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Perfectly Plotted Part 1: Super Subplots

Perfectly Plotted Part 1: Super Subplots

I made an exciting goal for 2018: complete a project for National Novel Writing Month in November. Whoo!

Of course I have to get there first, and for preparing, there is no time like the present. One of the hardest things about writing, to me, is to decide on a plotline and then order the events and sequence them in logical fashion,

So instead of focusing on an entire storyline, I like to think…

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Characters to Stop Writing: Starring TV Archetypes

Characters to Stop Writing: Starring TV Archetypes

How many times do you see a character in a book and go, “Oh, I’ve seen her before. Yawn!” A lot of characters are not only overused, but they’re annoying. Most of these choices come from TV shows but they can be found anywhere. How many do you recognize?

Don’t forget to Pin me if you like it! The Incompetent Advocate

Usually their choice of career is a school psychologist or counselor, but they…

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Book Club: The Perfect Neighbors

Book Club: The Perfect Neighbors

Welcome to the first in a series of Book Club posts. I figure that a blog about writing should have plenty about reading, too, because it’s the best way to learn and appreciate the work of other people.

After enjoying some thrilling books lately, I was excited to pick up this one. You read about so many of the same books scrolling through Pinterest, so I was excited to find The Perfect Neighbors…

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Calling Writers: Fun Submission Opportunity

  If you want your work read by others but aren’t having success elsewhere, we might have a solution for you. The goal is to create a community by offering a digital lit mag of your work every so often.

Of course there are some rules. First, you should be at least 15. Second, you should be either a member of my Pinterest group or my Google group, to be able to submit.

The full list of guidelines…

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Fictional Characters I Wanted to Switch Lives With

To me, the sign of any good writing is a rich, realistic world that I can be immersed in. Characters that truly have personality, unlike some in adult books. I don’t need the author to impress me with lyrical writing, not necessarily. And that’s what I loved about my favorite stories from childhood.

I read a lot of the same themes and ideas over and over again in my fourth and fifth grade…

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I, Cooper - Chapter 2: In Which Everything Was Confusing (on Wattpad) https://my.w.tt/UiNb/l5311MJVxJ It's not easy being a Cavalier King Charles. Just ask Cooper. From his humble beginnings as one of many puppies at the breeder's, Cooper learned to be fancy and take what's his from a young age. He had to deal with insufferable yet lovable puppy siblings. He got in trouble constantly just because he wanted what was his, thank you very much. But it wasn't all bad. How did he earn the nickname "Mr. Kisses?" What was upstairs that he yearned to get to so much despite the gate holding him back? But anyone will tell you that despite his troublemaking tendencies, Cooper is really the most lovable dog you'll ever meet. Based on the life of the author's real dog with some creative liberty taken, "I, Cooper" is a testament to the life of a puppy and his quirky yet very real life.

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642 Things: Two Days

Welcome to a prompt series based on a couple of prompt journals I own. In 642 Things to Write About, you are given space to write from hundreds of prompts. But what good is writing if it just sits there? I'm placing them here for inspiration and for all to enjoy. To browse more prompts, use the label on the right of your screen called "writing prompts." Please feel free to respond to any of the prompts I include here. I love to see how so many writers can go in so many different directions based on one prompt! Imagine a character at two very different ages, and describe his or her day at each age. This is the bestest day ever! First my nanna drove me to school in our beauteous new gold car we bought shopping this weekend. I also got to wear my fluffy pink dress and a sparkly feather boa for Show and Tell. And ooh, ooh! Emily told me it was the prettiest boa she's ever seen! That meanie Jim laughed at me, but guess what? He got a time out! Ha! And we also got an extra recess because we did so good on our math worksheets! I played on the swings and went the highest, even higher than Jacob who always swings high. When Nanna picked me up, I invited my apartment friend Catherine over to play games. And we both got to eat cheesy macaroni for dinner! Yummy! I'm truly having a good day. That stupid Jim finally asked me out, the goofball. He asked in front of everyone in homeroom. It must have been good luck because I aced the pop quiz we had in math- no easy feat for me. At lunch, Carly and Emily wanted to hear about all the details of this new relationship. Jim, he just ate with his own group of friends in the other corner of the room. Guys will be guys! Anyway I was so busy with my head in the clouds that I nearly scored against my own team at today's hockey game. Thankfull we won in overtime and everyone forgot. But Nanna, who understands the importance of love, surprised me with a delicious meal of gourmet steak and potatoes. Can a girl be any luckier?

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Trying my hand at some chicklit this year. Anyone looking for a read, come check it out!

Twelve Days till Dating - Chapter 1 (on Wattpad) https://my.w.tt/UiNb/UxacLyPstJ Lauren Cohen was born with a round face, wide blue eyes, slightly chubby cheeks, stick-thin body, and short stature. Maybe that's why she's 24 and still forever single. So she's ecstatic when she finally has a shot with her cute coworker at her hometown's quirkiest holiday confectionery. She's liked Austin from the moment she began training at the bakery, and he's the perfect guy to talk to- he's super nice, likes to write just like Lauren, and best of all- actually seems to enjoy talking with her. Then she finds out that he's been given a great professional opportunity and may be moving out to Cincinnati in two short weeks...if he accepts the position. Now Lauren's at crunch time to land not just a friendship, but maybe a relationship as well. Will she get the Christmas miracle she's hoping for?

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I recently reviewed A Garfield Thanksgiving, and most of you know by now that it’s a nice, cozy Thanksgiving special that’s actually not bad for adults, though it occasionally goes out of its way to create kiddie appeal. However, the first Garfield special I discovered was actually A Garfield Christmas. So how does that stack up?

  I will use the same categories as always and they will be scored…

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11 Things That The Girl You Turned Down Wants You To Know

Hey folks. Taking a break from the holiday cheer at the moment because I have some things that I think need to be said.

This week basically SUCKED. My new headphones nearly died (again), my drawers flooded with fruit punch (yeah, I don’t even know how this happens), annoyingly long workdays happened, the guy I liked yelled at me, and oh yeah, he got a girlfriend too. Sound superficial?

Well,…

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The Lazy Crafter's Guide to Bullet Journaling

The Lazy Crafter’s Guide to Bullet Journaling

There’s no way to make every week special like keeping a bullet journal.

I used to keep a journal, and I kept up with it pretty well. In fact, I still have them. But sometimes it takes a while to actually write down everything you’d like. Enter the bullet journal, where you can just look at it during the day and fill it out when the day is over.  And of course, add your own personal touches.…

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Review: A Garfield Thanksgiving

They say that as you get older, Calvin and Hobbes gets better and Garfield gets worse. Still, there’s something satisfying about Garfield and Jon’s simple life: flirting with the vet, friendships with mice, visiting Irma at the diner, trips to the family farm, and a constant need to be lazy. I think their world is charming even if the jokes get stale sometimes, and that’s why I’ll always enjoy…

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Happy Monday, everyone. We’re having such Monday weather over here (drizzly, damp, and gray…ewwwww). Maybe my post will brighten the day a little.

This is a look at how a DIY fan styles their desk. It’s important to create a space where you can feel inspired. Going with the pink/gold/black chic look (I know it’s probably not that unique, but as long as you love it, that’s the important part), I created a place where I’d feel inspired in writing, designing, and holiday creations. And if you hold tight, I’ll even explain the ugly boxes in the corner.

First, a general look at the whole thing:

I decided, in second grade, that I wanted a HUGE desk. I regret that decision now, but I’m trying to make it work to my advantage by decorating it with quotes.

I cheated. I printed them out. But I think there are some pretty cool foil quote sheets that you can buy, so I might look into those later. Since I started getting into the bullet journal thing, the “filling out the calendar” thing kind of went down the pits. But I love a good calendar, so maybe I’ll just do monthly bullet journal spreads from now on.

Remember my Halloween pencil holders? Well, they have been swapped out for my regular mason jars as well as some Thanksgiving ones. I like my Charlie Brown cup, but if I had one complaint it’s that you can only see so much of the scene at once. When you design a scene around a cup you can’t see the whole thing.

The jar on the right also says “give thanks” in gold but sadly, it’s a little hard to read. Le sigh.

A way to make HUGE desks work for you is to use storage space, so long as it’s not cluttered. I love to make cards, so my stamp collections and cardmaking stuff goes here. Stationery goes in the big box, and the top box is home to my letters, numbers, and sentiment stamps.

Now about those ugly boxes you saw in the other corner…yeah, I’m waiting on new ones for Christmas. Shoeboxes are a good temporary storage space, but they just don’t have the same aesthetic value. They store my holiday and design collections.

Ducks! I’m trying to collect rubber ducks, and this desk is home to my small-ish collection. Each duck represents something in my life like an interest, former job, or even a favorite color. Others are gifts that I like to think represent something. I don’t really have a great place for these, so they live on the top shelf, watching me do things.

This is a glass-blown cat that I got on a high school tour many years ago. The students were participating in summer classes and a glassblowing student gave me this little figure. An ear and his tail have both fallen off after ten years of sitting around and probably laying around in my spare decorations box at some point. I recently named him Binx (after the Hocus Pocus character, of course). I have several figurines, but I don’t like to clutter my living space. All decorations I don’t use live in a box in my closet.

Drawers are good things. Recently I was on a “must not have anything out ever!” kick, so I tried to store them away in a closet drawer. Honestly though, craft stuff is much easier stored in a desk. So here is where my artsy embellishments live…basically anything that isn’t stamps. Washi tape, ribbon, paint, paintbrushes, and even some extra office supplies.

Sorry about the flash. I don’t live in a cabin in the woods, I swear.

Bottom left drawer. This one is much deeper and is perfect for storing paper. Folders hold various types of prints. Issues of Cardmaking live here, too. When one issue comes in, another gets tossed to avoid clutter. I usually end up scanning my favorite ideas into the computer so I don’t have 50 magazines to look through when I need an idea. I also keep my ink here until I get a box for it. I also keep my gel pens here (no room for them in the other drawer) and a mug for washing paintbrushes.

Bottom right drawer: the box holds my creative journals (coloring books, notebooks, scrapbooks etc) and the rest are personal journals. I have my bullet journal, questions-a-day journal, and yearbook where I write down everything that happened in the past year. The rest are old journals which are keepsakes now. Look at how thick that black composition book is…

  Top tips for #deskgoals *Stick with a color scheme. Who cares if it’s cliche, odd, or anything else? Pick a scheme that speaks to you. *Clutter clutters creativity. You may be tempted to fill the shelves on a huge desk like mine, but don’t. Freeing space gives you more space to think and create. “Minimal” is my new middle name. And keep your drawers neat, too. Not only will they look nicer, but stuff won’t be spilling out of them every time you open one (or falling back into the desk and jamming it…yeah, I’ve been there). *Less clutter also balances out your space. If you don’t have a lot of posters/decorations/whatever up, don’t make your desk look busy.  *Use nice boxes that fit with your scheme. If you don’t have them yet, buy them when you can. *If you have a choice, don’t get a gigantic desk. It makes the room look smaller and the extra wall space leaves you more room to decorate. Look at mine…do you really want a desk that almost reaches the ceiling???

  What tips do you guys live by?

  How to go from desk to #deskgoals! Happy Monday, everyone. We're having such Monday weather over here (drizzly, damp, and gray...ewwwww). Maybe my post will brighten the day a little.

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Tutorial: How To Make Printable Party Games!

Tutorial: How To Make Printable Party Games!

I love all things DIY, which is most of the reason for this blog. I especially enjoy making things for the holidays, and one of my hobbies lately is making printable party games, accessories, labels, etc. It’s something that many people could do. So in this blog, I’ll show you how to make your own printable games.

We’ll be making a Christmas song quiz today.

          Also, you don’t…

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Goody Goody Reviews: Cookies and Creme Shake

Goody Goody Reviews: Cookies and Creme Shake

I love anything Hershey’s. I love the theme park where chocolate waits around every corner and cocoa references abound. I love the variety of chocolate items you can buy. I also love their chocolate-flavored lip gloss (which I never wear but I keep it in my drawer for the occasional sniff) and coin banks. It’s all good! So what about the Hershey brand cookies and creme milkshake?

Here is is in…

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STATE OF THE UNION POST: October

STATE OF THE UNION POST: October

Happy October everyone! There’s nothing I like more than sitting outdoors on a crisp fall evening, watching my college’s field hockey team win 3-1. The best part is when that guy you have your eyes on works for the school that your team is playing at, and you get to meet up and walk around a bit after he gets off work! YES. It was a good day, people. But…does that one instance alone reflect the…

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Halloween Haul (or...How does an adult celebrate Halloween?)

Halloween Haul (or…How does an adult celebrate Halloween?)

A week before Halloween, and I already have *spooky* scenarios to contend with. I’m going to visit an old friend from work on Thursday- he works at a college that is close to my own, and our field hockey teams are going to play each other. I’m psyched. The problem? He doesn’t know yet. And what if things don’t go as well as I really want them to?

Eek! Spooky.

So let’s talk about something…