Spring!

Any time the seasons change, something inside me stirs and stretches. I'm such a victim of the calendar. I really don't think I would have noticed the spring equinox if it hadn't been trumpeted on the media, but there you have it. I heard, and that was all it took.

Now I'm in a busy-busy-busy mode. Too ratcheted up to read. Too ratcheted up to sit comfortably at the computer lazing the time away. And actually too ratcheted up to get any meaningful work done in the house. I'm here. I'm there. I'm back to here. Oops--over there.

But what's cool is that the thing inside me that's restless is the writer. She's been slumbering for a long time, sorrowing over losses, and trying to heal some pretty sharp wounds. Now she's waking up, and she's ready. Let's write, she insists. Let's write all those stories you've been dreaming.

There are other hands clutching at me, though. Kitty hands. Children hands. Job hands. House hands. And, ick-ick-ick, tax hands.

But this lady has been waiting a long time. I think she deserves a front seat in my day, don't you?

Loose ends? Tie them up!

I've had lots of loose ends in my life lately, and I'd planned to tidy them up this weekend. But first I decided to watch a movie with my son.

So we curled up, the cat snoring softly between us, and watched the movie we'd checked out from the friendly neighborhood video store. I'll skip the name of the movie since it's a new release and obviously somebody somewhere liked it--it had a couple of Big Names to star in it plus megachunks of publicity.

We'd missed it in the theater, though we'd wanted to see it. It looked charming and funny. I like movies that make me laugh. When it came out on DVD--and even better, on BlueRay so we could see every glorious moment in HiDef--we rushed out and rented it.

Good thing we didn't buy it.

It wasn't funny. It was so sad in places that we were both trying really hard not to cry. And then at the end, one of the major plot threads--I mean, a REALLY MAJOR PLOT THREAD--hadn't been resolved. Hadn't even been mentioned for the last quarter of the movie. And, to make this even worse, it was the plot issue of the child in the movie.

Loose ends flap around long after the story is done. I'm still bothered by this poor child's dilemma hanging unresolved--and he's not a "real" kid.

Any time we ask a viewer/reader/listener to plunk down even a bit of their hard-earned money, we sure don't want to, wow, ANNOY them.

When I write a synopsis, I also do a graphic representation with plot issues AND both primary and secondary characters at the top, with squiggles and arrows and all kinds of cool artistic things to ensure that they're all addressed throughout the work.

I hope that in my books, I never leave a little boy with his issue unaddressed and unresolved!

The problem for which there is no solution

Let me begin by saying that yes, there is a solution, but no, I will not do it.

I've found out what the problem is with me and weekends. The Hallmark Channel does mystery shows on the weekend. If there's a "Murder She Wrote" marathon, I'm done for. I love love love that show. I also like "Mystery Woman." But I'll watch Perry Mason or Matlock or Murder 101. Even if I've seen them before, I'm hooked.

Today was a "Jane Doe" marathon. I hadn't watched it before but I was sucked right in and didn't leave my chair except during commercials.

This does not make my weekends especially productive. So I'm blaming Hallmark for my weekend inertia.

Of course I could turn off the television.

Ha.

I don't think so. See, tomorrow there's quite a lovely assortment on, including two "Murder She Wrote" shows, and a Murder 101, and a Perry Mason, a Matlock, and a Diagnosis Murder.

It's hopeless!

Yummy book

I'm reading Eat, Pray, Love now and I have to say I absolutely love this book. When I began it, I tore through the first third of it in one night. I've purposely cut back to read just a little bit each night before bed and I'm reading it more slowly to absorb it. It's beautifully written and even though the author and I have absolutely nothing in common on the surface, I'm finding pieces of myself in her experiences.

READ THIS BOOK!!!

Most intriguing to me at the moment is her struggle to focus while she meditates or prays. Bingo. My mind is always going full bore even when I want it to SHUT UP! The only time I can even begin to block out--well, I don't know what exactly to call it? Mental chatter?--is when I'm writing.

READ THIS BOOK!!!!

You can break it into small chunks, like I do--and it fits into my chaotic life to read it at night in bed. The author, Elizabeth Gilbert, has a wonderful sense of humor so it's fun reading as well as meaningful reading.

READ THIS BOOK!!!

I'm not kidding. I feel myself growing as I read it. I'm so much better, or at least I feel better, than when I started it.

READ THIS BOOK!!!

(Did I recommend you read this book???)