Conversations with Captain Obvious

May 7, 2013 at 8:02 am (Funny Stuff)
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Things are busy in the Corbett household today, so I dug through the archives and pulled out a long-time favorite. Hope you enjoy!

I just spent the entire weekend having long, contentious arguments with Captain Obvious.

Who is Captain Obvious?

Well, it’s simple really.

Captain Obvious stops by for a visit every time I read a sentence, paragraph, or, regrettably, sometimes even a page, where I’ve told my reader repeat, or unnecessary information that doesn’t move the storyline along.

Here’s a snippet of a recent conversation…

“Hey!” yelled Captain Obvious. “You’ve told them that already!”

“But, no, you don’t understand,” my stammering protests fill the air. “These words—they’re so beautiful, so brilliant; I simply can’t bear to send them away.”  

“Loser!” Captain Obvious charged forward with the harsh truth, completely oblivious to my tender fragility. “There’s only so many times you have to tell the reader that people on the Oregon Trail who don’t have water ARE THIRSTY, AND LOOK FOR IT A LOT!”

Regrettably, Captain Obvious is usually right.

Highlight. Delete. Move on.

How about you? How do you deal with the big meanie who tells you when your writing isn’t working?

4 Comments

Quote Friday

April 12, 2013 at 1:00 am (Writing)
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Today’s quote is from Reba McEntire…

To succeed in life, you need three things: a wishbone, a backbone, and a funnybone.

4 Comments

Bunch of Random Fun

March 19, 2013 at 1:00 am (Family, Writing)
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I don’t really have a focus for this blog post, so instead it will be a bunch of fun stuff I’ve saved up.

How do I know it’s springtime in the Corbett house? Easy, there’s worms in the fridge for the hubby’s fishing excursions. And now the twins are starting to love fishing as well. As you can see by the picture below, the hubby taught them about fishing early.

good day 002

 

Next bit of randomness…

Have you ever considered books as art? Click HERE to see pictures of books that have been transformed into actual miniature landscapes.

Onto more fun…

Click HERE for an interesting article about Google+, and the potential benefits to authors.

Click HERE if you’re wondering why your blog isn’t getting comments.

Click HERE for a list of the lies writer’s tell.

What about you? Do you have any fun, random bits of info to share? Perhaps about your writing?

4 Comments

Quote Friday

March 1, 2013 at 9:13 am (Family)
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Today’s quote comes from Thomas Edison…

Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.

And here’s proof…this picture was taken during my daughter’s first attempt to wink, and now she’s a pro!

wink

10 Comments

A Belated Quote Day

February 5, 2013 at 1:00 am (Writing)
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Last week was an exciting one for me so Friday’s blog post slipped right by. So now, without further ado, is a quote to enjoy.

Today’s quote is by Henry David Thoreau…

If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with success unexpected in common hours. 

And make sure to check back here on Friday, where I hopefully will have an update on my Birthday wish :D .  I can’t say anything yet, so instead I’ll leave you with a picture that reminds me of the home of one of my book’s characters.

Jake outside shot

9 Comments

Repost: Using Pictures as Inspiration

January 22, 2013 at 4:29 pm (Writing)
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(I’m re-running an older post today because it’s a busy time in the Corbett household. Hope you enjoy!)

I’ve always struggled with envisioning how my characters look, or for that matter, how anything looks. The blinking cursor mocks me when it comes time to describe a character’s hair/eye color, what they are wearing, or the layout of a house/land.

But, I’ve got a really good way of looking at something and then incorporating it into my novels. So, I use pictures, or actual items to solve my problem.

Here’s an example of a silver set that is of major importance in my novel. It originally belonged to my main character’s mother, who then passed it along to her daughter (the main character), who then takes it along with her on the Oregon Trail.

The comb/brush set are used several times during scenes where the main character cannot get all the snarls out of her filthy hair, and the jewelry box with the red velvet lining is mentioned quite a few times as well.

When I wrote certain scenes, I wanted to be able to portray the weight of the brush in my character’s hand as she picked it up from the dresser, to see for myself how long it would take for the brush to work through a snarl (hint…it took a LONG time), and feel the lining of the jewelry against my fingertips. I really wanted my descriptions to be authentic.

But I had one big problem…

All I ever had growing up was the “ballerina spins to music when the lid is raised” variety of jewelry boxes, so I had no clue of what an actual silver set would be like, look like, or feel like.

So I bought a set off Craigslist, brought it home, and thoroughly checked it out. Now I know for certain that the entire set will in fact fit nicely into a saddlebag so I know that my main character will be able to take it along on the trail.

And my daughter gets a really nice silver set when she’s older.

How do you authenticate items portrayed in your writing?

4 Comments

Unused Writing Books? Do a #bookswap

November 27, 2012 at 9:07 am (Writing)
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In the middle of the night (isn’t that always when the best ideas hit?) I had an idea about what to do with my writing books I no longer use.

Given that Twitter is used widely by writers, how about we advertise books using the  #bookswap hashtag?

For example, I have a book titled, The Marshall Plan for Novel Writing that I no longer use. So I’m going to put it up as a possible #bookswap on Twitter, and hope I can find it a good home with a fellow writer. And maybe that person will have one they no longer use and I could benefit from, hence the swap.

Does this seem like a good idea? Would you consider giving away a book in this manner?

11 Comments

Repost: Words and Roast, Let them Rest!

November 20, 2012 at 1:00 am (Family, Writing)
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I’ve got tons of family coming (and some staying for a few days) for Thanksgiving. While I fret over my lack of planning which has now led to a frantic dash to create a clean house, a decent menu plan, and eek out time to grocery shop for everything please enjoy this old post.

Hey, at least I went to the effort of finding a food-related one :)

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Making dinner last night I had an epiphany

*Ok, well to be honest, and to further understand the meaning of this post, I have to confess I was merely heating up dinner*

Anyway.

Yesterday, I made a fantastic roast dinner. Big hunk of chuck, russet potatoes, carrots, added water and a variety of seasonings and then topped it all off with three cloves of garlic.

My kids are picky and one is a very slooooow eater, and they even scarfed it up.

So yes, it was delicious.

Now, today was leftover day. Heat up whats left on low and let it simmer for at least half an hour to activate all the goodness, throw some fresh Ciabiattia bread slathered with butter in the oven to get all hot and crispy and you’ve got another great meal.

Anyway.

As I ate tonight, I noticed everything in the roast tasted better. The flavors of the seasoning, meat, veggies, and garlic were no longer totally distinct from the other. It all had mingled together until each bite was savory perfection.

Now is where I circle this back around to writing :)

Is it possible that writing could be looked at this in a similar manner?

Figure out your meal plan=getting the “big idea” to your novel

Gather all the ingredients=doing your research, figuring out characters

Prepping the food (cutting veggies, searing meat, etc)=Writing the outline

Actually cooking the meal=First draft

Checking on progress, reseasoning to taste=Revising and rewriting

Leftovers in the fridge=letting your work rest and moving on to other projects, learning more about the craft of writing itself, attending conferences, networking

Being pleasantly surprised by leftovers=You left your draft alone and now all your work is about to pay off on the next round of edits.  You’ve gained the skills needed to fix plot holes, character issues, punctuation and grammar problems, etc…

Ok, I just REALLY took the long way around the barn to make a simple point.

What are your thoughts about letting your work rest while focusing on other writing related activities? Is that part of your writing process?

3 Comments

Querying

November 13, 2012 at 1:00 am (Query, Writing)
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Since I’ve hopped aboard the query train, I’ve spent  way too much time dithering about on “How to not write a sucky query” sites  a reasonable amount of time freaking out    agonizing over every word   going over my letter.

Last week I ran across a post called The Five Stages of Querying Grief, which explains the querying process perfectly.

(For the record, I’m at Stage five :)  )

How about you? How was the query process? Any highlights, lowlights, or advice you’d like to share?  

6 Comments

GoodReads Newbie Needs Advice

October 30, 2012 at 1:00 am (Writing)
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Anyone out there using Goodreads on a regular basis? I’ve checked out the site and think it’s a valuable tool for readers and writers alike, but I’m just not sure where to start :) .

4 Comments

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