Thoughts on Writing: Hot-Button Topics

While reviewing the most recent batch of stories for the literary magazine, a few insights came to me that I wished to record and share. Why? Because with every story read or written, I learn a bit more about the craft. And I know that most of my flist are writers and many of you also like to discuss these things, so I thought I'd toss my thoughts out to be chewed on by the masses, so I'm going to try to periodically mull over what does and doesn't work for me in fiction-writing. We will call them Booda Bones of Writing. :^P

I hate feeling that I need a disclaimer on these sorts of posts, but alas, I do, so here goes...

Requisite Disclaimer to Henceforth Be Applied to All Present and Future Thoughts-on-Writing Posts:
What follows are some of my observations and opinions based on what I am learning about the craft of writing. I do not claim to have the answers nor do I claim to be an arbiter of quality in writing. Actually, I don't even believe in such a thing as "quality" in an art form, least of all writing. I am on the same road on the same journey as any other writer. What follows are observations of what works for me. Maybe not you...me. We can be different. You are welcome to disagree with me: that is why I have called this series of topics "Booda Bones" because we're all supposed to chew them into an unrecognizable pulp. I always welcome discussion of all sorts in my LJ. But if you find your feelings hurt or feel offended by this post, I think that you are reading it wrongly. Revisit disclaimer. Rinse. Repeat. Thank you. ;)

( Don't Touch that Button! (but by all means, click the cut....) )

Busy, Busy, Busy!

Sheesh. It's been a long time since I posted. (The writing post I just posted, I have been working on for most of the past week, off and on. I mean an actual, honest-t'-goodness, all-about-life post.) I've been busy. Busy editing and writing, busy rehearsing for my show on Wednesday, busy spending quality time with my hubby. This was Memorial Weekend here in the good ol' US of A, so we had a three-day weekend. Bobby and I took a trip out to Western Maryland on Saturday to go to Cunningham Falls State Park, but I save that for a separate post since I have lots of pictures to go along with it!

( Dawn's Life in the Past Week, in (Hopefully) Less Than 500 Words )

That's all for now. I will be following with pic spam posts of the house finch family that moved onto our balcony last month as well as the Saturday trip to Cunningham Falls.

While I am thinking of it: Is anyone willing to post the weekly Silmarillion reading for me at the Henneth-Annun Yahoo list while I am gone to Puerto Rico? The posts are done on Sunday (generally, I try to have them done by 1-2 p.m. EST), a chapter per week. I will be gone for two Sundays, the 18 and 25 of June. I will email you the chapter summaries that I have written; all that you will have to do is paste them into an email and click SEND. It will take no more than two minutes.

Please let me know in a comment or an email if you can help me out with this. Thanks in advance!

We Have Finches on Our Balcony

About a month ago, I noticed that a pair of house finches were showing some interest in our hanging basket of snapdragons. I noticed a lot of fluttering in and out and knew what that meant.

So I pulled the basket down to toss out the bird's nest before it got too far underway or (worse) had eggs in it...and I was too late. There was the most precious, tiny little nest with five little eggs in it. Of course, I got all excited and squeeful and started checking it regularly and documenting my finds with pictures.

The baby birds are eleven days old today. Here are the pictures that I have of them so far.

( Baby-Bird Pic Spam! )