Meredith Wood

Tagged for a Meme

2008-05-16T15:31:22Z

I was tagged by brian_ohio and mindiscott. *waves madly at my friends for thinking about me and tagging me and making me feel sooo loved today!* So here it goes. Me and the million questions. Okay, so maybe not that many.

What were you doing 10 years ago?
Ten years ago I was changing diapers, watching Rugrats, and wondering why I couldn’t wait to turn 21. I was dabbling with my first book on sheets of notebook paper. The opening started with a young girl staring into the grave of her mother and getting sick to her stomach when she saw the worms crawling around on the walls of the grave. The girl fainted (from lack of food, stress, and the thoughts those worms brought up). She fell into the grave. Her drunk of a father beat her for it. That's as far as I got 'cause my hand started cramping and I didn't know what else to write anyway.

What are 5 things you need to do today?
1. I need to do laundry.
2. Write.
3. Take a bath.
4. Feed my kids.
5. Feed myself.

What are some snacks you enjoy?
I love strawberry swirl cheesecake! Hot fudge cake, and powdered donuts.

What would you do if you were a billionaire?
If I were a billionaire I spend a lot of money. I'd take lots of vacations so I'd have lots of ideas to write about.

What are 3 bad habits?
Only 3? Gosh that's easy enough. I chew my nails—ick. I so need to stop! I spend a lot of time worrying I've made someone mad. And the worst bad habit? I never tell people when they hurt my feelings, because I'm afraid they'll get mad at me.

Name 5 places you have lived.
Teaque, Texas.
Fredericktown, MO
Armorel, AR
Gosnell, AR
Tunica, Mississippi—for a whole fifteen hours. Seriously. I moved my stuff there and fifteen hours later left.

What are 5 jobs you've had?
Sonic carhop
Cashier
Hostess at Shoney's
Waitress
Lab tech
Box sorter
Card feader
Card cutter
Oh sorry that was more than five.

And now it's my turn to tag people!

eackerman
tlcadence
kathys_shadow
fandoria
amazoniowan

Play if you want.

So what did it take?

2008-05-15T03:41:14Z

I ended up having to print out the entire chapter and read it that way. I found a few spots to smooth out from my edits, but overall it read pretty good. This fantasy stuff is a lot of work. I actually played around with the idea of dropping PC and writing The Best of Me instead. I've been working and working on this chapter for over a week now. I am so glad to be finished and moving on.

Guess what came in the mail today?

Oh yeah... *G* THE COMPOUND. Squee!!!! I read the first few pages and they ROCK! I then forced myself to finish my chapter. lol. I bet I read tomorrow instead of writing. ;-)

My Mother's Day and some thoughts...

2008-05-14T16:31:40Z

This post was inspired by latteya and the gift she gave on Mother's Day.

I'm a mom. Yep, that's me. My Mother's Day wasn't centered around me, me, me, though. I think I'd feel awful if it had been. There was another mom that deserved it more.

This year was hard on us. At church, they passed out gifts and said prayers. So many got up to talk about their moms. We sang Amazing Grace, which was my MIL's favorite hymn. Joe did all right. But when three women got up to sing a song about a mom praying for her children, he broke down. I held his hand and he fought it back, but it was hard on him, and likewise hard on me.

"Hug your mom!" they said. He didn't have a mom to hug. But that's okay, because at church they handled this well.

Yet later…

I'm amazed more and more each day at how cruel people can be, how thoughtless and selfish. The writer in me, that side that people like to make fun of every chance they get, spent the day and now the following days in awe of the way people take life, family, and friends for granted. It makes me sad.

I'm sure the reason I see this so well right now is the pain was revived for the day, fresh and overwhelming. As Joe hurt, so did I.

Later that afternoon, while at my mom's, we went outside to play ball with our kids. My mom and dad sat outside and watched, and laughed, and cheered us on. I had Joe pitch to me overhanded—my but he can pitch! LOL. I got a good hit though!

I think it turned out all right for him. He laughed some and hugged me a lot.

But, see, that's what Mother's Day is about. It's not about gifts and anger, pouting over what you didn't get, complaining that he forgot. No, it's a celebration of life and love.

You never know if that loved one beside you will be there the next year to celebrate. But if, God forbid, they aren't, wouldn't it be better that you're left with sweet memories full of laughter?

We know all this, yet we forget it so easily.

Dang book!

2008-05-14T02:21:19Z

ARGHHH!!!!!!

Why is it that some days you can stare for hours at your screen and get nothing! Then other days the words, oh the beautiful words, they just flow. I'm scrapping just about everything from my scene today's teaser came from. Well, not exactly cutting it, but spreading it.

See, here's what happened. I was feeling very bad about the amount of narration, or better yet, the style of the narration. I couldn't get Laura out of the hospital and had myself so unfocused I was making her feel things that made no sense. All day I tried to move forward. All day I kept coming back to tweak that scene. It just read bad, no matter what I did. I wrote it one way and Laura had too much attitude. I wrote it another way and Laura was too much blah, blah, blah. I thought I was just having a bad writing day.

Nope. I was just trying to force a page of notes into a scene. Gosh and don't I feel stupid now.

Now I have a new plan. It's called let one itty bit of the story unfold and then don't pile a million other things on top of it at once! Cause if you are running in circles you ain't helping your book out none, Shea!

Yep, I feel much better now.

Guess what else happened? The storm that broke tonight lit up a new scene for me--with a new problem. Oh and it's good, sooo good. ;-)

P.S. I'm doing an outline tomorrow cause I'm just chasing my tail here. And I'm tired of it!

P.S.S. So take that book!

Tuesday Teaser and whatnot.

2008-05-13T13:24:25Z

I think it's going to rain today and I'm happy about this. I need a break. A quiet day, if you will. *G*

Anyhoo, this is from Panthan's Crucible--of course. It's like really rough--so rough I haven't even decided if I'm going to use it. Ha-ha. Ya really want to read it now.

Like usual our government had been a day late and a dollar short when they disbanded the Wōdens and called them back home. None had come.

"It's not the soldiers she blames," Tristan said softly behind me. He wrapped his arm across my collarbone and leaned down, his mouth right beside my ear. "It's the panthans. They're the ones that corrupted the Wōdens and they're the ones who kill for pleasure. You can't possibly blame the soldiers, Laura…" He waited and I gulped down my words, if not my thoughts.

The remaining Wōdens were out there still, ruled by a bloodthirsty vengeance. And they didn't take into account the new laws or discriminate between green-eyed humans and green-eyed creatures hell-bent on murder. Why couldn't people understand they were not a band of merry Robin Hoods?

Look at Avery.

"Do you?" he asked then, his voice filled with revulsion.

I pulled away, glancing down at Avery then back up at his face. His mouth was set in anger, his eyes narrowed with warning.

He wanted me to say what he knew I wouldn't. We'd had the argument too many times already. "I don't know who to blame anymore, Tristan."

In a side sweep of his arm, he knocked the paper cup off the bedside table then spun around, facing the wall, not me. I tried not to let it hurt. Told myself it didn't hurt.

"You make me sick," he ground out.

I kept my head down—even after he said, "So sick!"

Even after the door thumped shut behind him.

I made myself sick. Pity the Wōdens. Fear the Wōdens. But do not blame them for their wrongs. Those were the rules. Traitor!

I sat with my eyes burning holes into Avery's waffle blanket. I sat with my hand to my chest and tried to remember that it had been my choice not to tell Tristan and Avery. After all, my mom had been nothing but a whore. It had been for the best, right?

How many had the panthans killed? Hundreds. Thousands.

So why couldn't I be a good little human and hate them too?

The Host by Stephenie Meyer

2008-05-12T00:00:05Z

Wow, wow, and wow. This one's going to be hard to break down. The things that stood out to me in this book combine for a total effect that really left me speechless. So, yeah, this is hard to do.

I'm attempting here.

I really loved this book. I enjoyed the Twilight Series and will continue to enjoy it, but with The Host, Stephenie accomplished something truly outstanding.

She took a new species and implanted in me the need to hate that species. She then made me walk the walk and when push came to shove, I buckled, hopelessly in love. She proved her point well. Oh, we can say we write without this objective, but we all know deep down that to write good fiction we have to write persuasive fiction. We can't expect to collect a following without it. I think it's been some time since I thought so much about a set of characters and really looked at humanity like I was shown in this book.

Then again, strange as it may seem, the stand she took was a stand I intended with PC. This gives me some peace, but frightens me all the same. I'm not sure if I can accomplish what she did.

Descriptions:
To begin with, I want to mention Stephenie's gift of description once more. When it comes to focusing a reader, less is more, more in the right spot is better, and the right combination is perfect. The Host is a big book. But it's not full of filler. Every word is important and every sentence has a meaning. Once again, Stephenie uses her descriptions as a weapon that shoots straight into our hearts. We are dealing with a new species and the book is written through that species' POV. But she never forgets her readers. Never. So no, we aren't treated to a million descriptions of our normal everyday life. This, I'm thinking, wasn't an easy thing to keep from doing. We are taught that we should use descriptions only to describe what would be new or important to the POV character. How'd she manage to do what she did? Well, read the book and pay careful attention.

No cheap parlor tricks:
Ah, now we cut to the core of the matter. This is what sells her books. It's easy to throw a character into a fray, shake up the plot, and raise the stakes. We grow accustomed to doing this. It becomes our stock and trade. After a while, it becomes cheap and eventually hacky. So how do we avoid falling into this trap while at the same time keeping the book's tension high? Guess what? Stephenie did it. She did it in her Twilight books too. It just took me until now to notice it. When a problem arises, it seems normal, expected—not there just to give me a reason to keep reading. This leaves me feeling satisfied that she's not trying to sell me this tale, but instead she's simply telling me an amazing story that happened.

A foundation of trust reinforced:
How many times do we as writers fear we'll fall off our pedestal? Huh? Yeah, well, I feel it. Someday my books will sell, someday I'll have fans. And these fans will learn my style, my inner voice. When they open a new book of mine, they'll expect me to deliver what I have before. Yeah, we've heard this. Some say this is why we shouldn't jump from genre to genre. My opinion? These folks jumped on the wrong bus. It's not about genre; it's about how you tell your story. It's not about character voices; it's about your style.

My example of this:

Near the end it seemed every loose end had been tied up and I worried Stephenie intended to stop right there. I felt cheated already. But why? I mean, other writers do this. Isn't that what we're supposed to do? Finish the story but leave the reader wanting a bit more.

NO! Seriously, I hate this! I want to see my happy ending in motion. I want to peek into their lives and know for sure they have done what the writer left me thinking they were gonna do. I flipped through a couple pages and noticed that I wasn't as close to the end as I thought I was.

You know what zipped through my head then?

"Of course she wouldn’t do you like that, Shea! This is Stephenie. You know she gives you that last glimmer of hope you long for so much."

She never forgets her readers. She followed through on that trust she's already built. This is how Stephenie writes and this is what I expect from her.

So there are my craft points.

About the story though? Well, I'll be honest. I think Stephen King better look out. There's a new kid in town and I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but she writes with a passion that compels me to love, to follow, and to realize there's more to fiction than just the shock value. It's not so much about how wild her imagination can be. It's more about how well she can make me believe that however off the wall the story is, I want it to be true! God, but I want it to be true!

Once I was Twilight fan, but now—now, I’m a Stephenie fan. She's got me for the long haul now. And yeah, I think this road will be VERY long and VERY fruitful.

Ink Exchange by Melissa Marr

2008-05-10T19:30:16Z

No fear.

It has been some time since I've read a book that these two words popped up in my head. It might be because I read a book this week and I did feel the author was writing with fear. More on this later.

I've been living with fear myself lately. I have a dark fantasy I'm working on and I've been afraid. I knew I shouldn’t be, but I was anyway.

Ink Exchange –aside from the paranormal world—is the world I lived at sixteen. Melissa jumped in and wrote what had to be written with no fear for the outcome. There is no sugar coating. It's raw and alive, centered totally on emotions.

If she had tiptoed around the truth of the matter and not dug deep enough, the story would never have worked. It's dark and it's real and it was written without fear.

So what did I learn?

If it hurts to write it, if it hurts to read it, then it's probably the best thing you can do for your book. So I need to find my courage and put it to use. Courage=power. It's always been that way.

Thank you Melissa Marr! You fed me your courage and I consumed it to the very last drop. And it was good. And it was fulfilling. And I am stronger now.

Do you hear what I hear?

2008-05-10T03:34:40Z

That's been my problem with PC. I have a plot--whoo hoo! A fat lot of good a plot does me though when Laura has nothing calling her. And I'm not talking about plot related things that will pull her along. I'm talking about her emotional journey.

A song caught my interest the other day so I had to search it out last night. Until midnight last night I played it on repeat. This morning while I was getting ready I played it. While working in the garden and around the house this afternoon, yep, repeat all the way baby. Now tonight I had to hear it again. And I was beginning to get very frustrated because I wasn't getting a scene. Usually I get one when a song calls out to me.

But then it came to me. This song wasn't about a scene, but about Laura. It was a feeling--her heart and soul. This song was the turning point in her life, or more exact, the bleeding that makes her turn around.

I now know why this book is important for Laura's life. I now know why everything has to happen. See, if it doesn't get written she'll stay locked inside her prison never even knowing it is a prison.

The best part in all this dawning knowledge is that now I'm no longer writing a paranormal YA, I'm writing about what happened to Laura in a paranormal world.

She's mine now. All mine. :-)

Happy Birthday Laura!

Just talk all you want. I promise I'll listen and I promise, I'll understand.

I Can't Even Remember Where I Was Going

2008-05-08T14:20:32Z

I hate days like this! Yesterday I was too tired to write and today... I have the energy but I can't remember what I'm supposed to do. I need to work on Laura's descriptions and conversation with Avery in the hospital room, which will lay the foundation for the next scene. I don't want to write this scene today though. I have nothing interesting for them to talk about. I did have, but it's gone now. I need to write the BIG scene at a party between Tristan and Laura, but I forgot how that was supposed to play out. I have two fight scenes, a hunt, a dance, a ceremony, and none of these are forming in my head.

Ugh!

Too Funny

2008-05-07T14:23:57Z

You know what I would love to be doing right now?

Printing up my full to mail out.

I can't though, 'cause, um, I used up all my printer ink printing it up for my daughter. And...I'd go buy some more except we seriously only have $50. That's it! I'm so delirious from lack of sleep that I think this is like ROTF funny.

Can I call myself a starving artist yet? Okay, I can't. I'm actually not starving because I'm munching on a hot dog and some Doritos as I type this. And I know very well that hot dogs and Doritos aren't on my post-book diet, but I mean, I'm working on a new book, so I don't have to diet anymore! YAY!

What a relief. I'm going to have to start a new diet plan with this one though. Usually I live off peanut butter and jelly when I'm writing. Not good.

Dear IRS,

Where the heck is my tax rebate already??? Work computer depositer people at the IRS--work! Your country needs you!

Our bird families

2008-05-05T16:27:30Z

Here's a pic of the baby robins sound and secure after a yummy breakfast fed by Mom and Dad Robin.

Sorry it's a bit overexposed. I just stood on the chair and held the camera over it, hoping for a good angle.

Here's the mama dove on our front porch. I think the eggs must have hatched cause she's been on her nest all morning. The robins are out doing whatever it is birds do at mid-morning. *G*

You know, this could be the dad. I can't remember which one actually stays at the nest with doves.

A reason for everything under the sun.

2008-05-05T04:28:08Z

We have a dove's nest outside our front porch in one of my hanging pots I left up through the winter. My husband, through much sweet talking daily, is allowed to pet the mama. When it rained the other night he turned the pot to the inside of the porch to keep her dry. We've been waiting on those two eggs to hatch. *G*

On our back porch there is a robin's nest. Today my son went out there to put a shovel up. He stayed out there. I was in my rocking chair reading, not far from the back door that was left open. My oldest daughter went out after several unexplained noises erupted. I asked repeatedly what he was doing, but got no response. Then a crash sounded, several thumps and a barrage of bird screeching.

When I got to the door, my oldest daughter stood on the steps in shock and my four-year-old was pointing at two baby birds on the porch floor.

"He touched them!" she said. "The mama won't come back now. I learned it in Science."

"Not true," I told her and went to get my garden gloves.

"But that's what my Science book said!"

"Not so." I put both babies back in the nest, marveling at their wide mouths gaping, then stuck the nest back in the door jam where it was to begin with. Of course, I had to use the chair my son had used to climb up in and poke at the nest. The little snot. I'm assuming he was trying to tilt the nest so he could see in since Daddy wasn't at home to lift him.

We left the blinds open on the door and sure enough the mama returned this evening. My daughter was stressed the whole time, though I assured her if the mama bird didn't come back I knew how to take care of the babies. I mean, considering how much research I had to do on starlings for ITLOF, I'm thinking I could handle it.

"I am soo glad you wrote that book," she said.

LOL!

Mama, turn you head!

2008-05-02T22:14:20Z

Yes, he said you. :-) He was putting his shoes on to go outside and play. I told him he had them on the wrong feet. "Ahh," he said and took them off. He then told me to turn my head. This was so that I wouldn't see if he did it again and he could go ahead outside to play. LOL.

Last night he asked for a pity ride down the sidewalk at the ball park. "Sure," I said and bent down so he could climb on my back. I don't know, maybe pity makes more sense to him than piggy?

Learning Characters

2008-04-30T14:54:03Z

So a friend of mine asked me the other day how I learned my characters without using an outline or doing those character sheets. I was puzzled. I really don't forget my characters eye colors, quirks, likes and dislikes. But they come up while I'm writing, so are stuck in my head well.

"Yes, but what about voice? Or how do you know how a character will react to certain things?"

Ha! And the answer found me. I write by what I call a dot-to-dot method. Usually my first scenes in a new WIP are scenes that contain conflict and are the major turning points in the book.

Put any person in a stressful situation and their true colors will shine through. You learn them well. Are they a coward? Strong willed, a fighter, determined. Do they give up easily? Can they keep their sense of humor under stress, or do they turn rabid?

I use the snowflake method to plan my books, but only use the first step which creates a short blurb. In this sense, I can create an entire book from one sentence. If you've never used it, I must say his method is amazing. Having the ability to tailor it to your own creativity is such a blessing.

But for me, turning points are written first and then all I have to do is work my way to each goal point.

We all know combining techniques is sometimes the best way to get things done. So, how do you learn your characters?

They took over

2008-04-27T15:28:57Z

And just like that... I am in love.

The world has faded, ITLOF has faded, my house, though I realize is messy, just doesn't seem that bad. Everywhere I turn I see my characters. Everything I do my mind is halfway on them. I close my eyes and immediately I'm in their world, hearing them, seeing them, and feeling them.

Thank God!

Mother's Day

2008-04-24T15:28:35Z

Whatcha gonna get your mom?

What do you want?

Okay Friendlies...

2008-04-21T21:31:51Z

I'm off to opening night at the ball field! I'll catch up with everyone's posts when I get home. And...I bought my son a new shirt today.

I know. Big deal. BUT. It had a sticker on it that I had to remove. The sticker said: This shirt glows in the dark.

I've been studying on how to write humor. I started thinking about what if?

What if my toenails glowed in the dark?

What if my teeth did?

What if my awesome characters in my new WIP sneezed and their spit glowed in the dark? So cool! It would be pretty, if nothing else. *G*

I know this is all silly, but I'm supposed to be letting my creative side get as stupid as can be with this humor course.

Off to cheer my youngest daughter on in the 80 degree weather. *G*

Friendless

2008-04-21T14:14:04Z

I finally started a Myspace page and now I feel all alone. If anybody has a page then please add me!

My page.

The gloom is lifting

2008-04-20T21:42:08Z

Can you feel it?

I certainly can. Take a look at your friends page. Mine is full of happy posts. True, everyone might still be struggling with the same problems as before, but somehow things just look brighter.

I think it's spring.

Tagged!

2008-04-20T00:06:03Z

I've been tagged by sarah_create in the nearest book Meme.

Here are your rules, my dear taggees. Yes, your rules of play.

1. Pick up the nearest book.
2. Open to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five people and post a comment to sarah_create's blog (your tagees will post to mine, etc.) once you've posted your three sentences.

The book nearest me is No Rest for the Wicked by Kresley Cole--and a better bit of yummy candy I haven't read in a while. *G*

"With a shrug, he drew it out, then held it above his heart. His lips parted when it vanished. It bloody worked for him, too?"

Now, who should I tag?

sometimegoddess you are tagged!
rosemaryinwheat you are tagged!
latteya you are tagged!
brimfire you are tagged!
fandoria you are tagged!

Let's not get too excited...

2008-04-16T15:04:05Z

but I have a small Crucible snippet to share. Very slowly goes this book. *G*

"I wouldn't do it," he advised, the underlying tone to his words bordering on humor.

My eyes shot to his face, brows flashing up quickly in surprise.

"I can't read minds." He stretched his legs out, opening them wider as if to taunt me. "But I know body language."

"I didn't move," I said and pulled my feet into the seat, tucking my knees under my chin. He wasn't touching me and my fear had turned to defense. But there was no defense, so all I could do was hide. There was nowhere to hide either.

"You looked at my crotch," he said, "then your entire focus switched to the right and your head tilted slightly down. I'm sure you didn't notice your movement—not something you would think to notice. Besides—" The dark shadows of his shoulders lifted in a shrug. "You've been taught for as far back as you remember to attack a man that way. I'm not a man though am I?"

The missing friend page.

2008-04-15T12:18:51Z

I looked and looked for it, but it seemed no one was posting this weekend. No one was posting yesterday and I knew fandoria was supposed to post something--she told me she was! And yet... my friends page only had up last Friday's posts. I went to fandoria's journal and lo and behold there sat her new post. Why then was it not on my friends page? I went back to my friends page after replying and suddenly it was full of new posts, tons of new posts, posts that go back past this weekend. ????

So sorry if I missed any important news. My friends page has been playing a very nasty game with me.

A small break

2008-04-12T04:10:37Z

First off, some help please...

My brother, jdpruett , has a painting displayed on his LJ he'd like identified if you want to stop by and help him out. BTW, feel free to add him to your friends list if you'd like.

Our ball fields have been under some construction, awning over the bleachers, a new stand for the scorekeepers, etc. All the rain has delayed this, which has then given us an extra week before the season starts. Whew! A short breather. I've been so busy I don't know if I'm coming or going most of the time. I've been squeezing in bits of research for my current WIP in my spare moments--few and far between, I promise.

I sat down today to try and write a bit but realized I'm afraid to. I think (or hope) this has to do with the fact I came down with one of those nasty colds that have been floating around. My head's so full of gunk I think it might roll off my shoulders at any moment. I really, really hope this writing fear will pass. My fingers are crossed, that's for sure.

I hope everyone is doing well and happy writing!

Please don't think I'm not reading.

2008-04-08T02:31:51Z

Life has kicked into high gear for me this week, so if I fall behind with my replies to my friends this is why. It doesn't mean I'm not reading, because I am. It just means by the time I get to sit down and read my friends page late at night, I'm too tired to string together coherent sentences for a reply. I'm thinking, lols and oh mys will probably get old after a while--even though that's about all my mind allows me to think at that time. *G* Love ya all and I am here, just having a bit of a delayed reaction thing going on.

And I'll have you all know that my LJ friends page is probably the only blogs I am reading lately. Don't you feel so special now!

I remember when I was a kid...

2008-04-04T16:44:38Z

I would tell my mom, "I'm bored."

And she would say, "Then go clean your room, read a book, dust my furniture for me."

I would say, "No. I'm too bored."

Welcome to the writer who is too bored to write.

Guess what this is?

It is the very last of the past summer's green beans. And this means... The rain has to let up so I can plant some more! The menu for tonight is roast, green beans, mashed potatoes, the last of the corn, and home baked bread--again. I'll not mention what happened to the first three loaves of bread. I do have some pride. *G*

So then my four-year-old who is just as tired of being cooped up in the house grabbed a handful of Q-tips and ran past me.

I said, "Don't get no more of those. They are not toys!" Yes, well, yeah, I have bad grammar.

So here I sat all bored and all trying to find something to do on the internet when suddenly my son sings out in perfect tune, "Bum Bob Squarepants."

I turned around where he was playing on his rug thing he's determined is his. (It's leftover from the new living room carpet and he drags it everywhere as his play rug.)

This is what I found.

So yeah, I think he's quite talented.