Changing Addresses

I've decided to move all blogging to my website at www.brindaberry.com/blog.html. I hope you'll follow me there! There are so many advantages to having everything about me in one place. The only disadvantage is that I might miss out on YOU. If you subscribe to my blog now, please take a moment to sign up on the email subscribe at my new location.

Writing on the ipad

Every writer I talk with has a different tool that he/she uses for writing. Some use the computer. Others use notebooks or index cards. I've even heard about notes on dinner napkins.

I'm now the owner of an ipad and wanted to find an app for writing where I could take my tool with me everywhere. Okay, I know that paper napkins can be had anywhere...but I need organization. And something without a ketchup stain.

Are you a writer? If so, check out the wonderful Manuscript App. With this app, I'm able to use electronic notecards, make outlines for chapters, and then organize each chapter in separate sections. For a visual boost, I can access my Work-In-Progress as a hardbound book with the title in gleaming gold letters. The work also has the word count listed at the bottom.

The cons are there, of course. I haven't figured out if there is a spell check, but I'm pretty sure it's missing. It is also too easy to delete something without getting the handy message you get in other software programs. You know the one. The box pops up with, "Are you sure you want to delete this file?" I was always annoyed with it before. Now, I miss it.

Overall, I'd recommend the app for your first draft and for organizing all your thoughts.It also worked well for putting in my synopsis, outlines, and notes. For the second draft, I had to move to Word or Pages. I'd give it a thumbs up for the writer working on the ipad.

Breaking Up With Your Girlfriend

Over the years, I've watched a ton of movies where two best friends argue over a man or a job or a wedding venue and proceed to get into a huge, hair-pulling, fist o'cuffs fight. After rolling around on the ground and being stopped just short of knocking out teeth, the two rise and become sworn enemies or even BETTER friends. I say that this scenario is a bunch of bologna and real life just doesn't work this way.

Moreover, I've rarely seen feuding friends get physical over a problem...heck, they may not even get verbal. What happens is a "falling out". Friend A betrays a secret or some other violation of the friend code. Friend B finds out and proceeds to freeze out Friend A. The phone calls, invitations, and outings cease. Friend A wonders what is going on. Feelings are hurt. One day, they see each other out with different people. They both politely say that they need to get together sometime soon. And they don't.

I've seen men get mad and get over it. They're back to being best buds by the next day. Go ahead- I know you're calling me sexist. It's not true, but I won't be mad.

image from: http://www.impawards.com/2009/bride_wars.html

My True Grit Ending

Last night, DH and I went to see the movie True Grit. Let me preface by saying that this was a pity movie date. I could tell that he REALLY wanted to see it. I've been dying to see The Green Hornet, but I offered to see True Grit. DH, who falls asleep in 99% of the movies we attend, was somehow EXCITED to go out for dinner and a movie.

I was wondering if DH would notice if I played Words with Friends on my iphone during the show. Heck, if he could sleep during my movies, I could play phone games during his.

The movie started with the very traditional western setting. The camera angles looked familiar. Authentic costuming, dirty cowboys, bad teeth. I half expected to see Clint Eastwood ride into town.

Then the movie got interesting. Young girl, Mattie, travels to town to avenge her father's death. Mattie is no ordinary fourteen-year-old. Her verbal skills and confidence immediately put her in a league of her own. Add Jeff Bridges as Rooster Cogburn and Matt Damon as LeBeouf and you have a dynamic cast. The dialogue and acting astounded me.

I happily forgot about my phone game. I usually hate westerns...but did this one really qualify? I guess so. The only thing that disappointed me was the ending. But, it's my fault- not theirs.

I don't want to ruin in for you if you haven't seen it, so SPOILER ALERT.

In the car, I looked at DH and said, "I was kind of hoping that Mattie would end up with LaBeouf."

DH: Umm, she was fourteen.

Me: Yes, I know, but back then that was common, right? And she didn't act fourteen. She was mature for her age.

DH: That's not how these stories end. **silence and eye rolling**

Me: Oh, well. I am a romantic and can't help it. It was still awesome.

**image of movie poster from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1403865/

My Favorite Reads of 2010

Some people keep a running list of all the books that they've read during the year. I think there are even some good websites to help you keep up with your list and ratings. I can tell you that I've enjoyed the fiction from my 2010 list. I listen to at least a couple of books a month during my commute. When not working or writing, you can find a book in my hand. Here are my favorites from 2010:

Best YA: Beautiful Creatures

Best Audible Contemp. Fiction: The Help

Best Non-Fiction: Super Freakonomics

North Point iBand

I watched this video this morning and thought..."Hey, I have an iphone!" Now if only I had some musical talent...

I'm going to Write a Novel...

An author, Rebecca Zanetti, shared this on her blog and I couldn't stop laughing.

On the Subject of Sisters and Pranks

I have an irrational fear of birds. Don't know when it started exactly or why, but it overrules sensibility when it comes to certain outdoor activities where the fowl animals like to hang out. Granted, I have many friends who acknowledge this fact about me, but none use it so well as my sister. Just this month, she sent me a lovely email with a horrifying photo of a crow or raven....just an evil, deadly, vicious, beady-eyed black bird.

You might ask, why would a sibling do this? It's what they do. I returned the favor by sending a lovely blog URL to her that was filled with mice (fabricated, artificial ones) in various poses emulating human activity. Mice reading, mice doing dishes, mice catching butterflies in nets. You guessed it. She has a mouse phobia. I was delighted and couldn't wait for her to open her email. Keep in mind that if I thought this would send her into a traumatic state, I would never do it in a million years. It was just enough to make her groan, shield her eyes, and wonder what she could find to send me in revenge.

Sisters. They know our fears, secrets, and joys. The bird email didn't say, "I want to cause you nightmares over this thing you fear so much." To me, it said, "Thought of you today and thought we could laugh together at your expense." (That is right, isn't is sis?) Pranks at a safe email distance, I can certainly handle. But don't you come near me with a real bird.

NaNoWriMo Novel: Nine

Just thought I would give an update on my writing project for November. I logged in at 13,900 words a few moments ago, so I am behind. The friendly NaNo site gives me a status update chart that shows a bar graph depicting my failure to meet word count goals. Joy, joy. My excuse? A trip to Orlando for StemTech and another to the Winthrop Rockefeller Institute at Petit Jean Mountain took me a little off-track. Oh well, that's life---trying to stay on the right tracks. I will proudly say that I am writing at a much faster speed under the pressure of NaNoWriMo. Not only am I writing faster, but I'm discovering the joy of writing online with others. I've tried writing sprints this month and am so glad I did. It's a great way to stay focused.

Here are the details of my current work in progress:

Title of my NaNoWriMo challenge novel: Nine

Summary: You might call Abby a very lucky person. Even though her heart has stopped beating two times, she's been brought back to life. First, the man in the well-tailored grey suit rescued Abby from the rubble of 9/11 and left her with a gift- a nested box. Then, JT, Abby's mysterious guardian, gave her the key to decipher her destiny from the cryptic messages printed on each the nine boxes. She's escaped death twice. Why doesn't she feel so lucky?

Déjà vu

I'm ready to outline a story for my NaNoWriMo novel. New ideas are practically bursting forth by the minute. I had lunch with my son on Saturday and thought I'd throw some out there for an honest opinion. He is the brutal critic in my life.

I began...."What about a story where the heroine keeps dreaming and having this mystery unravel. In the dreams, she meets someone that she needs and wants more than anything else in life. AND then it begins to confuse her because some items are bleeding over into her waking hours. She can choose to live in the dream world or find a way to bring him to her world. AND...." I look into my son's face as he stays silent. The déjà vu hits me. It all sounds very familiar.

I had been thinking about this storyline for a couple of days. It all seemed very original at the time. Looking into my son's eyes told me why it suddenly sounded very much like another story. He and I had seen the movie Inception together. We had both loved it and talked about it at length. If I hadn't been looking into my son's eyes, I'm not sure I would have made the connection. As a matter of fact, I'm sure that I would have just had that freaky déjà vu feeling while telling anyone else.

"It's too much like Inception, isn't it?"

"Not exactly. Well, yes a little," he says.

I frown. He smiles broadly.

"Don't feel bad," he says. "Did you know that the guy who wrote Inception originally wrote ten years ago? Then he kept fine-tuning it. He had time to watch The Matrix and a lot of other movies that I'm sure influenced him..."

Anna Quindlen said, "Every story has already been told. Once you've read Anna Karenina, Bleak House, The Sound and the Fury, To Kill a Mockingbird and A Wrinkle in Time, you understand that there is really no reason to ever write another novel. Except that each writer brings to the table, if she will let herself, something that no one else in the history of time has ever had."

Maybe I'll hang onto that that plot.

Concert Adventures

Two years ago, I asked my husband to attend an event in New Orleans called Jazzfest. My favorite band was slated to play on a Saturday night. If you've ever been to or heard about Jazzfest, you know there are many bands playing for several days on end. I was only interested in one band, Kings of Leon (KOL). Before making the decision to drive for an entire day just to attend a concert, my husband made quite a few jokes about us being too old to attend concerts. Phooey, I said. I'm going...get your walker ready.

When we arrived at Jazzfest, we were expecting a younger crowd. To our surprise, there were quite a few attendees who may have actually needed a walker. At Jazzfest, there are stages set up around a huge fairground and you can enter with your ticket and then choose your stage. We arrived early to get a good spot in the stage area for KOL. In walking to the appropriate stage area, we noticed a HUGE crowd at the stage waiting for Bon Jovi's performance. The crowd consisted of a lot of women my age. I love Bon Jovi, but I was not to be sidetracked.

This was an outdoor concert with standing room on the grass. I was smashed between about 5,000 teenagers, but I had vowed to ignore them. I had a right to be there. And I wasn't about to give my husband the pleasure of an "I told you so". I held onto this thought while the young man next to me urinated into a soda bottle to avoid losing his spot in the crowd.

A couple of weeks ago, I discovered that KOL would be doing a concert in St. Louis. That's a 6 hour drive for us. AND there were seats available. So, I bought tickets for seats in Row N at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater. I didn't take my purse with a camera or my iphone with me to the concert. I figured I'd be lucky to see them, much less take pictures. We had seats at ROW N, lower center. The seats were great. I was kicking my camera-less self the entire time. AND people my age were there. The teenagers were also well represented.

Upon arriving home, I noticed that my back was hurting. Heck. My entire body hurt. The following day, I visited the chiropractor. And again on Wednesday. And another visit planned for Friday. The dentist visit this week revealed a need for a root canal (had that on Wed) and a new crown on that same tooth. My memories of the fun concert are a blur. I may need a walker for that next concert.

Glutton for Punishment

I wonder sometimes if I've gone mental. I just joined the NaNoWriMo challenge (National Novel Writing Month). I would hear writer friends talk about this activity, and I was curious enough to check out the website a few months ago. Basically, a person accepts the challenge to write a complete novel in one month. So, this November, I will be holed up in my dining room typing as fast as possible during the wee hours of the night. And weekends. And mornings.

The novel must be at least 50,000 words long to be considered, well, a novel. Let's do the math. That means it will be necessary to log 1,666 words a day. **whistle** I normally do most of my writing on the weekends, but I can see that two days a week won't cut it.

You might think, hmmm... what about the quality of this piece of work? Here's the amazing thing. Some writers have published some pretty good works from engaging in this challenge. Sara Gruen wrote Water for Elephants during NaNoWriMo. That alone is enough to inspire me since I loved that book.

The rules say that you cannot begin writing before November 1, but you can have your plot ideas ready. The website says that you get support from other participants in your area. For the piece de resistence, you get a web badge when you finish. We all love to get a memento that says, "Yes, I did it!" Let's also not forget that you end with A COMPLETED NOVEL. I'm ready.

Reuniting with My Husband

It's official. We're getting back together for the fall season of television. After a couple of months of HBO and reruns for me and golf and fishing for him, we will be reuniting for television. Well, we weren't really separated. It's just that the summer takes us in different directions. But this is a sport pasttime we can share. I'm happy to say that we'll be watching Survivor tonight. I may need to cheat and bring my laptop along. Are there any shows that you are excited about seeing when September rolls around?

(Writing update: still making edits to the manuscript and sent out three queries this month. Received two rejections so far... more queries planned.)

Trailer Time

Last month, I was able to take an online course on making book trailers. The course was great for the beginner. I'm not a newbie when it comes to Movie Maker, and I'm excited about working on a book trailer for The Waiting Booth. One class participant asked if an author should develop a trailer for an unpublished manuscript. The response was that it might be better to focus on other activities to get that book deal before spending time on a trailer. Oh well. I did get a swift rejection this week from the query I sent out. I guess I don't need to start a trailer yet. In the meantime, here is a trailer for one of my favorite reads from this summer. Beautiful Creatures is from the YA genre. I think they did a great job!

Manuscript Milestone

Today I completed the last chapter of The Waiting Booth. It was the moment that I've been waiting for in this process. I didn't actually type the words, THE END, but I did a little dance (Napoleon Dynamite style), took a deep breath, and let myself feel good for a minute. Now what? Well...it was only the first draft. I have gone through this process knowing that I will hate editing, rewrites, and more editing. Thus, I now begin the second draft of the book which will focus on edits. There are some holes in my story. Sometimes the details were in my head and didn't make it to the page. I've also taken two online classes during this process on POV and Show vs Tell. I'm thinking about adding in an entire POV. I'll take what I've learned and try to apply better writing techniques throughout the book. Wish me luck. THE END.

Inspired

People who have inspired me this month:
1. Son: My son finally left home to return to college. I made it into that bedroom for a monumental cleaning. Ahhh...
2. Teacher: I'm taking an online writing class called Show and Tell Workshop by Shannon Donnelly. At first I thought she was rather brutal. Now I think she's just GOOD. (sd-writer.com)
3. Fellow Writers: Members of the Arkansas Diamonds are getting their first works published. KUDOS.
4. Leonardo DiCaprio: Saw Inception and could see it again.
5. Niece: My niece took the ACT and SLAM DUNKED it.

In honor of all those who have done such great work this month, I vow to complete this first draft. I am on the final two chapters of The Waiting Booth. Bless my sister who reads every word with support and enthusiasm.

Fun Analyzer

I write like
Dan Brown

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

I inserted my last blog post into the analyzer, and this is what I got! I enjoy Dan Brown's books, so this was a nice result. If I had been awarded another author comparison that I'm not so crazy about, I might not be smiling right now. Great way to start a Saturday.

The Writer's Lightbulb

The other day, my husband and I were talking when he called someone a 'hawkeye'.  I replied, "What is that?" since what I heard is 'hogeye'.  He responded that he was being facetious since the guy cannot see anything far away.  I still didn't understand why a nearsighted person would be a  'hogeye'.  I was still confused.  I repeated, "Still don't get it."  He patiently elaborates, " It's like calling a big guy 'Tiny' ."  I thought that was hilarious, but still no prize for getting me understand 'hogeye'.  Much later, after I  wrote it down, he got a chuckle.

In my current manuscript, I needed a secondary character to appear and I didn't have a name or persona.  I gleefully used the idea from this conversation to name him 'Tiny'.  No, I won't be using the names 'Hawkeye' or even 'Hogeye", but I love the thought of meeting a hulking character called Tiny.  This is really how I get a lot of ideas for major and minor plotlines and characters.  Something happens in daily life, and I think, "I could use that."

Actually, I wonder if most authors just pick up a daily newspaper to come up with some intriguing and unique plotlines.  Haven't you ever read a news article and thought, "You just can't make that stuff up!"  I believe that's why people are so drawn to reality televisiont.  You know what they say... Real life is stranger than fiction .

A Hot Book Trailer

Confession Time: I didn't know about book trailers. I saw my first one this morning. It's hilarious!

Another Road Trip

I've been on the road again.  St. Louis is a neat place to visit, but I can honestly say I've been "satisfied".  Twice in one month is enough for me.  Both were driving trips with an audio book to pass the time.  I can't even remember the title of the first book from two weeks ago, so that says something about my opinion on it.  It was an audio book rental from Cracker Barrel.  Just as a side note, when you rent from Cracker Barrel, they charge you for the book at rental.  Then you bring the book back to get a refund minus the rental fee.  I thought that probably folks get to the checkout stand and think, "Holy cow, I didn't expect to be charged $40 for a book rental."  The second trip to St. Louis was much better due to the great audiobook- The Lovely Bones.  I used an Audible download credit for this one and it was well worth it.  It was so good that I could hardly wait for the return trip where I could hear the rest of the story.  A young girl named Suzy has been murdered and tells the story of the drama playing out on earth before and after her death.  The author, Alice Sebold, gives a unique rendition of a different kind of heaven and the afterlife.  I would highly recommend The Lovely Bones in print or audio.