I Write Like WHO?

I write like
Stephenie Meyer

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

It's true. A website here said so. All you do is paste a couple of paragraphs of your writing into a text box, submit it, and then INSTANTLY it pops up with your analysis...and also a newsletter you can subscribe to with writing tips and links to HOW TO GET A PUBLISHING CONTRACT (probably for $10,000 or less). If you click on the name of the author it surprisingly takes you to Amazon where you can purchase a book by that person. So you can see it's totally legit.

But, hey, it didn't say I write like Rita Writer down the street who never got published because her manuscript is a pile of drively you-know-what. No, I write like Stephenie Meyer. And for now I'll hold that thought.

(Because I have an inkling that Stephenie Meyer did pretty well in her writing pursuits.)

Sweeeeeeet Writers Retreat!

I'm back...momentarily...

So I went on vacation, but neglected to hire anyone to feed my blog.

While gone I worked on novel revisions while sitting lake-side, fire-side, and on the passenger-side of a van on our family vacation. Next week I'm off again, this time to a writer's retreat in the mountains with 40 or so of my best writing pals. I'm not planning to do much blogging, but we'll see. I do have some book reviews forthcoming in the next couple of weeks, so stay tuned for those.

By the miracle of modern blog technology, in my absence I was guest blogger over at the LDS Blogck blogspot. If you've been wanting to hear more about my whole baby dream saga (yes, I'm still having recurring dreams about babies)--go here.

And even if you don't want to, humor me...

It's come to this

Last night I stayed up way too early rewriting a chapter of my novel and, you guessed it, once I went to bed the old cogs of the writing brain would not stop turning. I was afraid to look at the clock to see exactly how long it took me to finally fall asleep, I just know there were a total of three times I pulled out paper and pen in the dark to scribble something I was sure I'd forget by morning.

Despite my lack of sleep, morning still came, and it started with a six followed by other numbers which is not a big deal to many of you, but in the summer it is to me and especially after last night.

I stirred awake a bit while my husband was getting ready for work and the dream I was in the middle of still lingered. I thought, Now instead of having her say that I could have her act it out and the other person would know what she's talking about.

Then it hit me.

I'm editing the dream I just woke from.

Then I shook my mental fist at the looming lightbulb that's always above my head--the idea I have that I can write a novel--Nooooooo! I say. Let me rest in peace.

But there was certainly no more rest, or peace either, and with the lure of ibuprofen as my guide, I got up. I stumbled down the stairs with my bleary eyes and jammies, the bedside clipboard and pen in hand. My daughter was right there on her way out the door to work, and she said, "Do you always sleep with a clipboard?"

"Last night I did," I replied.

Now I'm going to read my chapter rewrite and all I'm saying is it better knock my slippers off or clipboards are going to roll.

[instant replay from anwafounder.blogspot.com]

SCORE!

I scored two new books today via the postal system to add to my ever growing list of books to read. Keeping Keller by Tracy Winegar I won in Heather Justeson's blog giveaway, I guess because of my mad commenting skills. (Translation: It's a good thing these blog contests are completely random, otherwise I would never be winning awesome books.) The other, Chocolate Roses by Joan Sowards, was sent by Walnut Springs Publishing because I get to review it right here on my blog in August.

My RE-reading of Hunger Games and now Catching Fire has been keeping me up at night. It's so ridiculous...I've read these books before and still at the end of each chapter I'm sucked in and have to keep reading. I tell myself, "Okay, just one more chapter," but it never is.

I'm a few chapters into Shiver and someone needs to convince me it's worth it to continue. I've heard great things about it (and the writing is good), but so far she's pretty much just been staring at a wolf. I read When You Reach Me which was an entertaining ride, but when I finished I wondered why I had taken the journey. Reading fiction is like climbing into a car with the author and going for a ride. I want the ride to be amazing, but it's also got to take me somewhere. The destination is extremely important.

(I hesitate to say anything because both of these books are very successful, but for that reason, hopefully, my measly little opinion won't matter much and they won't blast me when they see what meager fare I have to offer with my book when it's published)

Now back to HG and CF, the two books I'm obsessed with. I have no idea how it will all be resolved with Book 3, but right now I'm going to have to say TEAM GALE all the way! Wait...maybe TEAM PEETA! I can't decide!

What about you? Which team are you?