Been doing some brainstorming at Romance Divas. I've got conflict up the waa-zoo now! Erika is exciting me now. She is going to go through it, but it really works well for me. I'm hoping to get all these random ideas on paper this weekend. Next week I'll start working on scenes, and put together a tentative outline after that. Then comes the writing.

This will be the first time that I've actually planned before writing. I still have an unfinished NaNoWriMo novel that I'd like to finish, if only to tear it apart later. That book is a SF space opera, and I really like the world I've created. I plan to go back to that world again and again--maybe in a series, maybe not. Either way, it is a world I am not finished with yet.

Lately I find myself drawn to YA fiction. Perhaps because I have a tween at home, and anything that will encourage her to read is ok by me. My son has inherited the book gene times two from me. The girl...not so much. She is not a fast reader, and she starts books but doesn't finish them. We're going to work on that this summer. And both of them have inherited the bookstore gene. A simple trip to Barnes & Noble can easily become a 2-3 hour excursion. And if I don't give them a limit beforehand, each will come find me, with a stack of books they're carrying. LOL There are worse things I can spend money on!! And my kids are smart. They can get money from me much, much easier if we're in a bookstore, as opposed to Best Buy or in Game Stop.

romance divas

Please be sure to check out RomanceDivas. It's a great website, and the women there are so helpful. In my efforts to become less of a hermit, I've started hanging out there again. I aksed one question on the forums today, and the response was awesome. I had an epiphany...I'm a write who loves/needs that back-and-forth type of bantering to work out my ideas/plot. Sometimes I have such a narrow view, that I miss things that other people pick up right away. Of course this is the crux of critiquing....but I haven't even gotten there yet. How do I learn to be my own crit partner?

So now I've got a ton of ideas that are "marinating". I've been playing around with TwiddlySpot, and it came in handy today while I was at work. Lucky for me, I have access to that particular website (and RomanceDivas, of course). I was able to jot down an idea I had in a spot where it made sense, not in some random email to myself, or even worse, a sticky note. I keep it open and minimized all day, so whenever the random thought flies by, I can catch it before it reaches the ether.

My fish are spoiled and picky. So, they normally eat Romaine lettuce. When I went to the store yesterday they were out of Romaine, and I picked up some green leaf lettuce. I put to nice sized pieces in the tank and they absolutely hated it! I mean they "sniffed" around it, took a bite, and left it alone. So wuss that I am, I was back at the store today, buying Romaine. I'm watching them now, and they are happier campers today. Granted, it's not brine shrimp but they will get over it. I try not to give them too much brine shrimp, because a lot of it goes to waste and gives the nasty bristleworms something to eat.


Watched American Idol. I can't believe Sanjaya squeaked through another week. I was worried for Phil Stacey though. I didn't think he should have been in the bottom 3. I also can't believe Diana Ross will be 63 this month! Go Diva Diana!