Five Things on a Friday

Portland Head Light, Portland, Maine. Photo by my husband, John

1. I'm feeling sad for the people in Japan and all the other people around the world who are potentially in harm's way. 

2.  After a long winter, the mud in my driveway smells nice. 

3.  We have a adorable chipmunk in our backyard. He has dug long tunnels under the snow with "lookouts."  So I'll glance out the window and see his itty-bitty head pop up and look around--like a tiny prairie dog. 

4.  Speaking of rodents, I drafted a new Hamster book--actually two.  I only planned to write one, but I had two ideas, and the only way I can see if an idea works for that Hamster "choice and speech bubble" format is to draft them. I ended up writing and liking them both.  

5.  I'm critiquing manuscripts for a conference. One thing I see fairly often when I critique is a plotline where the major events in the story are happening to the main character, not because of him/her.  Beyond the initial set-up and problem, a story will be more compelling if the main character has an active role in (and not just a reaction to) the major plot developments.