA chapter last month, and I haven't had time to make the suggested changes.

So, now that 3 of my 5 ultrasound related tests are out of the way (that's a long, ugly story) and I'm a registered sonographer...again...I'm working on the rewrites.

And...it's...PAINFUL. My words stick, my sentence structure is all gummed up and I'm self-editing every other word--all traits that are not typically a problem for me. At least they haven't been in the past.

Do you ever get rusty?

Switching Gears

...well kind of.

You know I've gone back to work full time...plus call. Hence the screeching halt to my blogging. I haven't been writing, so I stopped blogging -- guess I figured if I wasn't talking about writing, I shouldn't talk about anything.

But I've decided to shift gears a bit and merge my overwhelming working life with my flailing writing life and my haggard personal life. And since hardly anyone reads my blog (except for the really important people in the universe--that being YOU), I figured I had free licence to make the change.

And since we're talking about change, I'll talk about the biggest change I've made since I started working again -- today I embarked on the South Beach Diet.

I didn't start it for myself even though I do have plans to lose a few pounds before Nationals in July (just like 80% of the other 3000 women attending), I'm more of a Weight Watchers girl as I lost 20 pounds with WW last year and kept it off.

Unfortunately, my darling daughter has inherited my overweight genes and has struggled with her weight since she was 3 years old. Now at almost 12, she's hit an all time high, and aside from the myriad of personal problems that wreaks in a little girl's life, her health is also suffering.

We went to see a specialist last year, and revisited her recently. She kept my daughter's medications at the same level, but introduced us to the South Beach Diet and said she wanted my daughter to start on it.

I'm doing it with her to give her motivation and support.

After my first full day on the program, I have to say...she's doing much better than I am. I hate it. Of course, I'm a carb fanatic -- carb lover -- carb aholic. So, of course I hate it -- the first two weeks are NO CARBS. Meaning, no bread, crackers, pasta, fruit, candy, cookies, cake, ice cream, frozen yogurt, sugar of any kind.

By mid day I had realized something dramatic--the difference between "not hungry" and "not satisfied".

Today I was not hungry. But I was also definitely not satisfied. Which made me downright irritable. I found the food choices I had to stick with maddening, especially when my work ordered out for pizza, and I had to bring in a strawberry shortcake for an employee's last day.

Now, at the end of the day, I am still not hungry, but my stomach hurts. You know that feeling of varied compression and release of your stomach when it's growling? Well mine feels contracted without any of the release. It just aches. And I'm tired. And did I mention cranky?

My daughter, on the other hand, didn't have any problem with the food choices and far less problems with the cravings. She did, however, mention (even before I did) that she too felt grumpy today and her stomach hurts as well.

But we're doing it. We've got our special stickers up on the calendar for our first completed day. Hopefully, we'll see the scale go down in another couple to keep us motivated.

If you have any low-carb/no-carb secrets, we're all ears.

Cool News

Could use some cool news right about now...and the call came yesterday afternoon: Safe In Enemy Arms finaled in the 2008 RWA Golden Heart.

I've been drowning in work and studies related to work for the past 6 weeks, and my writing has taken a serious hit due to lack of time and energy, not to mention direction for the story I'm writing.

So, this news felt particularly nice.

Would love to hear from others who have finaled--this year or in the past.

So Out of Sync

I knew working full time would take a certain toll on my writing, but I had no idea it would knock me so off course.

I thought I could write in between patients...in the down time that inevitably comes with the unpredictable hospital tides. I thought I could squeeze in some writing time in the morning before work. I thought I could write some more after work, in the evenings.

Not only is that not happening, but I can't even get a little exercise in or keep up with the mountainous laundry piles and paper trails and general junk growing all over my house.

I've been on the job now for a little over a month. Luckily, I like it. After 16 years of this occupation, I still love the challenge and art of creating the best possible pictures on the screen, of chatting with my patients, of taking care of people in need, and of teaching the next generation of sonographers to do the same. Sounds a little corny written out, but it is true.

((Now, the not-so-corny-all-American part? I also love the **paychecks**. But don't ever let anyone tell you the money makes it all worth the work. I learned a long time ago that there is a tipping point at which no amount of money would be worth the hell of sleep-deprivation and/or workaholism and all the fallout in your life that follows.))

I do, however, miss my other love--writing. Terribly. I'm lonely for involvement with my still-developing characters, anxious to get back to building my complex web of plot and subplot. I miss thinking about writing and talking about writing and studying writing.

**Sigh**

Things will even out eventually. I'm sure of that. If they don't slow down on their own, I'll put a little more pressure on my heels and create a bit of resistance. I have a couple of weekends away coming up in the next few months. Not on-your-own-to-do-nothing-but-write weekends, but also not get-called-in-to-work-every-half-hour-by-the-E.R.-weekends either. My husband has some vacation time coming, which will alleviate some of the household burden off my shoulders.

Have you ever hit a patch in your writing career where you couldn't foresee the time and/or space you needed to write becoming available?

In Good Company

I'm a lucky little writer to be in such good company--both of my long-time crit partners are published authors.

Elisabeth recently got the call for a 3-book deal with Dorchester. I'm so excited for her!

Linda first sold in 2006, and currently has tallied 7 sales to Samhain.

So...to my multi-published crit partners...congratulations! When can we rub shoulders?

Bit of Good News

I've been racking up the rejections lately. Doesn't matter how many times you do it or how many you manage to collect (I'm somewhere in the neighborhood of 350, now), they each still have their own little sting.

And given I had received requests for this manuscript and, ultimately, rejections on many of those partials after the agent had read the first few pages or chapters, I was (still am) thinking it may need some deep revision/alteration. (And we won't go into what number revision that would be.)

But today I received an encouraging note from the assistant to a prominant agent. She said she had enjoyed reading the first 50 pages of SAFE and would like the full manuscript.

A long way from that agent's desk, I know. But a step in the right direction. Baby steps...they'll eventually take you there.

What baby steps have you taken lately?

Joan...still putting one word in front of the other.