Patti O'Shea's Blog, page 136
May 27, 2014
The Shoe Dilemma
As I was writing, it became apparent that my heroine needed a pair of shoes. Something casual that she could slip on fast. I thought about moccasins, but that didn't feel right for the character. She's just not a moccasin woman. There was nothing to do except go online and check out what Nordstrom had available.
A funny thing happened, though, just a few rows down I saw this super cute pair of comfort shoes. I'd never heard of the brand before, but I haven't been keeping up with them like I used to. High ratings. Much comfort mentioned by every reviewer. Hmm.
I hopped over to Shoebuy. They had the same shoe, and with their Memorial Day sale, it would have ended up being about the same price, but the two colors they had in that style didn't work for me.
My finger slipped to the buy button on Nordstrom.
But oh, sale at Shoebuy. I checked out a few more styles by the same brand and found one more super cute pair of shoes. My finger slipped over that buy button again. I couldn't help it.
It's all my heroine's fault that I bought all the shoes. And in the end, she suggested flip flops. If only she'd said something sooner.
A funny thing happened, though, just a few rows down I saw this super cute pair of comfort shoes. I'd never heard of the brand before, but I haven't been keeping up with them like I used to. High ratings. Much comfort mentioned by every reviewer. Hmm.
I hopped over to Shoebuy. They had the same shoe, and with their Memorial Day sale, it would have ended up being about the same price, but the two colors they had in that style didn't work for me.
My finger slipped to the buy button on Nordstrom.
But oh, sale at Shoebuy. I checked out a few more styles by the same brand and found one more super cute pair of shoes. My finger slipped over that buy button again. I couldn't help it.
It's all my heroine's fault that I bought all the shoes. And in the end, she suggested flip flops. If only she'd said something sooner.
May 25, 2014
Proof That Society Is Doomed
Keep in mind before you watch this that my pet peeve is when I'm talking to someone and they're checking their phone. I will stop and wait for them to make eye contact. I think this is extremely rude and disrespectful. I'm as hooked to online as anyone is, but there are times when that has to take a backseat to people. And this is coming from an internet addicted introvert.
May 22, 2014
Plotter Absolutism and the Panster
I saw a quote this week, something about how "most" writers don't sit down and simply write. That their stories are carefully plotted out beforehand so that they have a map of the story. Most writers? Really?
It's quotes like this that gave me fits when I first figured out I wanted to write stories. I've always leaned toward Seat of the Pants writing on the plotter - pantser spectrum. I was stronger on the pantsing before I was published, but I still only put together a loose synopsis. I call it a framework, not a map. It gives me a general idea of what I want to do and then I just aim that direction.
But all the how to be a writer books that I checked out of the library were written by plotter type people and they were all about how to create a story map. I contorted myself trying to be a plotter because I believed that was what "real" writers did. After a few weeks of torture, I realized plotting had made me hate writing and that I didn't want to do it anymore. I realized then I had two choices--I could either follow the writing books, hate wriing, and quit or I could toss the 3x5 index cards aside and have fun.
I decided to have fun.
So when I see quotes like the one I mentioned, it aggravates me. Believe it or not, plotter person, "most" writers don't have detailed maps of their stories. Many do. There are also many writers on my side of the pantser spectrum.
I wish when authors/writers gave advice they wouldn't be so absolute about it. Whoever said that quote I read could have conveyed the same message in different terms and still addressed their audience without adding to the pantsers' fears that something is wrong with the way they write. Because if I had to hazard a guess, I'd say there were many more pantsers thinking they have to plot to be "real" writers and very few plotters trying to force themselves to be pantsers.
Bottom line is whatever works for you to write is the way you should do it. No other writer can or should dictate your process.
It's quotes like this that gave me fits when I first figured out I wanted to write stories. I've always leaned toward Seat of the Pants writing on the plotter - pantser spectrum. I was stronger on the pantsing before I was published, but I still only put together a loose synopsis. I call it a framework, not a map. It gives me a general idea of what I want to do and then I just aim that direction.
But all the how to be a writer books that I checked out of the library were written by plotter type people and they were all about how to create a story map. I contorted myself trying to be a plotter because I believed that was what "real" writers did. After a few weeks of torture, I realized plotting had made me hate writing and that I didn't want to do it anymore. I realized then I had two choices--I could either follow the writing books, hate wriing, and quit or I could toss the 3x5 index cards aside and have fun.
I decided to have fun.
So when I see quotes like the one I mentioned, it aggravates me. Believe it or not, plotter person, "most" writers don't have detailed maps of their stories. Many do. There are also many writers on my side of the pantser spectrum.
I wish when authors/writers gave advice they wouldn't be so absolute about it. Whoever said that quote I read could have conveyed the same message in different terms and still addressed their audience without adding to the pantsers' fears that something is wrong with the way they write. Because if I had to hazard a guess, I'd say there were many more pantsers thinking they have to plot to be "real" writers and very few plotters trying to force themselves to be pantsers.
Bottom line is whatever works for you to write is the way you should do it. No other writer can or should dictate your process.
May 20, 2014
A Small Re-Read Binge
I'm on another re-read binge of some favorite books that I read maybe 10 years ago. They were long out of print when I found them--I'll spare you the epic search I had to go through to get copies--but they were worth the hunt. I rebought them a few months ago when I found them in ebook. The books are Jayne Ann Krentz's Guinevere Jones series. She wrote them as Jayne Castle.
First thing that jumped out at me was how dated some of the references were. No cell phones when the books were written in the mid/late 80s and other technology things, but that's to be expected. If I'd bought the books and found out they'd been updated to accomodate all the new things that have come along since they were written, they wouldn't be the same books I fell in love with.
Aside from this small thing and the 1980s/1990s thing where authors used characters names in dialogue every time they spoke to each other--sometimes mulitple name uses in the same paragraph of dialogue--the books held up very well. I'm enjoying them and I'm so glad I have a chance to revisit the stories.
I've read 2 of the 4 books in the series so far and I can recommend them if you're looking for romantic suspense.
Not every book I used to love has held up as well as these have to the passage of time, but when an old favorite remains a favorite, that's awesomeness!
First thing that jumped out at me was how dated some of the references were. No cell phones when the books were written in the mid/late 80s and other technology things, but that's to be expected. If I'd bought the books and found out they'd been updated to accomodate all the new things that have come along since they were written, they wouldn't be the same books I fell in love with.
Aside from this small thing and the 1980s/1990s thing where authors used characters names in dialogue every time they spoke to each other--sometimes mulitple name uses in the same paragraph of dialogue--the books held up very well. I'm enjoying them and I'm so glad I have a chance to revisit the stories.
I've read 2 of the 4 books in the series so far and I can recommend them if you're looking for romantic suspense.
Not every book I used to love has held up as well as these have to the passage of time, but when an old favorite remains a favorite, that's awesomeness!
May 18, 2014
10 Surprisingly True Facts
I knew about the coffee creamer. :-)
May 15, 2014
Hardcover versus eBook
One of my little quirks is that while I like reading my fiction on my iPad, I prefer reading nonfiction in paper. I'm not sure why this is, but every time I've bought a reference book for a project in electronic format, I've always wished I had the paper copy instead.
So there's this expensive book I'd been keeping an eye on for a while. It was over $35 in hardcover and the ebook version was $25. Right before Christmas I had a coupon that could only be used on paper books and I jumped on it, ordering this book which I'm sure will be great as a background reference for my current project.
Only when the thing arrived I'm like ugh! It was a hugely thick book. Hugely. Thick. I knew almost immediately that I would never read this thing in hardcover because it would hurt my arms/hands to hold it. I needed it electronically.
But paying $25 for an ebook? No matter how thick it is, that price point hurts and it's for a book I already own in paper. It wasn't an option to get the special Amazon deal or I would have been all over that.
Finally, I bit the bullet and paid the $25. I just hope that the reference turns out to be extremely helpful after I paid that much.
So there's this expensive book I'd been keeping an eye on for a while. It was over $35 in hardcover and the ebook version was $25. Right before Christmas I had a coupon that could only be used on paper books and I jumped on it, ordering this book which I'm sure will be great as a background reference for my current project.
Only when the thing arrived I'm like ugh! It was a hugely thick book. Hugely. Thick. I knew almost immediately that I would never read this thing in hardcover because it would hurt my arms/hands to hold it. I needed it electronically.
But paying $25 for an ebook? No matter how thick it is, that price point hurts and it's for a book I already own in paper. It wasn't an option to get the special Amazon deal or I would have been all over that.
Finally, I bit the bullet and paid the $25. I just hope that the reference turns out to be extremely helpful after I paid that much.
May 13, 2014
Twitter Mute Function
On May 12th, Twitter announced that they'll begin rolling out a mute function to all users. I don't know their timeline, but I know I don't have the feature yet. In an opinion piece mentioning this new feature, the author said that "you shouldn't need to use it."
Seriously?
The argument is you shouldn't be following anyone uninteresting anyway, and except in a few circumstances, you should just unfollow them.
Clearly the author hasn't had to deal with people who live tweet television shows or movies or--God help me--their workout at the gym. These are people I'm happy to follow most of the time, just not when they're doing this live tweeting thing. I give this a solid ten on the Annoy-O-Meter.
There are also authors I'm following who I can't unfollow for various reasons who tweet nothing except promo--either their own or another author's promo in a tit-for-tat exchange. I already skip past anything they tweet the instant I see their name or recognize their avatar. The mute button will save me even having to skim over their tweet.
Maybe an author is doing a Twitter chat. That's also very annoying and one of those things that would be awesome to turn off until the chat is over.
Shouldn't need to use the mute button? Please. I'm looking forward to the mute button making Twitter more pleasurable and it's already my favorite of the social networks.
Seriously?
The argument is you shouldn't be following anyone uninteresting anyway, and except in a few circumstances, you should just unfollow them.
Clearly the author hasn't had to deal with people who live tweet television shows or movies or--God help me--their workout at the gym. These are people I'm happy to follow most of the time, just not when they're doing this live tweeting thing. I give this a solid ten on the Annoy-O-Meter.
There are also authors I'm following who I can't unfollow for various reasons who tweet nothing except promo--either their own or another author's promo in a tit-for-tat exchange. I already skip past anything they tweet the instant I see their name or recognize their avatar. The mute button will save me even having to skim over their tweet.
Maybe an author is doing a Twitter chat. That's also very annoying and one of those things that would be awesome to turn off until the chat is over.
Shouldn't need to use the mute button? Please. I'm looking forward to the mute button making Twitter more pleasurable and it's already my favorite of the social networks.
May 11, 2014
7 of the Most Unpresidential Things Done By Presidents
My personal favorite is number 1. I can see the temptation with that. :-)
May 8, 2014
Creepers
Sometimes I don't know what people are thinking. Specifically how men approach a woman they don't know. I had two experiences that just had me shaking my head.
The first one was the most alarming. Shortly after I moved to Atlanta, I had someone follow me to the condo I was living in at the time. I had a complete lack of situational awareness because I didn't realize a car was following me. In my defense, I'd picked my parents up at the airport and I was talking to them.
So I pull into the garage and this guy pulls into the drive behind me, blocking my car in the garage. The only reason I didn't get right on my phone and call 911 was because I wasn't alone, but thinking back, it wasn't as if my dad and mom were going to be able to do anything, not at their ages.
The guy followed me because he saw my Minnesota license plates. He was originally from some small town in MN and didn't think there was anything wrong with following a woman home.
My second experience happened in Minnesota last month while I was home visiting my parents. My folks don't have internet, so I went to the hotspot near my house to check in. While I'm sitting there, some guy knocks on my window.
Why? He'd seen my Georgia license plates. He had a relative who lived in GA and he wanted to know where in GA I was from.
The only reason I didn't race screaming out of the parking lot was because it was a busy lot and there were a lot of people around. Still, after he went into the store to take care of his business, I left. There was nothing on the internet that was worth hanging around for.
I don't know if Minnesota men are unnaturally friendly or what the deal is, but these two experiences were creepy. And following someone home? Now that's going into crazy creeper territory.
The first one was the most alarming. Shortly after I moved to Atlanta, I had someone follow me to the condo I was living in at the time. I had a complete lack of situational awareness because I didn't realize a car was following me. In my defense, I'd picked my parents up at the airport and I was talking to them.
So I pull into the garage and this guy pulls into the drive behind me, blocking my car in the garage. The only reason I didn't get right on my phone and call 911 was because I wasn't alone, but thinking back, it wasn't as if my dad and mom were going to be able to do anything, not at their ages.
The guy followed me because he saw my Minnesota license plates. He was originally from some small town in MN and didn't think there was anything wrong with following a woman home.
My second experience happened in Minnesota last month while I was home visiting my parents. My folks don't have internet, so I went to the hotspot near my house to check in. While I'm sitting there, some guy knocks on my window.
Why? He'd seen my Georgia license plates. He had a relative who lived in GA and he wanted to know where in GA I was from.
The only reason I didn't race screaming out of the parking lot was because it was a busy lot and there were a lot of people around. Still, after he went into the store to take care of his business, I left. There was nothing on the internet that was worth hanging around for.
I don't know if Minnesota men are unnaturally friendly or what the deal is, but these two experiences were creepy. And following someone home? Now that's going into crazy creeper territory.
May 6, 2014
Suspicious Attachment
I don't know about you guys, but I have been getting a ton of email with suspicious attachments over the last two to three weeks. I have my website email filtered through Gmail to help deal with the spam issue and over and over recently Gmail has sent a warning saying that this or that email was left on the server because of the attachment.
I'm not sure what the virus/malware senders hope to achieve because I think most people now are too savvy to open attachments from people they don't know, no matter how legit (or not) the mail might look. Oh, sure, it's cheap to send email and there are a few people around who don't know any better, but is the number really large enough to warrant a barrage of suspicious spam? Maybe it is, but it has become annoying to deal with the onslaught.
Just an FYI, I delete these emails right on the server so they are never on my computer so even if the virus is in the email itself and not the attachment, I'm still covered. I'm very careful with my laptops.
I've been weighing the pros and cons of changing my website email address to something different just to thwart the spammers and virus emailers, but I'm afraid this might cause more work for me than dealing with the emails.
We'll see what happens, but I wish these people would use their powers for good and not evil.
I'm not sure what the virus/malware senders hope to achieve because I think most people now are too savvy to open attachments from people they don't know, no matter how legit (or not) the mail might look. Oh, sure, it's cheap to send email and there are a few people around who don't know any better, but is the number really large enough to warrant a barrage of suspicious spam? Maybe it is, but it has become annoying to deal with the onslaught.
Just an FYI, I delete these emails right on the server so they are never on my computer so even if the virus is in the email itself and not the attachment, I'm still covered. I'm very careful with my laptops.
I've been weighing the pros and cons of changing my website email address to something different just to thwart the spammers and virus emailers, but I'm afraid this might cause more work for me than dealing with the emails.
We'll see what happens, but I wish these people would use their powers for good and not evil.
