Friday - Caption Contest Day!!

TGIF!  I hope everyone is looking forward to a great weekend.  Mother Nature is teasing us with spring weather here.  Still nippy outside but the tulips, the forsythia and all the flowering trees are in full bloom - beautiful color everywhere.

And it's time for my bi-weekly Caption Contest.  I've got some great pictures for you to caption this week.  Do one or all.  Don't forget to include your e-mail address in your comment to be included in this week's drawing for a free book (winner's choice from assorted titles).  Here are the pictures.  Have fun.

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Okay, what did you come up with?

Got any plans for the weekend?

Don't forget that Small Tales - the cross-genre short story anthology - is accepting submissions until May 31.  We've love to receive one from you.


I'm currently enjoying: Black Water Rising by Attica Locke

Groaner of the day: The teacher asked if anyone could tell the class a story with a moral. Little Johnny volunteered the following:

"Out west, in the town of Diablo, there was a guy named Dan, who was president of the Creative Credit Loan Company. Dan was proud of being able to arrange loans for almost anyone. One day as he was locking up for the night, some tough guys accosted him and started to push him around because he was just a little guy.  They didn't know he held a Third Degree Black Belt in Karate. Dan counterattacked, and gave the tough guys a thrashing they wouldn't forget."

Said the teacher, "Good, Johnny, now tell us what is the moral of your story."

Johnny replied, "Well, the moral is, if you're ever out west, don't mess around with the loan arranger."

(Hi-O-Silver. Away!)

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Today I'm just rambling, thinking about the good, the bad, and the ugly.

The Good 

A good book...  I blew off my entire day's do-list yesterday and read ONE WAS A SOLDIER by Julia Spencer-Fleming.  Wasn't planning to do that - the story was just too good to put down.  Thank you, Julia.

My local writers' group meeting last night...  I got some really useful feedback on a scene from my WIP and got to read some good stuff from the other writers. 

The Bad

My do-list...  How have I gotten so far behind?  I owe critques to my crit group, need to read submissions for the Small Tales project, my e-mail inbox runneth over, my folder of blogs I want to go back and read is bursting at the seams, I have homework to do in two online classes, and my WIP is filing charges for abandonment. (Not to mention I'm writing my Wednesday morning blog post at 3:00 on Wednesday afternoon.)

My local writers' group meeting last night...  We had a couple newer members who didn't quite grasp the concept of constructive criticism and one new writer whose work was so riddled with errors  (although the premise was intriguing) it was almost painful to read, and who explained she never worries about grammar and such, she'll let her editor take care of all that. 

The Ugly

Watching someone you love getting old...  I took my dear Brandi to the park across the street this morning.  It used to be a challenge to keep her home. She was a talented escape artist who loved to get free and run for miles.  Now I don't even need her leash.  She totters a short way, sniffing here and peeing there, then tires and turns for home. 

The start of the baseball season...  My beloved Red Sox stumbled coming out of the gate this year and look like that old lady from the TV commercial, "Help. I've fallen and I can't get up."

Anything good, bad, or ugly going on in your world ?

I'm currently enjoying: Just finished One Was a Soldier by Julie Spencer-Fleming

Groaner of the day: Don't join dangerous cults: Practice safe sects!

Who is This Strange Person? Getting to Know Your Characters

My stories almost always begin in my mind with a tiny flash of a scene. Sometimes it will be an actual scene – I was walking through an almost deserted parking lot one very foggy evening, noticing how the street lamps played in the fog, and all of a sudden there was a man, crouching between the cars, trying to find one that was unlocked, because he was shot…yeah, that’s it…and the shooter was still after him, because he had witnessed a murder, and… Well, you know what I mean.

So I have a snippet of a scene and at least one character. Next step? Well, for me, it’s always figuring out who that character is. Before I can think about plot (and I am a plotter) I have to know my starting character; who may not even end up being my main character.

But how do I get to know this character?

I’m a pack rat. I tend to save things, anything I think will come in handy. This includes tossing interesting blogs into a Favorites folder to re-visit later. I took a look in that folder yesterday and found over a dozen blogs written about knowing your character.

Distilling them down, here are the most common methods:

Interview your character – sit down over an imaginary cup of coffee and ask them everything you want to know

Develop a detailed character history (even if little, if any, will be included in your story) - include parents, siblings, home town, childhood, education, early loves, traumatic events, dreams and plans, etc.

Write a detailed character sketch (again, go beyond what will be included in your story) – physical description, personality traits, friends, habits (including little quirks), attitudes, passions, fears, etc. I added music and sports to my list.

What I found interesting was no one suggested using faith, politics, or current social issues. I wouldn’t recommend including your character’s stand on a really divisive current social issue (unless it’s germane to your story and/or you want to alienate some potential readers) but wouldn’t it help you understand the character to know where he/she would stand and why? The same would be true of faith/religious beliefs and political leanings.  Would your character have the same stands/beliefs as you?  Why or why not?   Answering some of these questions could really help you get inside a character.

How about you? How do you get to know your characters?

I'm currently enjoying: One Was a Soldier by Julie Spencer-Fleming

Groaner of the day: No matter how much you push the envelope, it'll still be stationery.

Burning Questions of the Day

It's Friday. The end of the week. TGIF!  I know you just LOVE my Friday caption contest but it's been a long week and I'm really tired.

I thought you might be, too.

So rather than tax your brain with a lot of photos to caption, I'm going to wrap up this week by posing some very serious questions for you to ponder.

1. Is it good if a vacuum really sucks?

2. If a word is misspelled in the dictionary, how would we ever know?

3. Why do we say something is out of whack? What is a whack?

4. Why does "fat chance" and "slim chance" mean the same thing?

5. Why do we sing "Take me out to theball game" when we are already there?

6. Why is it called "after dark" when it really is "after light"?

7. Doesn't "expecting the unexpected" make the unexpected expected?

8. If all the world is a stage, where is the audience sitting?

Fear not. The Friday Caption Contest will return next week.

So...how are you spending your weekend?


I'm currently enjoying: Beaglemania by Linda O. Johnston

Groaner of the day: For a while, Houdini used a lot of trap doors in his act, but he was just going through a stage.

A Lovely Award

I actually had a post already to go for today on different methods of building characters then I received this lovely award, which has a few rules attached so I'm going to save that other post for later and enjoy this award.

The rules for accepting this award are:

1. Thank and link back to the person who gave you the award.

2. Share 7 things about yourself.

3. Pass the award on.

Well, that first one is easy.  A big thank you to my WOWA buddie, Stacy McKitrick at Stacy's Rantings and Whatnot .

Hmmm.  7 things about myself...

1 - I'm an ice cream addict.  Which may explain why I'm always trying to lose weight.

2 - My favorite breed of dog is the American Mixed (spelled M-U-T-T).  All my dogs have come from shelters or unwanted litters, except for the one who just showed up and moved in.

3 - I'm a Red Cross disaster volunteer.  I've worked ice storms, floods, tornados, hurricanes, and the World Trade Center site after 9/11.

4 - I'm very unconfortable in strange situations or in large groups where I don't know anyone...which makes item #3 a bit more difficult.

5 - My first car, shared with my older brother, was a convertible.  My current car is a convertible.  I call it my mid-life-crisis-mobile.  I love to ride with the top down.

6 - I am a passionate Boston Red Sox fan.  And I don't want to talk about our slow start this season.

7 - I have four grandkids who are all incredibly beautiful, intelligent, talented, and generally extraordinary.  I am grateful for this because it means I don't have to make up good stuff about them.

Now - to pass this award along.  I'd like to give this award to these lovely ladies:

Maria Zannini
Liz Fichera
Mary Vaughn at Giggles and Guns
Mason Canyon at Thoughts in Progress
and last but certainly not least, Dru Ann Love at Notes From Me


I'm currently enjoying: Beaglemania by Linda O. Johnston

Groaner of the day: Yesterday I accidentally swallowed some food coloring. The doctor says I'm OK, but I feel like I've dyed a little inside.

The Ties That Bind

Congratulations to Melanie (kissablesweet1)!! She's the winner in our Caption Contest drawing. Melanie has selected as her prize, DEADLY HEAT by Cynthia Eden. Thanks to everyone who participated. You came up with some great captions.

Now on to today's topic -

We had a sad event in the family this weekend.  My dad had to have his aged cocker spaniel, Freckles, put to sleep.  I felt bad for my dad, of course, but there was something more.  Something personal.  I realized it was because Freckles had been my mom's dog, too, before Mom passed away five years ago.  Freckles had been a tie to the past for me and losing her was like losing another little piece of my mom. 

We all have them, our ties to the past.  Old friends, places we go back to, things we keep "because of the memories".  They're part of who we are.  But what about our characters?  When you're creating a character, especially a main character, do you remember to give him/her those ties that bind?  A mention of a keepsake, the story behind a favorite resturant, a reference to an old friend - even if these things don't figure prominently in your story - will give your character a sense of personal history.  So that you and your readers will remember this character's life did not begin with chapter one.

Do you add personal ties to the past for your characters?  What kind do you use?

I'm currently enjoying: Beaglemania by Linda O. Johnston

Groaner of the day: The four Goldberg brothers, Lowell, Norman, Hiram, and Max, invented and developed the first automobile air-conditioner. On July 17, 1946, the temperature in Detroit was 97 degrees. The four brothers walked into old man Henry Ford’s office and sweet-talked his secretary into telling him that four gentlemen were there with the most exciting innovation in the auto industry since the electric starter.

Henry was curious and invited them into his office. They refused and instead asked that he come out to the parking lot to their car. They persuaded him to get into the car, which was about 130 degrees, turned on the air conditioner, and cooled the car off immediately.

The old man got very excited and invited them back to the office, where he offered them $3 million for the patent. The brothers refused, saying they would settle for $2 million, but they wanted the recognition by having a label, “The Goldberg Air Conditioner” on the dashboard of each car in which it was installed.

Now Henry wasn't about to have anyone's name on his cars but his own.  They haggled back and forth for about two hours and finally agreed on $4 million, and that just their first names would be shown.

And so to this day, all Ford air conditioners show “Lo”, “Norm”, “Hi”, and “Max” on the controls.

Another Friday Caption Contest

Okay, it's Friday and I've got some great pictures for you.  In fact, some of these are so darn cute, the only caption I could come up with was "Awwww."  So put on your thinking caps, give me your best caption for one or all (or anything in between), and your name will go into the hat for this week's drawing.  (Please leave your e-mail address in your comment.)

But first...please notice on the upper left the logo and link to Small Tales.  If you didn't see my Wednesday post, Small Tales is a new cross-genre short story anthology created by writers and readers for writers and readers.  For readers, a collection of good stories in an assortment of genres that may include some types you haven't read before.  A chance to try something new.  For writers, a chance to show your stuff, pick up some fans, and maybe get noticed by an agent or editor. 

If you have a good story collecting dust somewhere, get it out, dust it off, and send it in.  Got an idea bouncing around the back of your mind you haven't written yet?  You've got two months to get it written, polished, and sent in.  Even if you're not interested in submitting, stop by the Small Tales blog and say hi.  It's kind of lonely being the new kid on the block.

Okay, on to this week's pictures.

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Okay, let's see those captions!  And have a great weekend!

It's opening day for my Red Sox!  GO SOX!!! 

I'm currently enjoying: Beaglemania by Linda O. Johnston

Groaner of the day: Ten Thousand years ago the first humans came to North America by crossing over from Russia to Alaska. They hadn't actually intended to do this. They got lost and couldn't get their Berings Strait.