Frantic Friday ~ Finding Time

I started the year with good intentions, so far they are not working. I have on a few occasions opened my current MS folder, added a couple of words, looked at my research, my plot notes then started at the screen waiting hoping by some small miracle the movie in my head would start playing again. So is this a case of plotting once again blocker my creative vibe? Now here lies the problem you see, because I really enjoyed doing the plotting, the planning, working out the scenes etc. I know one thing for sure, I have to come up with a solution to this problem and fast.

On another note, today is my Dad’s anniversary, as with everyone who has lost a parent it’s not easy. This year seems extra hard as my Mum seems to be having more bad times than good at the moment. God love her, she looks like an innocent small child when she tells us she is trying to be good and not get out of bed during the night. Lately I’ve been thinking about what Dad would want us to do, there is one thing I know it would break his heart to see Mum as she is now. I also know he would be pleased to know we are all here for Mum and being one of six does have its plus sides at these times.

I also have to go to a funeral today, one of my uncles passed away earlier this week. Actually, he was my last surviving uncle. He was an uncle who had a lot of influence on my younger life and always had a joke or funny anecdote to share. I know that no matter when I think of Uncle Don, I’ll always do so with a smile.

Sandie

Finding Our Heroes

Where do you find your hero material? Do you mould your fictional hero after someone you know? Or is he a mixture of a number of men or women you admire? Of course the last one is, is he completely made up?

For me it depends on the hero I’m working on at the time. Most of my heroes are figments of my imagination. Not that I don’t have men in my life that would make great heroes to write about. I think for me anyway, I like to keep my men separate. The real flesh and blood from those that wander around in my head strutting their stuff. And believe me some of them strut.

Just lately I’ve been finding I’m looking to the normal Joe Blow on the street to tailor my heroes looks after. Now this new angle started the other month when I went to a horse show. Than a couple of weeks ago, I went to a Spring Ball at my Mum’s nursing home and there dancing with his Mum was my perfect young stud muffin hero. I have the perfect story to slot him into, well it’s a spin off from my first NaNoWriMo novel. I’m not sure if this will be the novel I’ll be writing for this year’s NaNo yet, will have to see which hero pushes his way to the front of the line. I have three new novels I can work on for November. Umm… do you think I’d get into too much trouble if I went around the streets taking photos of good looking strangers? LOL.


It was my anniversary yesterday. I’ve been married for thirty-three years to my own special hero. Now what makes Jim so special is that he puts up with me. I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again. “If I’d married me, I would have divorced myself within the first twelve months.” He has the patients of a saint most of the time, I’m not going to say he perfect, but he’s pretty darn great. You know what? So was my Dad, it was not uncommon for my Dad to sit for hours waiting on my Mum to do shopping or go to church. I have to admit, I don’t think any of my heroes have patients.

Yes, this is me on my wedding day.

Well that’s me for this week, yes, I’m scheduling my own blog for once a week updates (well this blog anyway). This is part of my October is get organized month. Let’s see how long it lasts. I’m off to write a blog for Bootcamper 109, I’ve been a big slack butt in that area. (Hanging my head in shame.) I also have a post for the RWAus 50/30 blog, and my ‘Criusin’ the Blog’ & Members News for RWAustraila Blog. We have some great blogs coming up next week as well as some fantastic members news.

Until next time.
Sandie

Monday Mayhem ~ Changes

The contracts for the sale of my Mum & Dad's home have been exchanged. While I am very happy that my Niece and her partner are buying the family home, I'm sad at the same time as it is now no longer a home I can walk into without first knocking. They have big changes in store for the old home and will only add to the value of the house, but it will seem different going down there now. I've said my final goodbye to that chapter of my life, now a whole new story is about to be written for the old house. A house that will once again build the dreams of a young couple starting out.

New Office
Another change in my life, is the fact that I now have an even larger office. I have all my books and novels around me, plenty of room to move about and space to walk and read over my manuscripts.

Old office






A view to inspire.

This is what I get to look at each day as I sit down to write, not bad is it?






I've also had a change on the Diaries of an Heroine blog. While I may not have been blogging here I have been working. Edits of 'If I Were a Rich Man', 'We Were in Love' and 'Baby Can I hold you' are still moving forward. Plus the screenplay I'm working on for Script Frenzy, while not moving in leaps and bounds, is progressing.

You can also find me on twitter most days, I post a few times a day, and trying hard to limit the amount of time I spend on there.

That's it for this update. I'm heading off to bed, in the hope that I'll get a bit more sleep tonight than I did last night.



Until next time. Happy Writing.
Sandie

Sexy Saturday ~ An Update

So update on the editing thing. 'We Were in Love' has been placed on the back burner because it was giving me the sh*ts, all was going well than it fell into a piles of ... well you know. So I'm working on 'The Godmother's Wish' instead.

One of my writing buddies Monique Wood is going to have her short story published in the RWA Little Gem anthology how cool is that? I'm soooooo pleased for our Mon.

After posting on Thursday another headaches hit me, than I got all teary. I really think this cleaning out my parents home is getting to me. I mean, this was a big part of my life for seventeen years before I married and moved away. But it's been there, I could always go back anytime I wanted, now it is going to be my nieces home. I'm happy for her and her partner, I'm happy the family home is staying within our family, but I can't just go and use a key and let myself in when ever I want. Tomorrow Jim and I are going down to remove the last of my Mum and Dad's belongings, than there will be just an empty house. I'm feeling a little down today, but things change, life goes on and at least I still have my Mum.

Yesterday I watched 'Mama Mia', what a great movie. So my sexy pics for today is the three maybe Dads. Colin Firth, Pierce Brosnan and Stellan Skarsgård.

Thursday's Thoughts ~ Still Editing

Yes, I'm still around somewhere. Editing is moving along slowly. I've changed tactics for a while, instead of trying to edit three novels at once I'm working on the first fifty pages of one and than I'll move on to another one.

So for the moment I'm editing 'We Were In Love', I do believe I'm getting somewhere with this. Chopping the first two and a half chapters is working well, even if I'm still not sure where I'll find all those lovely missing words now. LOL. But I will press on and hope for the best.

I also had two more stories jump into my head the other day, Lord I do wish they would stop doing that, anyway I made some notes and I'm hoping that will keep them a bay for a month or two, like until June would be good.

It would have been my Dad's 83rd birthday yesterday so my sisters and I took Mum out for morning tea. She has settled into the nursing home really well, which is great and one worry off my mind. One of my nieces and her partner are thinking of buying my childhood home, I'm keeping my fingers crossed on this one. It would make Mum very happy if she knew the family home was going to stay within the family, we should know for sure by next week I think.

I've also been fighting migraines the last couple of days, I woke up Tuesday with a dozy, yesterday morning wasn't too bad but by the time I got home from having the morning with Mum I went down like a tonne of bricks again. This afternoon I'm feeling a lot better.

That's where I'm up to at the moment. I hope to have the editing finished on 'We Were In Love' by Monday so I can work on at least one other before the Valerie Parv contest entries are due, even if I'm still not sure if I'll enter it yet.

See ya.
Sandie

Monday Madness ~ Families

Here it is Monday again, and I have not been able to concentrate on writing/editing at all. One of my sisters has had an operation on her back today, just got word that she came through the op okay but she hasn’t seen the doctor yet so we still waiting to see if everything went well. I’m hoping we’ll know more later this evening.

My Mum had a fall at the weekend so it is now more important than ever to find a place for her so she will have full time care. I went to visit her not long after we got the call telling us about her fall and she asked me if I thought she would get another two years in her home. I think it one of the hardest things I have ever had to do was to tell her that her time at our family home was coming to an end. It was Dad and Mum’s only home that they owned. We have so many memories there, Dad racing us around the bloke, obstacle races in the back yard, and Friday night picnics in the lounge room. Yet when I go down there now, it is all changed. The once quite street now has townhouses at the end of it and there are cars going up and down the street all day long. We use to be able to play cricket out on the street for most of the day and not a car in sight. I also think the fact that Dad is no longer there makes the old house seem sad in some way. Do you think a house can be sad?

Anyway, the last few days have been a roller coaster of emotions for me and until we get Mum settled one way or another I think they will continue to be that way.

Sandie

My Dad

It's four years today since my dad passed away. I'm feeling it really hard this year, maybe because I haven't been well. You know there's not a day that goes by that I don't think about dad or my father-in-law (He's anniversary is on the 11th Feb, he'll be gone two years.)

So I chat to them ask them what they think of my latest writing, play some of their favourite CD's, you know; Bing Crosby, the Andrews Sisters, Slim Dusty just as well as I like them too. My dad was a pretty special man and he was my hero. He use to tell me he taught superman to fly and Tarzan how to swing through trees, and of course I believed him. Even got into a fight over that one.

Then the year the Signa ran ashore on Stockton beach, Dad was afternoon shift. The winds howled, banging the electricity box open and shut. The TV aerial broke and feel down on our roof, with a loud bang and my older sister and I lay in our beds scared stiff. But you know the moment Dad walked in the back door and we knew he was home everything just seemed to be okay. I mean as if he could hold the house up or something. But that was the trust we had in our Dad. He was and still is my hero. I love him and I miss him, but I know he is up there somewhere looking down on us.
Hugs
Sandie