Motivational Monday

If I'm trying to sleep, the ideas won't stop.  If I'm trying to write, there appears a barren nothingness ~ Carrie Latet

English Really is Crazy

We'll begin with a box, and the plural is boxes,

But the plural of ox becomes oxen, not oxes.
One fowl is a goose, but two are called geese,
Yet the plural of moose should never be meese.
You may find a lone mouse or a nest full of mice,
Yet the plural of house is houses, not hice.

If the plural of man is always called men,
Why shouldn't the plural of pan be called pen?
If I speak of my foot and show you my feet,
And I give you a boot, would a pair be called beet?
If one is a tooth and a whole set are teeth,
Why shouldn't the plural of booth be called beeth?

Then one may be that, and three would be those,
Yet hat in the plural would never be hose,
And the plural of cat is cats, not cose.
We speak of a brother and also of brethren,
But though we say mother, we never say methren.
Then the masculine pronouns are he, his and him,
But imagine the feminine: she, shis and shim!

Let's face it, English is a crazy language! In closing:

If Father is Pop, how come Mother's not Mop!?

Motivational Monday

When you are describing,
A shape, or sound, or tint;
Don't state the matter plainly,
But put it in a hint;
And learn to look at all things,
With a sort of mental squint.
~ Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (Lewis Carroll)

Believe in Yourself

As I said last week, I've taken the leap and sent my submission into Mills and Boon. Now for the hard bit... waiting! I am terrible at waiting (as I have said many times before). It's impossible to not think about it. In fact, the more I try not to think about it the more it seems to weigh on me.  The anything-but-a-rejection high versus the what-was-I-thinking low.

The only thing I do know is regardless of the outcome I am not going to give up. After all, imagine if these people had:

Harry Potter was rejected 8 times.

The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance was rejected 104 times.

Stephen King’s Carrie was rejected 30 times.

Frank Herbert’s Dune was rejected 23 times.

Gone With the Wind was rejected 38 times.

Jonathan Livingston Seagull was rejected 18 times.

Watership Down was rejected 38 times.

M*A*S*H was rejected 17 times.

The Diary of Anne Frank was rejected 16 times.

Anne of Green Gables was rejected 4 times.

Catch-22 was rejected 21 times.

Chicken Soup for the Soul was rejected 140 times.

Twilight was rejected 14 times.

Motivational Monday

If the sex scene doesn't make you want to do it - whatever it is they're doing - it hasn't been written right - Sloan Wilson

Magic

I was at a birthday party for a 6 year old girl recently and her Mum had hired a magician to entertain the kids - and entertain he did. For *1 whole hour* 20 young children were entranced. For anyone who has anything to do with young children you will know that 1 hour of being entranced in front of anything that isn't a screen is amazing.

And it wasn't that he performed many magic acts. In fact, there were probably only about 6 tricks in the whole show. But what he did do was weave a story into the show that kept the kids spellbound. He talked for the whole hour, and the kids listened to every word. They laughed, squealed and held their breath as the story unfolded - the magic almost becoming the supporting act.

Words over a magician's tricks? For me that was the real magic.

Motivational Monday

A story isn't about a moment in time, a story is about the moment in time. - W. D. Wetherell

The Year Ahead...

I seem to have slid sideways from my goals for this writing year (which for me is September - August). I always take note in January to see how I am going and where I am aiming, and I seem to be on a detour, lol.

But that's okay.

I do have a clear view of what I am wanting, so I'll aim for that and see where it takes me. My biggest goal at the moment is to submit my wip. Sooner, rather than later, but better to have it shipshape than rush it. When I write "The End" I want to be sure it really is :-)

I'm still on track to attend conference, and I've made a conscience decision to hold back from contests for a while.

So my goals have reduced but I think that can only be a good thing (more focussed, right?). I guess time will tell.

Motivational Monday

We will open the book.  Its pages are blank.  We are going to put words on them ourselves.  The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year’s Day. 

~Edith Lovejoy Pierce~

Happy New Year's

Now is the accepted time to make your regular annual good resolutions.  Next week you can begin paving hell with them as usual  (Mark Twain).