Annette Lyon's Blog, page 25

Top 5 Things to Make the Writing World a Better Place

(Past Top 5 posts HERE.)
First, a couple of housekeeping items:Still haven't heard from Dan, winner of the redundancy contest. He'll forfeit his prize if I don't have a way to get the prize to him by Saturday night.
Book signings for Chocolate Never Faileth (with FUDGE SAMPLES at both!):
TODAY (Friday, October 1)BYU Bookstore, 5-8 PM
TOMORROW (Saturday, October 2)Deseret Book Flagship store, SLC4:00 - 5:30 PM

Now for today's post:
Top 5 Things to Make MY Writing World a Better Place
Writer's Digest had someone list the "top 5 things to make THE writing world a better place" in their top 10 issue.
I'm already taking the number down to 5, so I can change the premise, too, right?
Things to make MY writing world a better place:
1. A crystal ball.Not knowing is probably the worst part of writing and publishing. Whether it's submitting and waiting to hear back for acceptance or rejection or trying to figure out which of your ideas would be most marketable, or a hundred other things, not knowing is simply the worst. If I had a little crystal ball to consult about what to write, what's the right place for it, and just the right moment to hit SEND, aaaah . . . life would be so much easier.
2. WordPerfect as the industry standard.I love, love, love WordPerfect. It's the best and most user-friendly word processor out there. If a techno-idiot (like yours truly) doesn't know how to do something, you can muddle you way through figuring it out. (I have done so many a time.)
Not so with Word. That program, I swear, is of the devil. The newer versions are getting better, but dang, it's hard to figure anything out with it, and it refuses to listen to you, thinking it's smarter than you are.
When I first started writing, everyone took WP files: magazines, newspapers, and even my publisher. Not anymore. Now I have both programs, and I've been forced to learn Word, at least, parts of it. I still use WP whenever I can, though.
Because it's not lame.
3. A housekeeper and cook.That person would also do grocery shopping and laundry. Man, having someone else deal with all that would free up so much time!
Pardon while I bask in the fantasy . . .
4. Have a body that needs 4 hours of sleep. Or 5 or 6.As it is, I have a body that, to really function, needs around 8 1/2 or 9 hours of sleep regularly. Lately it's been about 7 1/2. Not good. (REALLY not good . . .) People talk about waking up early to write, and I admire that.
I hope they don't think I'm a wimp, but in all honesty, getting up two hours early is NOT an option for me if I want any semblance of a life (or if my children want a mom). Fatigue is a migraine trigger for me. If I cut out two hours of sleep, I'd wake up early, write, then collapse, whimpering, in a fetal position for the rest of the day. (I'm already paying for getting only 7 1/2 hours). But dang, I love the idea of being able to stay up late and get up early to get SO MUCH DONE.
5. A reward machine.You know: I made my word count for the day/finished research on this article/completed an edit for a client/revised this chapter/sent out 3 queries. Immediately a truffle pops out. Or a coupon for a free massage. Or a ten dollar bill. There's always a reward, but you never know what.
I'd be so productive!

What would make your (writing or other) world a better place?


© 2010 Annette Lyon, all rights reserved

WNW: Top Words for HS Grads, #11-20

Back in June I posted the first 10 of 100 words that Houghton Mifflin says every high school graduate should know. I still find many of them odd choices.
Today we're looking at the second set, numbers 11-20.
How many do you know well enough to use in a sentence? Use in a blog post this week? In a comment? How many do you think are bizarre to be listed on the top 100?

chromosomeNow that the human genome has been mapped and everything from the new Spider-Man series of movies to sci-fi novels talk about DNA, this one makes some sense. I suppose most grads would know this one simply because of the culture we live in or at least have some concept that it deals with genetics.

churlishHmm. Why would modern high-school grads need to know this one? It's not like they're going to be visiting Pemberley any time soon.
circumlocutionI'm most familiar with the second definition: avoiding a topic, evading it through speech. The other definition: essentially using a bunch of words when just a few will do. I think I learned this one as a high-school junior in my honors English class, along with its friend, meander. Not sure how many grads who aren't word nerds would know it or care that they don't.
circumnavigateYeah. This one is critical for grads to know, you know, being as we're still looking for explorers to prove that the world isn't flat and all . . .
deciduousAssuming they passed basic biology, most grads would know this one, I guess. But really? Why does type of tree rank in the top 100 of important words to know? It's not something used in typical conversations by literate people around the water cooler. It doesn't show up in the news and hardly ever in literature. Another head scratcher.
diffident"Lacking in self-confidence or self-trust, hesitant in acting or speaking." Frankly, I think this one's a bit flowery of a word for an 18-year-old to be using. I'm trying to picture my recently graduated nephew using it. Mmm, not working. (Then again, he was on the state championship football team. He wouldn't be diffident, let alone use the word. By the way, he just got his mission call. Yay, Scott!)
enervate"To weaken or impair the strength of." That's assuming they mean the verb form, not the adjective. (Also, assuming they don't mean the definition hailing from 1638, something a bit more gruesome: "to cut the tendons of." Ick.) I'm betting a good number of college grads don't know this one.
enfranchiseThis one's practically Dilbert-ese because it's used so much in corporate settings. Often the negative is used: disenfranchise. But I'm still guessing that most grads don't really know that it can refer to gaining freedoms or advantages as a human being even from slavery.
epiphanyI love this word. I hope most grads know this one. It's not only pretty as a word (yes, yes, I know I'm a nerd), but the concept is awesome, especially for writers.
We live for epiphanies.
© 2010 Annette Lyon, all rights reserved

Chocolate Recipes & More

I got my author copies of Chocolate Never Faileth yesterday!!!
My children literally danced around the house, sang, and then personalized their copies with Sharpies.
(My son asked if they seriously all got copies, and I had to respond with, "Um, yeah. Actually, I've put aside copies of ALL my books for each of you kids." Apparently chocolate is the first one he particularly cared about.)
(Not that I blame him.)
Within minutes, my youngest begged to make something out of the book. Her first request (Easy Chocolate Pudding, page 87) was met with, "Sorry, we don't have whipping cream." She would not be deterred. She had to make something from the book. Right. Now.
So I helped her make my Sinful Chocolate Cupcakes (page 21) and Classic Chocolate Buttercream Icing (page 170) to go on them.
We used her copy of the book, so it's been officially "christened" in the kitchen, complete with a dusting of flour and a splatter of milk.
The kids enjoyed reading the anecdotes and quotes, looking at the pictures and recipes and remembering how we tested this one and how we came up with that one. My daughters were so tickled with their copies that they shoved the books into their backpacks to show off at school.
It was a fun trip down memory lane . . . especially when I thought about how it's been just under a year since I turned in the manuscript on October 6, 2009.
In honor of the release and my children's enthusiasm, below are the recipes for the cupcakes and the icing. (You'll have more icing than you need for a dozen cupcakes. Like that's a problem, right?)
I'm getting word of a bunch of fun promotional things coming down the pike (one of which I'll let you know about just as soon as it's official!). For starters, watch for TV ads on KSL 5 this weekend between general conference sessions. (I KNOW!!! How cool is THAT?!!!)
This week's book signings:
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 1, 5-8 pm, BYU Bookstore Signing books and giving away samples.
And the next day:
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 2, flagship Deseret Book store in Salt LakeAlso giving out samples and signing books. BUT THE TIME HAS CHANGED. I'll be there immediately following the afternoon session of general conference: 4:00 - 5:30. (So NOT during Ladies Night. BEFORE it.)
With housekeeping business out of the way, it's recipe time!

Sinful Chocolate Cupcakes
Ingredients:1/2 cup (1 stick) butter2 tsp baking soda1 cup sour cream2 eggs1 tsp vanilla extract1 cup sugar1 tsp baking powder2 cups flour1/4 cup cocoa
Preheat the oven to 400. Put paper baking cups into a cupcake pan. Melt the butter; cool in the freezer for about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the soda and sour cream. Stir well and set aside. The mixture will puff up as it sits. In a large bowl, beat the eggs and vanilla. Add the cooled butter and puffed-up sour cream mixture. Add the sugar and mix well. Add the baking powder, flour, and cocoa; beat for a minute or two until the batter is fully mixed. Spoon the batter into the cupcake liners and bake for about 18 minutes. Cool and ice with your favorite icing. Makes 1 dozen.

Classic Chocolate Buttercream IcingIngredients:1 stick butter, softened1 tsp vanilla extractdash of salt (about 1/8 tsp)half of a 32-oz bag of powdered sugar (about 4 1/4 cups)2/3 cup cocoa5-8 TB milk, as needed
Beat together butter and vanilla. In a separate bowl, sift together powdered sugar, cocoa, and salt. Add a generous 1/2 cup to 1 cup of the powdered sugar mixture to the butter mixture, followed by 1 TB milk. Continue alternating between the two until you reach the desired consistency.



© 2010 Annette Lyon, all rights reserved

Compelling Characters: The Great Blogging Experiment

Today is The Great Blogging Experiment, hosted by Elana Johnson, Jen, and Alex. Visit the link to find all of the gajillion bloggers talking about this topic today. Should be fascinating to see how so many writers view characterization differently.
This is a huge topic, so I'm going to boil it down to what I feel are the basics that make up compelling characters.

I think the most compelling characters are the ones who are the most developed, the "roundest," as they often say. But those terms...

WNW: Most Common Misspelled Words

First, a housekeeping item: The redundancy contest winner!
Random.org picked Dan's last entry: sheer mesh.
(Dan, please leave me your contact info so I can get you your prize!)
And now for some Word Nerd Wednesday fun:
YourDictionary.com put together a list of the 100 most misspelled words. (Check it: MISSPELLED is one of them. hah!) They even have explanations to help you remember the correct spellings.
Find the full list HERE.
A few of my favorites:
acceptableFor some reason, I tend to spell...

Chocolate Quotes

We're less than TWO WEEKS OUT from the release!!!
Last week we celebrated the upcoming release with fun anecdotes and trivia that are in the book. Today, it's time for chocolate quotes!


But first, a housekeeping item:
I have TWO cookbook signings scheduled for next week:
FRIDAY, October 1, 5:00 pm - 8:00 pmBYU Bookstore
SATURDAY, October 2, 6:00 pm - 8:00 pmLadies Night at the Salt Lake Deseret Book
Important: I will be bringing samples to both signings.
I also have another EIGHT signings scheduled...

Top 5 Habits for Writers

(Read the past editions of my TOP 5 series HERE.)
Top 5 Habits for Writers
1. BIC.I can't remember which writer first said it, but BIC stands for the #1 most important rule for any successful writer: BUTT IN CHAIR. If you don't do that, you'll never get anywhere. A blank screen cannot turn into a published anything. (And as an addition to this, remember what Heather said in the comments last week, if you don't SUBMIT, you'll never get published.)

2. Be curious.My level of curiosity is rather...

WNW: The Apostrophe Song!

This error drives. Me. Crazy.
I addressed the issue right before Christmas one year begging people to NOT use an apostrophe on their gift tags (such as, "to the Smith's") because that implies ownership. (To the Smith's what? Their dog?)
With gift tags and such, we're talking PLURAL situations. Plural.
(Say it with me. PLLLLUUUURRRAAAL.) Plurals take an S.
And they take NO APOSTROPHE. That's possessive (ownership).
Therefore, you're giving cookies to a group of people all called Smith. Hence, span

In Honor of Chocolate and a Certain Cookbook

As we're only a few weeks out from the release Chocolate Never Faileth (squeee!) I decided to give a sneak peek into part of the book.

No, not into the recipes themselves (although maybe I'll post one or two in the next couple weeks, just for kicks).

I thought that showing some of the other elements of the book, the in-between stuff, would be fun. The book has lots of trivia, facts, and anecdotes I dug up, all centered on, of course, chocolate.

Below are four of many from the book. (Remember...

Top 5 Pieces of Advice

Continuing my Top 5 series. (Click on the label to see the past installments.)
Top 5 Pieces of Advice I've Gotten on Writing

1) Write regularly. As Billy Crystal said in Throw Mama from the Train (and, okay, as pretty much every writing instructor teaches), writers write. Well, duh. But it's so easy to call yourself a writer without actually sitting your behind in the chair, planting your fingers on the keyboard, and producing something. Regularly.
How you define regularly is up to you, but you...