Friday Catch-All

Last night, I received a rejection on another query. This one didn't bother me as much, since the only material sent was the query letter & she wasn't one of my "dream" agents. She's still an excellent agent, but I think it hurts a little more when it's one you reeeeaaaally wanted.

It didn't sting like some of the others before it did (maybe I'm growing more tolerant of rejection?), but it does cause the doubt weasels to pop-up. Was it my query letter? Did she open it at a bad time? Is my idea not anywhere near as close to interesting as I thought it was? What if no one else asks to see my partials?

Instead of letting it get inside my head though, I'm using it as proof that I need to get on the ball and send out more queries!! I've been far too casual about the whole process. I need to be more aggressive going forward.

Current Query Stats (including the stats from the OLD query letter):
Queries Sent: 9
Rejections: 6
Partials Requested: 1
Fulls Requested: 0
Rejection of Requested: 0

Blog Update -- Starting next week, I'm cutting back to posting 3 entries a week (Mon, Wed, Fri). I want to be able to spend the off days catching up on the other blogs I don't get around to as much, because I'm spending so much time on my own. I LOVE blogging, but I have to find a way to cut down on how time consuming it can be, so I can spend more time on the silly thing we call writing. I think this way will work -- however, I allow myself the opportunity to change my mind whenever I choose!

Happy Friday, All!  Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Hooked on Phonics, Does Not Work For Me

If there is an area of my writing I know is a potential pitfall -- aside from my comma usage paranoia and tendency to lean a little heavy on the ellipsis -- it's my spelling skills.

I know the whole "I before E, except after C" mantra, but it's surprising how many exceptions there are to that rule, and my ability to find them.

Microsoft Word's auto-correction is both a blessing and a curse, because it fixes most of those mistakes for me. Unfortunately, it takes me that much longer to burn the correct spelling into my brain. Not to mention, I feel lost when MS Word isn't a fallback option.

Perfect example of this is a comment I just left on Terry's awesome blog, A Writer of Wrongs. In my comment to him, I was using this whole analogy that revolved around being a fish (you have to read the comment to understand. It makes sense, I swear). Anyway, right at the end I wanted to use the word barracuda ... except I didn't know how to spell it correctly.

Blogger, unlike my beloved MS word, doesn't really give you much help other than the nasty red, dotted underline that says "Hey Idiot, this isn't a real word, ya know." After several failed attempts at guessing a correct spelling, I finally gave up and went with shark instead.  

Then I decided to look the spelling up in the dictionary. It took me forever, because my freaking "Hooked on Phonics" style brain was thinking the second letter was an "E"... and when that didn't pan out, I went to "U". Ten minutes later, when I went with my third choice for the letter "A", I found it.

Normally, I think of myself as a relatively intelligent person, but at times like this I find myself questioning that notion.

I'll tell you one thing ... I doubt I'll ever forget how to spell barracuda now! In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if that darned word doesn't find a way to work itself into every future manuscript I write.

The Ultimate Villain

My struggling Baltimore Orioles won their 4th game of the season last night. You know what's even better than the victory? It's WHO they beat -- the New York Yankees.


When it comes to baseball fans, and their thoughts on the Bronx Bombers, there are two groups:  You either LOVE the Yankees, or you HATE the Yankees.   

In the world of baseball, the team is non-affectionately known as The Evil Empire. (In most sports, despite long-standing rivalries, there is always ONE team that most fans love to hate more than any other).  


The Yankees play the role of the ultimate villain. They spend the most money, buy the best players, have a long history of winning championships, and carry a swagger into each game as though they expect  to win. It's easy to cast them in the role as the big, bad bully on the MLB playground. 


Are the Yankees all bad? As much as it pains me to say this - No, they're not. But it adds an extra level of excitement when you beat a foe. 


As humans, we almost always need a Good Guy and a Bad Guy (though sometimes the "bad guy" is a situation rather than a person, ie. cancer, earthquake, etc).  to give us true motivation.

There may be other instances -  I'm drawing a blank right now - where I've been sympathetic to the villain's plight. Although the only "Bad Guy" I can recall actively rooting for is the Wylie Coyote. No lie, I wanted him to catch that damned Road Runner with his condescending "MEEP, MEEP!" like you wouldn't believe!!


More than anything, I get sucked into books and movies where the villain is someone I loathe. When I can put myself in the place of the hero/heroine, and imagine myself willing to do whatever it takes to beat the "Bad Guy", I'm likely to enjoy the experience much more.


I have a couple of my own favorites; villains I love to hate, but I want to hear from you guys. Let's put together a big list - for tomorrow's post - of ideas for great villains to check out (or revisit) in our spare time. An Ultimate Villians list. So give me your thoughts...


Who are your favorite Bad Guys? What character has made your skin crawl, or left you wanting to physically hit something? They can be from books, movies, television shows or songs, whatever.  Just let me know who you love to hate and where they're from!