Anyone Else Have a "FOCUSING" Problem?

During the past year or two I have started several blogs, but only wrote a couple posts in each; wrote a book, but only sent it to three editors; started four more books, drafted one screenplay and started two other screenplays. And, all of these span different genres.

My mind is a creative nightmare, or rather a CREATING nightmare!

Of course my kids are encouraging this ruckus with one daughter married last July and the next one tying the knot in 5 weeks.

AND, get this: last September my husband and I decided to downsize our home. We talked about this to some friends and neighbors. Without even listing our home with a Realtor we had a family come look. Maybe they liked the tree views from the sunroom, or floor to ceiling bookshelves in the library, or maybe they liked the theater room and second kitchen. OR maybe, they were the FOCUSING kind of people who could make a quick decision, because they bought and we were moved out and living in my sister's basement within 3 weeks! In THIS market too! WHEW.

We're now looking forward to building a smaller, Craftsman style home. Personally, I'm hoping the whole process will help me to focus better and make decisions faster. It better, or we'll be living in my sister's basement a long time.

Now. . . where was I going with all this?

Kids in College, Anyone?

We have two daughters attending a certain University up North. It's out of state and we don't see them often, but text or talk, every day (sometimes every hour) (twice, one of them called the home phone and one my cell phone--at the same time) They don't plan this.

They like to get our opinions on EVERYTHING, AND then NOT do any of our suggestions. This is all right, they eventually learn that our suggestions were actually good and they act on them, but, they have become THEIR suggestions by that point. Yep, they are becoming adults!

I like change, and have said so. But, when my phone rings and I see that it's one of my daughters, I cringe. Chances are they have changed their minds about something we spoke about only moments ago.

During the past week, Pip has wanted me to contact my sources and help her get a job at a child-care facility, informed me that she has an in for a job in a nearby city, that she wants to be a Nanny back East, be a nanny in Germany, get her job back at the shoe sales store, stay at school and work, AND during the last hour we received the following texts:

Pip: I’m going to apply for DisneyWorld
Us: Maybe you can be Donald Duck?
Pip: They have a college program that fits my track system and my roommate is applying too.
Us: You might make a better Goofy.
Pip: HaHa, Whatever. I am serious this time. I am applying right now! You told me to find a job. What’s a better place than the “happiest place on earth”?
Us: Sounds great.
Pip: I know! It’s kinda like a Study Abroad program cuz it’s Disney WORLD, but, you get paid!!
Us: We certainly can’t argue with that…

Oh, to be a college student, single and have your whole life ahead of you. I remember those days. I believe she is a lot like how I was. With that in mind I know she will eventually settle down. And in the meantime she will drive her parents crazy with the wonder of it all. I know I did.

Do You Sell Prince Albert in a Can?

My daughter, Pip and I sat in church watching a little boy play with a folded up paper, like origami, where his fingers fit into the slots and he asked, "Pick a number" then counted; and then he asked, "Pick a color" and spelled out the color; then he asked a question and had the answer revealed under a folded corner.

Pip exclaimed how she played the same game when she was younger--not that she's that old now--and 35+ years ago, I played it too. And, in much the same fashion.

This got us thinking...How many generations of kids have played the same Urban games?

How about the "string game?" My daughter calls it "Cat in a cradle". We explained the game to my mom and she remembered it as well.

"Ring around the Rosies" has been around since the plague. How fun that must have been.

How about the Urban rhyme sung while jumping rope:
"Cinderella, dressed in Yella, Went upstairs to kiss a fella. Made a mistake and kissed a snake, how many doctors (or stitches) did it take?"

My mom didn't remember that one, but she did remember the kissing game and spin the bottle.

Have you ever met the King of Siam and had to chant OWA TANA SIAM, faster and faster; or have you been in the desert with a blanket on you and had to remove something so you wouldn't die of dehydration? Always funny as the clothing came out from under the blanket when common sense should have screamed, "TAKE OFF THE BLANKET, IDIOT!"

My book club talked about how they had a group "Doorbell ditching" last weekend, and dare we mention "Chinese Fire-drills"--a car load of teens did one in front of my car a couple weeks ago--they laughed and ran until the light turned green and piled back in their little Chevy Shove-it and drove off.

Is it as much a relief to you as it is to me that some nuances of childhood remain the same in the fast paced world of today?

One thing that has not stood the test of time is prank phone calls. THANK YOU MR. CALLER ID. So your refrigerator is probably running, but you don't need to catch it. And, you probably don't sell Prince Albert in a can.

I hope to play Hide-n-seek with my grandchildren and swing on the swings and have them say, "We're married Grandma." I hope to watch and listen to them enjoying jump rope and hopscotch rhymes. And... I'll be grateful to have these precious little moments free from the distractions and hindrances of technology. Some things were not meant to be changed.

Fiction is my Sword

I have another blog titled Fiction is My Sword. It's my "writing blog". Be sure and trot on over to find out about the Caveman Summit!

My Take on the LDStorymakers Conference

I can't believe that I have waited this long to go to a writers conference. It was fab-u-lous to meet all these wonderful people that are like me--in a writing world.

I now have a strategic list of things to do to improve my writing and more importantly; a great group of friends that have the same goal I have of getting published.

I was so worried that I wouldn't be able to drink my diet coke openly in a conference such as this. You've probably seen those--take a sip from the brown bag type of people. That would be me. But for lunch almost ALL they had was caffeinated drinks. What was I so worried about? After all, everyone there were writers, probably up at all hours of the night writing and thus addicted to the sip-n-write-n-stay-alert drink of choice--at least for Mormons.

One of my favorite quotes from the conference was from Dan Wells: "How do people without insomnia get anything done?" My thoughts exactly!

I was also overly anxious about the manuscript review I had with Krista Marino an editor with Delacorte Press. She gave me ideas about where my book stands in the marketplace as well as lines to re-work and character ideas. It was a great learning experience and I would definitely recommend that anyone going to a writing conference with the chance to sign up for a review or a pitch session to DO IT! Agents and editors are not scary people. They want us to succeed as writers.

My work is cut out for me. This week, between cleaning out those blasted planters out back (I swear I purchased magically spawning flower pots they appeared so perfect in the store--they're not--they are a spider-toting-weed-infested-spawn-of-the-devil-by-springtime-pot) and I need to get my pool ready to open, should I even mention what that is like?

Maybe just one thing: I find when I open the cover that those 8 legged creatures from the pots tend to enjoy a good swim thus gravitating to the water where they dive in and swell up to probably thirty times their natural size during the winter. Do you know what that does to an arachnophobe? My hands are shaking just typing up the description. My stomach is doing a butterfly thing. I stopped breathing while writing this. Enough about that.

This week, after I get those things I said done, or hired out to my son who owes me because he went to Boondocks, then I will begin another draft of my manuscripts using all the new info I learned at the conference, starting with the invaluable reviews done on my first chapters.

Cheers to all you writers out there and my new friends. Loved the conference, loved meeting inspiring people and loved the input and suggestions I received. Now, I'm gonna get to work, processing and using all that advice I learned.

It was a dark and stormy night...Oh wait: SHOW DON"T TELL

The absent sound of computer keys grew less noticeable as her breath drew inward with shock...

Ready or Not...

I am heading for my first writers conference this week. Wow! But, I do feel like I felt when going to my first Prom--where I wore a borrowed dress (it looked like one a polygamist women would wear, this was the early 80's) and of course I couldn't dance. If any of you have seen the "Elaine Dance" on Jerry Seinfeld than you know what I'm talking about; And, there's nothing like seeing a polygamist doing the Elaine Dance. All this preparation and getting ready, and I'm not sure what to expect.

I have had almost 5 months to prepare and this is where I stand: One manuscript that I decided to redraft (again) last month; One Screenplay (still written in spiral notebooks because I can't decide which screen writing software to purchase; and an unfinished manuscript, which happens to be the one I decided to review with an editor from Delacorte-an imprint of Random House. What was I thinking!

Well, I will go, learn the ins and outs, meet writers and enjoy.

My biggest fear is that, since it's an LDS writers conference, they'll be patting us down to make sure we don't bring in any contraband--like Diet Coke!!!

I Can't Make This Up

So...it's spring break in Utah and we have 5 inches of snow on our green grass. We chose to remain home this year and work out in the yard and take some hikes. Well, that isn't happening. Instead we've been seeing movies and reading.

This morning we awoke to beautiful snow covered trees and took some dazzling pictures. If I can figure out how to unload them from my Nikon and onto my blog, I will. We then went to an action packed movie, and as we exited the theater it was SUNNY!

By the time we got home it began to get cloudy, my daughter began to read and my son began to play his new drum set. Because the sun is such a mood enhancer I began to get irritable. I told my daughter that I felt myself withering, and she said, "Mom, it's just Seasonal Depression."

The sun is behind the clouds, the drums are playing in the background so I decided to have some Vitamin D. I offered some to my daughter. She said she already took one. I told her you can have up to 50,000IU a day and I was going to take 2 of them because they are like taking little pills of the sun. She said, "I don't want to be TOO happy." And in the background we heard the drums...ba da ba ding, right on cue. And...our bird starts to laugh. Really. Now who needs a sun pill after that?

Little flakes of snow began to drop from those heavy gray clouds in the sky. So, I took SEVERAL sun pills AND a vitamin C. Then the bird sighed. Really. I guess he's dreaming of a tropical paradise too.