Rita Arens's Blog, page 39

The Christmas Tree I Thought I'd Want

My aunts always had real Christmas trees with ornaments that matched perfectly and ribbons tied to the boughs, at least they did in my memory. I remember going over to friends' houses and seeing trees with all white ornaments or themes that changed a bit every year. My parents indulged my desires with regard to the tree on certain things, but we never did have a real tree. I can't remember why. Probably because they're flammable and expensive and kind of a pain in the ass.

My first year in Ka...

Thoughts on Staying in Love

In no particular order. Staying in love is less about evading dramatic catastrophes and more about avoiding death by a thousand paper cuts.

1) Make sure you are loved back. After a while it gets difficult to respect yourself if your love is unrequited.

2) There are many observations best made only inside one's head, particularly concerning annoying but innocuous habits. Do you want to be constantly evaluated? Didn't think so.

3) Quote your loved one back to him or herself when he or she makes a...

Does It Matter How You Make Decisions?

Occupational hazard: I read a zillion articles and posts and tweets and emails and pitches every day, and sometimes these things synthesize into unnecessary navel-gazing in the evening hours. This makes my head hurt.

Information bias– the tendency to seek information even when it cannot affect action

Yesterday I read this New York Times article about the cost of raising a child. (Newflash: They're expensive!) The writer had already decided not to have kids, and she justified that decision...

What's Real About Falling in Love

This morning I woke up thinking about falling in love. I'm not sure if it was the end notes of a dream or the cozy feeling of coming off three nights spent alone with Beloved and no little angel, but I woke up with that feeling in my throat of the first time someone says, "I think I love you."

A few minutes ago, I read Schmutzie's post on happiness, and I thought about waking up to thinking about love. My husband and I ran into a college kid on our recent trip, and the kid asked if we were ma...

The Ability to Still See Beauty

Today the Strangers in my Inbox brought me this video. I was struck by how this photographer worries he'll get too jaded to see the beauty walking by him on the street. My dad told me once anything is interesting if you know the details, and my writing professor told me the whole subject is here: ( ), but your article is here: ().

Art is in the details, but getting down to the details takes quite a bit of time, and there are always things buzzing around my head trying to distract me. This ne...

What to Do About Your Pain in the Neck

It's returned, yes it has, the neck and upper back pain. This is slightly different than the constant I-work-a-desk-job-and-always-mouse-with-the-same-hand upper back/pinchy nerve sort of pain that I've had for years. This is the I've-been-cowering-like-a-dog-with-my-shoulders-around-my-ears pain I get when I'm holding my stress in my shoulders. You could bounce a quarter off any part of my upper back right now.

I work at home. I have an actual desk. On the actual desk is my work laptop, and...

THE OBVIOUS GAME Has a Cover Reveal Date!

My publisher emailed me today to let me know the cover for my debut YA novel, THE OBVIOUS GAME, will be ready on December 20. That's a little over a month away! PLEASE TO FREAK OUT WITH ME!

If you'd like to be part of the cover reveal action (basically put it on your blog or other social media), please fill out the form here. You can also fill out the form if you'd be willing to review the book when it's out in February 2013, tweet about it, tell your barista, you know, whatever. I use the fo...

Breakfast Is the Most Important Meal of the Day

I came downstairs this morning to find no room at the breakfast table because, well, this.

But who is missing? The Bear in Charge, Ski Bear. Where could he be?

Having Your Health

One thing about social media: It teaches you you're not the only person with problems. My connection to hundreds if not thousands of other human beings each day has made me more grateful for the good things in my life and more tolerant for the bad. No, everyone else is not sitting around on unicorn-fur couches sipping ambrosia -- they have cancer and bankruptcy and also new babies and cute puppies and lottery winnings. We are all in it together, for good and for bad.

As Beloved's job situatio...

Final Revisions

I feel like I have been working on THE OBVIOUS GAME for a thousand years, even though intellectually I know it is three.
I feel like I have read this manuscript so many times I should have it memorized, and yet I still found an errant sentence referencing a scene I cut twelvity million revisions ago not ten minutes ago.

I have read this manuscript over and over and over, as this week I turn it in and probably won't see it again before it goes to print.

Part of me, a very LARGE part of me, wan...