Zesty!

I have had a ZESTY time doing the alphabet :) Seriously this has been great fun and I hope you have been checking out the other Draumr Authors who are doing it as well as Vicki Smith's blog. It's funny that we've all chosen different words and used the blogging differently. It makes for a ZESTY mix;) All right, I'll stop I'm pushing it too far. Next up is Cliches. Vicki Smith and I are going to do cliches every day for the month of May. I think it will be a whale of a good time (that one's free).

Over a thousand words again today but it was more mapping than story time. Still progress. I'm moving right along!

Misty

Yowza!

I admit it, I like words like this. I like asides in the text of books. Or funny one word punchiness. I tend to use them a lot but they can always be edited out, so I don't worry overly much about it. But I did turn in the next Ivy with a whole bunch of SIGHS :) Rida was not too happy. And Yowza is such a good one, it says so much in so little. I hope you'll think about using it, adding it to your vocabulary. It even feels good in your mouth.

I did get some progress under my belt today. Over 1100 words and I have a rough synopsis done. I realized I had a few minor problems and was able to iron them out a bit before moving too far ahead. YAY! <--similar to Yowza!

Misty

Xanthous and other words that stop the story

This is a pet peeve of mine, so please don't take offense because I only police myself on this :) So here's the thing. My word, xanthous, is an adjective meaning yellow. If I read this in one of my own novels (and with this word maybe even in someone else's) I know it would totally pull me out of the story and force me over to the dictionary to figure out what the heck it was. Even if I could tell from the context, I think I'd still have to go look it up. And that's not what I want people to do when they are hopefully sucked into my story world. In the Ivy series I freely use big words and have made it a game for Ivy to try to use the best and biggest words she can think of. But I do try to give the reader the meaning through the sentence and not make it something they've probably never ever heard of.

So that's my little rant and my word for the day, all wrapped in one :) Enjoy. I think I'm going to go paint my kitchen a nice cheery xanthous.

Misty

PS Progress on new story!!! I'm calling it The Thorn in His Side and I have my first 4500 words done today!!! W00t!

What?

Almost done with the alphabet. Phew! I've been plotting my little brain out over the last few days in preparation for starting another new book :) I love this stage and am truly enjoying not forcing it to go too fast. I plan on starting to write tomorrow morning since my dogs will be at the groomer and I'll actually have a semi-quiet day!

So my word is what. As in what if...And this is what fuels my every story. I love this question. What? What if a woman looking to recapture a little of her youth finds a magic 8 ball with some surprising qualities? What is a woman who's always lived at home inherits a costume shop all the way across the country? What if a woman who always thought she'd be alone has an unexpected visitor and a chance at making a good first impression?

See how it works? And that's my word for the day. What? What are you going to do next?

Misty - waiting to find out :)

Holy Schnikeys Batman!!

Well, all I can say is that it has been one hell of a bleeping weekend. In a semi-good way, but I won't bore you with the details.

I owe two words and then I have to get back on track with doing this daily. It's a discipline I really like and want to continue.

So, words. Let's see. U and V. Hmmmm. Ha! Undecided. I am undecided as to what my V word should be. I have had many times when I am undecided as to what exactly I want to write. It's funny because I know I like funny stuff, I like to write funny stuff...now. I used to write stuff that made me cry and would depress me until I was in tears. Think Lifetime movies with the woman in jeopardy. So now I write funny, which I love. But what kind of funny? Romantic Comedy? Paranormal? Women's Fiction? I have no idea. I keep trying things and seeing how they fit. And I might have a line on what I want to do, but I'm not saying anything in case I change my mind and become undecided again :)

Which leads me to another great word: Vacillate Def 2 : to waver in mind, will, or feeling : hesitate in choice of opinions or courses (thank you Merriam Webster) and this is me sometimes. I have so many ideas, so many things I want to do and yet I do want a clear path in my career. I want to build a following of people who read me. But in what subgenre? I know I will always write Romance. It's too intrinsic to my writing to change that, but what subgenre? I love the mysteries, I love the paranormal, I love women's fiction, I love Romantic Comedy :) I was going to do vicarious for my V word but this one seemed to fit better.

Have a good day, I think, but maybe not. LOL. :)

Misty

Dean-Apalooza DAY!!!!

So, my heartthrob Dean SAUNTERED out of the trailer his smile a TESTAMENT to what he had just been doing. If the trailer is a rockin' don't come a knockin', Sam!!!

What a wonderful, wonderful episode. So funny! I loved Dean and his attachment to the belt and the headset. His lingo grasp cracked me up. And it was just wonderful, absolutely fantastic! I am in awe of the writing, the characterization, the fun they have with this show. Please let it run forever. And the FOOOOOOOD!!! He was killing me with eating throughout the whole show. I loved the taquitos and the mini cheese steaks!!

So fabulous!

Misty

Resilience

The word resonates with me as a writer. I think in this profession you absoultely have to be resilient. From rejections to critiques to reviews, there is a constant threat of negativity. You get a bad review and you could sulk. You get a rejection and you could give up. You get a critique that, while it is constructive, didn't tell you that you are absolutely brilliant and to not change a single word.

Now all of these are choices. They are things you could do when a small setback occurs (and yes I look at even rejection as a small setback - eventually!). Your other choice is to bounce right back up like one of those clown punching bags with the sand at the bottom. They keep on coming, waiting for the next.

And that's what I want to be able to always say about myself. I can't say I've never had a down day or one where I want to throw in the towel. But my resilience comes from the fact that at some point I do get back up. I do roll to my big clown shoe feet and put myself back out there again hoping someone will see my work and think it is truly brilliant and I shouldn't change a word. :)

Misty

No Biscuit for Me!

LOL. I can't believe I broke my streak!!! I had blogged for 75 days straight and then yesterday nothing!!!!!!!!! ARGH! Well, I'll have to start all over again and continue on, soldiering forward :)

I did however write 3500 words yesterday and 3000 today, so I'm not too disappointed in myself :)

Onward with the words!!! I owe you P and Q so I'll mind my p's and q's :)

Peccable: Now this is a word that I hadn't realized existed. I'd heard impeccable and thought that was it like when you see the word impoverished and I can't find a word poverished. But apparently peccable is a word and it means likely to sin. So if you're peccable you will probably sin, but if your impeccable you won't. And yet the definition for impeccable is nattily dressed or without flaw or imperfection. Verrrrrry interesting. To me at least :)

Quietude: a state of tranquility. Something I very rarely achieve :) But I do try. My child was a raging case of sugar today and couldn't stop long enough to barely breathe and then she dropped over like a rock and has been sleeping since 7pm. Her normal bedtime is 11. I've enjoyed my quietude :)

See tomorrow for a ROCKING good time :)

Misty

Oh Osculate me, Rhett!

LOL. So my word, in case you were thinking of looking it up it means to kiss :) What a great word this is. Now I'm not positive that I have used it correctly in the blog title, so if you know, let me in on the secret. I just love our language though and how many different words mean the exact same thing and yet sound nothing alike. Hmmm.

Progress: I did 4567 words today!!!!!! I am so damn happy, I'm dancing. I have officially passed the 50K mark and now have less than 30K to write to finish the book. I am well on my way to being done by my next group meeting and that is fantastic! Woot! Please excuse over!!!!ing! LOL.

Misty

Nincompoop

What better word in the English language is there than this? A nincompoop is a foolish or silly person. The short form is ninny. Who knew? I thought ninny was a word unto itself, not realizing it was a shortened form! WOW! Learn something new every day. So nincompoop is just one of those words that sounds good to the ear for an insult. Something to be muttered under your breath. It releases the pressure when I'm mad, because really, I can't say it without smiling. So there's my word. Go forth and use it in my honor :)

I got a whopping 500 words today, but my daughter and I are on the mend so that is at least something. I'm hoping for bigger progress tomorrow. Hope with me if you have a moment.

Misty

M-m-m-m-m-Marshmallow!

Oh, man! I am hating life. Still don't feel good, but the daughter feels so much better, running around, yelling screaming, basically acting like an inmate let out of solitary confinement for the first time in days. I have a headache. But enough about my issues :) I did manage to write some today. 1500 words that put me over 45K finished for the manuscript. Fantastic.

My word: Marshmallow!

Copied from Wikipedia
The marshmallow is a confection that, in its modern form, consists of sugar or corn syrup, beaten egg whites, gelatin that has been pre-softened in water, gum arabic, and flavorings, whipped to a spongy consistency. The traditional recipe used an extract from the mucilaginous root of the marshmallow plant, a shrubby herb (Althaea officinalis), instead of gelatin; the mucilage performed as a cough suppressant.

Commercial marshmallows are a late 19th century innovation. Since Alex Doumak's patented extrusion process of 1948, marshmallows are extruded as soft cylinders, cut in sections and rolled in a mix of finely powdered cornstarch and confectioner's sugar.

Marshmallows are popular with children and adults alike, and are eaten with or without accompaniments. In the United States and elsewhere, marshmallows are also used in hot chocolate or café mocha (mochachino), Mallomars, in Peeps and other candy, on top of candied sweet potatoes during Thanksgiving, in Rice Krispie treats, in ice cream flavors such as Rocky road, and several other foodstuffs.


How very cool is that? I like to take a marshmallow between my fingers and draw it out then back to make taffy. So versatile! And who knew it used to be a cough suppressant when made with roots?!?! Obviously someone did since it's right there in the explanation. HAHAHA!

Okay. I have to go if I want to post before midnight and still be on the 13th. CYA! And I hope you had a wonderful and trouble free Friday the 13th! BWAHAHAHA!

Misty

Luuuuurve

I am primarily a romance writer. I have never written book with no romance at all. I love writing in this genre. There is such hope in luuuuuuuuurve :) I like to see books where the hero is worthy of the heroine and vice versa. Where you experience falling in love. I adore falling in love again and again in books.

And if this post is too short, I am way sorry. The daughter has strep and I am now on antibiotics just in case. I feel loopy and my eyes are burning up. But I didn't want to miss a day of blogging :) I'm that dedicated!

Misty

Kook, Kook, Kooky

All right, so, K word is kooky which I am a big fan of. To be perfectly honest with you I don't know many so called normal people. And if they are normal I don't generally get along with them. I like people who are a little out there (please note this is not some license for a crazy stalker to decide he wants to meet me!), just a little out there. I'm pretty open-minded and I like to meet people who don't take themselves too seriously or too humorously or too angstily (should have used that one for a). But I do like kooky people in all forms. My husband is a perfect example. People who go into Home Depot and almost get kicked out for sitting on the toilets and call each other on mock phones are another. I once was dared to dance outside our car after a concert because we were waiting for the parking lot to empty and were bored. So they cranked the music thinking I'd chicken out. But I didn't. I got out of the car, started shaking my bootay and actually had people cheering me on and giving me money. Now I won't swear that that money couldn't have been for me to stop. But I prefer to think of it as tips :) There's also the story of one of my first conferences where we had a pj party and I karaoked, winning several trophies and breaking the ice at the same time. You have to get out there and shake things up sometimes. No one has ever dies from making a little bit of a fool of themselves. Oh, or there was the time last year when I drank some blue drink and went around trying to show everyone my blue tongue - editors and agents included :) Bet they remember me!

Anyway, kooky. I like the way it sounds and how it can free you. Be a little kooky tomorrow and let me know how it worked for you!

Progress: OVER 4000 WORDS TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!!! And I am officially over halfway through the ms!!!!!! Woo-freaking-hoo!!!!!!!!!!

Misty - little excited

Just park it right here

I was going to do something very scholarly with my J. Maybe juxtaposition or jurisprudence, but couldn't make myself care about them today. So here I am writing about JUST. Which ought to be a hoot since I can't seem to get away from the word in my writing. Little definition and then we're off. JUST: precisely, barely. For this exercise I'm just (ha!) looking at the adverb definition because that's generally how I use it.

So I'm working through edits with Rida on SOSD, my next Ivy Mystery, and apparently I had almost 200 (200!) justs in a 300 page manuscript. OY! But I love the word and I use it all the time. I say just this and just that. I do try to be more precise but it's like using the word like. And I use both waaaaaay too much! I should use barely if that's what I mean or only or merely. Writing is about being precise, about conjuring up a clear image, making your reader forget they are really reading. Using just on my part is lazy and can muddy my picture. Gotta just watch my justs :)

Progress: 1100 words yesterday and 20 old pages edited. Today 1200 words, I passed the 40K mark (w00t!) and 35 old pages edited and changed to reflect the new story. I'm on my way!!!!!

Misty

It's irksome

Now this is a great word. Irksome just sounds irritating by the way it grates. It means annoying or disturbing. It's a great word to use...you irksome boar! That is so very irksome! I love it :) Go out and use it today on someone, maybe your mother-in-law!

Progress: Over 1200 words yesterday amongst all the family stuff we had to do. I also dropped in 12000 words of the previous manuscript. Which gets me up to almost 40K - good feeling that :) I'm nearly halfway through though I do need to read over the dropped in words carefully to make sure they still fit the story which can be time consuming. But it works and that's all that matters! Seriously, I will be breaking open the bubbly when this book is done. I hope you'll join me in celebration. I have 1300 words so far today and am ready to call it a night.

Kid finally goes back to school tomorrow. She's been home since the Friday before last and I am so ready for my three hours alone!!!!!!!! YAY!

Misty - who hopes to be very productive tomorrow.

Hoyden!

My word, as seen above, makes me laugh. I love the way this word sounds. And the definition is a boisterous woman. How cool is that? A hoyden was not only boisterous but also usually scandalous, especially in historical novels. I highly doubt those same women would be quite the sensation today as they were back then. So much more is acceptable now. A peek at an ankle sliding out of the bottom of a dress isn't the taunt today that it was then. Running around town in pants isn't an offense either as far as I know :)

But I want to be a hoyden. And so for today I am. Maybe tomorrow too. Or maybe I'll make one of my characters one and then I can live vicariously through her (and oh! that is V day's word. No one steal it!!!)

Happy Easter to those who celebrate. Happy Passover to those who celebrate. Happy Sunday to everyone :) May the coming week be a good one!

Misty

Gee, that's Generous

These late night postings are killing me :) I'm hoping to get back on track on Monday. I much prefer to post in the morning but it just hasn't been happening. Yesterday I wrote over 3000 words then dropped about 3300 into the manuscript from the previous one. I'm almost a third of the way through this freaking book and YAY!!!!!

Generous: gracious, unselfish, ample. This is a great word. I think most of us aspire to be generous, with our time, money, feelings, resources, etc. We want to be there for someone else if they need us. Generous is something that can come in many forms, it's something that means many things to many people. Some think you have to whip out the check book to be generous or hand over your wallet. But what about soending time with someone and just talking, or listening. Isn't that generous? It can certainly be priceless.

Misty

The F Word

I know, I know!!! Title is trite but true :) Deal. I've written over 3000 words today and have passed 100 pages on my redux of Sprinkles. Technically I've written over 300 pages on it now, but I'm not thinking of that since I can only claim 100 pages done. Wah!

So my F word is fortitude. Determination, strength of character. I like to give these to my characters in my books. They have to want something and be able to find the strength inside themselves to surmount impossible odds to get it. Now I don't always give impossible odds. But I do try to notch up the tension often and make you the reader wonder if there's going to be a way for them to get out of this.

But the other part of fortitude I wanted to explore has to do with being a writer. You have to be determined to be a writer. You have sit down nearly every day whether the words flow or not. Some people write when the mood strikes them. I applaud those people for being able to come back to it when they are ready. But I'm not one of them. I sit down every freaking blessed day and write or think about my story or work out plot problems, character problems, something. You also have to have strength of character to write. Escpecially if you are writing and letting other people see your work. Even if those other people are your spouse or your mom or a friend at school. That takes guts. It also takes guts to send your work out to an agent or editor and hope and pray you won't get a rejection back knowing you probably will. Guts, people!!! And seriously tough skin :)

So to all my fortitudinous people/writers out there - I salute you! YOU ALL ROCK THE CASBAH!!!!!!!!!!!

Misty

Break out the effervescent bubbly E

Ah, posting right after eleven pm is so not my style. I have to get back to posting first thing in the morning tomorrow :) I did get 7 pages written today, lots of house cleaning done, my eggs boiled and colored and puffy painted. So I'm good to go.

Effervescent is one of those words that simply sounds right. It brings to mind bubbles and light, life. At least for me, your experience may vary :) Effervescent is lively or vivacious. If you remember back a little bit I once did a questionnaire while others did too and I laughed when I found myself in their answers as the loudest friend. It's totally true. I pull the phone away from my mouth when I laugh because I can hurt the ear. I can call my kid from across the park and don't even have to hit full volume. When I worked at a fast food restaurant and the microphone broke...yep, you guessed it, I got to call out the orders :) And this leads back to effervescent because I also have a funny disposition to go with that loudness. I laugh and talk a lot. I'm a pretty positive person most days and full of life and spirit. I can be bubbly. And I often am. So me=effervescent. But don't try to go find my picture next to it in the dictionary. I was already there and they had my dog who is only effervescent because she licked my daughter's bubble bottle before I could get to her. But that's a story for another day!

Misty

D, baby, Deeeeeeeeeeee

D is for down. I just really like a word that is so freaking versatile. You can go down, fall down, come down, feel down, be down, look down, sit down - and 44 other types of down - and that's just using it as an adverb. There's the down on a ducks back, the fine hair on a young baby, the furry like softness on a plant, the big rolling upland grassy country. I love them all and there are so many more. I don't have much more to say about the word Down, I just thought this was fascinating and wanted to bring it to your attention :)

Have a good night!

Misty

Compromise is where it is

Woo-hooo!!!! Almost didn't make it today and I'm actually sneaking in under the wire before I go to sleep :)

Compromise....I like compromising only when it favors me more than the other person. LOL. That's not entirely true, but it can be sometimes. Am I befuddling you? Compromise is something that I like to have my characters deal with. I think it shows real strength and courage to be able to put aside your own needs or bend your expectations to try and meet another person's needs also. Marriage is compromise. Sometimes raising a child is too, though you can't let them know it :) Writing is something I try not to compromise and especially the time I spend doing it.

So there you go. Probably not a new word for you, but one to think on, nonetheless!

Misty

B is for Befuddle

And that's my word for the day. To befuddle is to confuse and that's something I like to do :) When I write my mysteries (the latest is in the editing process with Dear Rida) I like to befuddle my reader, at least to some extent. I don't want them to not be able to follow the story. I don't want them to throw my book against the wall because they have no idea what is going on - known as a wallbanger. :)

But I do want them to be befuddled by the mystery. I would like them to not know who the killer is and why. I'd like the befuddlement to be fun for them, to be a pleasant feeling as they run through my pages of a whodunnit and try to outsmart Ivy. Befuddling is something I strive to achieve. Plus it just sounds cool :)

Misty Befuddle

A - It has come to my attention

Well, howdy again! It has come to my attention that my lovely publisher/editor signed up all of us Draumr authors for a little something she likes to call NaBloWriMo. We are all going to blog about the 26 letters of the Alphabet. I hope you knew there were 26 letters and I hope you also realize that it will mean additional posts from me, at least on Dean days :)

So my word for the day is antihero. I'm just picking these at random by flipping open my trusty dictionary. But I like this one. I like antiheroes. I like when I open a book and don't necessarily come across your typical alpha male who rules the world and only needs to find the right woman to cure his wily ways and settle him down but he'll still be domineering and over-(insert word here). Now I may just have pissed some people off, people who only write alpha heroes. And that isn't my intention. I like alphas sometimes. But it is refreshing to come across a hero who isn't obviously a hero at first. I like to see women who mesh with the guy, who work together with the guy to make each other complete. I like men who can immediately see that the woman is smart and capable and want to be a part of that instead of being the captain of the ship all the time. So there you go - antihero :)

Now, I was going to count the amount of a's in this post just to be perverse, but I'm a little worn down and seeing how long this is - not that crazy. But if you want to join in, want to have a predetermined topic to blog about over the next 26 days, we'd love to have you. This is going to be a blast. Can't wait to see what my u word will be :) Link me in the comments if you do the NaBloWriMo. I'd love to see it. Though after I type that word, I wonder if the Blo sends the wrong message. LOL!!!!

Misty

HA!

I wish I was invoking my right to pull pranks on April Fool's Day when I say I did absolutely NO WRITING yesterday, but sadly it is the truth and I'm the only fool.

But I do have 3 pages so far today and if I write 7 a day between now and Saturday I will still manage to reach my goal by a hair. So that's what I have on schedule for the next week. I came home to my living room nearly destroyed by the dogs from Hades and will now be caging them when we leave to go anywhere. They completely ate my calendar that I use to make sure I'm on the right day in a book and haven't said it's Saturday when it's really Wednesday. And they actually ate a CD of my daughter's. That ought to be interesting coming out.

Anyway, enough about my woes. Hopefully, I will come back tomorrow with more enthusiasm, less destruction and more pages. Wish me luck.

Misty