Laura Scarlett

Earlier today I read an article about learning to close the windows and doors of your mind by Remez Sasson, in other words, learning to block other people’s troubles and emotions so they do not affect you. 

Perfect example-  this morning, when I arrived at work I was in a great mood, jamming to some good music and loving the warm weather. Then I get in and some of my coworkers are all worked up about something and since I can’t close an actual door I get to hear and almost feel the stress they are feeling.

So what do I do in these situations? I find that turning on the music helps me cope with this, I try to concentrate on the lyrics instad of listening to the mayhem If that doesn’t work I take a coffee break so I can get away from it for a while and visit a co-worker who makes me smile. However, that solution is temporary, so when I get back to my desk the problem is usually still there.

So what can I do other than telling them to “chill out” (and possibly loose my job in the process)? To me ,the article suggests tat you visualize yourself as a room and that you close the windows and doors so things like the “storm” outside my office doesn’t affect me inside. Inside I am safe from the hail, lighting and thunder that is my co-workers state of mind, and I can imagine yourself all bundled up  in front of a soothing fire with a purring kitty on my lap.

Mmmm, wonder if my hubby would approve of me adding hot butler massaging my feet to the picture…

Spring is sooner recognized by plants than by men.  ~Chinese Proverb

Ain’t that the truth! I’m still in shock over the 70 degree weather we’re having in March!!! But the plants can’t lie, can they? Trees are blooming, the iris has come and gone and now daffodils are popping up. It must be spring! So even if it snows next week, Spring has officially begun – the plants have said so

“I’d rather regret the things I’ve done than regret the things I haven’t done.”  – Lucile Ball

Yep, I’d say good ol’ Lucile had it right. Sometimes you just have to go out there and try something new. Another of my favorite sayings is:

” Sometimes the grass IS greener on the other side.” -  Unknown

Not too long ago I fulfilled my goal of improving my day-job situation. I managed to go back to school and get a new job with a decent raise at a much better place. However, this would not have been possible if I had listened to a certain individual who lives her life by adhering to “Better the devil you know.” If you ask me, that’s a bunch of baloney!

“Success comes by grasping it, not by just waiting for it to happen.” – Paramanhanse Yogannanda

Anyway, things are looking up this year and it looks like that will continue. And now that I’m done with school and have a better job, I can go back and spend sometime on my writing and that makes me very, very happy!

So, I just had a birthday and I discovered that turning older doesn’t bother me. Sure my body is showing its age…and if it wasn’t for my chiropractor I’d be in a lot of neck pain, but overall I’m not doing too bad. I eat well, I get my 8 hours of sleep every night, I have a low stress job, prospects for a great career, my writing and characters (all of which I love), and a wonderful, loving relationship with the hubby and my kitty kids and family. I’m pretty fortunate and I know it.

I can honestly say it’s good to be me and that I’m looking forward to many more decades to come. I hope you feel the same way about you, too!

Here, have a Cherry Blossom Bite with me to celebrate getting older.

So It’s been a while since I posted anything. I have a good reason…sort of. Well, I think it’s good. I’ve pushed aside my writing temporarily so that I can concentrate on some additional education needed to get a pay raise for my 2nd job-the one I go to during the day in order to pay the bills.

Now this doesn’t mean I have stopped writing, or editing, it’s just not as often as it used to be. And I will go back to writing, it’s my love, I cannot live without it (any real writer will tell you that), but I have to be realistic- I work so that I can do what I love.

So why did I pick “The Long and Winding Road” for the title of my post? Because I feel like I am on one. Yes, it’s going to be a while before I can realize my dreams, but it will happen. And in the meantime I’m going to just push on forward and try to enjoy the sights along the way.

Got a new member in the family the other day. It’s a Maine Coon kitten about 12 weeks old and his name is Ralphie. No, he’s not named after the little boy int he movie A Christmas Story, he’s named after my hubby’s grandpa who used to love cats.

I’d show you all a picture but he’s a little shy right now. He was semi-feral and though he’s not the least bit aggressive, he is scared terrified of people. My hubby (aka. the Cat Whisperer) and I are working hard with him, in only one day we were able to get him to trust us enough to let him scratch his belly!

But at the end of the day, the moment we let him loose he runs for the nearest hiding spot–behind the toilet in the bathroom.  Oh well, we knew it would be a battle before we took him in so that was no suprise. And we are confident that with lots of love and attention he’ll soon come to be the well-socialized, carefree, lovable furry feline he was born to be.

BTW, did you know that the average male Main Coon cat can grow up to 17 to 25 lbs? At least he won’t be able to fit  behind the toilet when he gets older!

I once heard that Stephen King spend half his time reading, and half his time writing. Or was it Piers Anthony? Anyway, the point is that unlike that author, I don’t have the luxary to be able to sit and read/write when I want to. Meaning-in the mornign hours while I’m at work and wide awake and alert.

Don’t know why but recently by the time I get home from work I’m so drained that it’s hard to form complete sentences. The spirit is willing, but the mind is all fuzzy. I’m hoping this changes now that it’s summer and the days are longer.

Maybe I’ll change my schedule to get up a 5 am so I can make sure to get a few thousand words in each morning, see if that works.  I’ll let you know how it goes. I’m just praying I don’t get too involved that I end up late for work.

Submitting can be pretty scary. For me, it’s the preparation, particularly the dreaded synopsis. Why? Because if you’re like me you probably spend a few good hours slamming your head against your desk trying to condense 300+ pages into 2. 

Or at least, that used to be me until I got some good advice: Write the beginning, then the ending. Then fill in the important plot points. Focus on the MC’s and any other plot-crucial secondary characters.

It’s a lot harder than it sounds, especially when you’re trying to add your voice into it. A synopsis should flow well, give an idea of the characters, and not sound like a documentary. You want people to be intrigued/excited when reading it, not bored to death.

The way I do it? I try think of it as an action scene. Keep it short, active, yet descriptive enough to give a clear picture of what’s happening.

So, how do you know if you’ve succeeded or failed in writing your synopsis? Well the simplest way is this. Submit. And then see if anyone asks for the manuscript or a partial. If they do, then you’ve done your job.

Happy submitting!

I recently embarked on a new story that is not leaving my head. It was indirectly inspired by my husband, who plays WOW (World of Warcraft for us non-geeks) and had as a pet this awesome looking water elemental that he named “Squirt.”

It got me thinking, I’ve never really read any romances with an elemental. Maybe I should write one. And the wheels began to turn. Next thing you know, I have an idea for a story, four very interesting characters stuck in a tricky situation, and a general plot outline complete with my Happily Ever After ending.

So that will be one of my projects here in the next few months.

Here’s a picture of Squirt, in case you’re wondering what he looks like.

I hate to say this, but I’m bad when it comes to self-editing. The hardest thing for me to do is to stop the vicious editing cycle and start the submittal process. How do I do it? With sheer will.

 The truth of the matter is that no matter how many times you edit, and re-edit, you’re going to find something that’s not right, or you’ll want to make a change out of some insecurity that struck you at 3am in the morning. 

I know someone who’s on their 4^th revision of what I’d already considered a polished manuscript. Why do they keep editing? Because they keep changing part of the beginning. Yes, the beginning is important, yes, you have to have a hook, but if you already have that, then why keep changing it? You’re better off taking your chances and submitting it. A submitted manuscript is better than one that’s stuck in the editing whirlwind month after month after month… 

The way I see it, if you need to make changes it’ll be clear once the responses and feedback starts pouring in, and trust me, it will. Though there’s a lot of talk of getting form rejections, there are still individuals out there that will take the time to at least tell you, “It didn’t grab me enough.”

 Now, that being said you have to be careful, don’t change your manuscript because of a single response, wait until you are able to see a solid trend. Oh, and make sure that you are careful about who you’re submitting it to. Do your research. Make sure that the agent/publisher is looking for the type of book you wrote, otherwise you may get feedback you don’t need.

 So, are you stuck in the self-editing cycle? Well, stop it!! Go, start writing up that query & synopsis. You never know if you’ll get published if you don’t submit.