Life in the fast lane--where's the on ramp?

By Pat_B - About Me - E-mail this page - Add to My Favorites - Add to Blog List - See other blogs in Journal

Thursday, November 29, 2012

Big words, high-fallutin' professory tone, or hey baby, let's get real?

My mother used excellent grammar, insisted we three little house apes glom onto some proper English. We had books in the house, no doubt second hand, but they were "good" books: biographies of people like Ben Franklin, scientists, figures from history.. We weren't forced to read them, but there were... Sign in to see full entry.

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Wednesday, November 28, 2012

For the sake of credibility...

It must be explained here that the "Winner" certificate applies to the word count, and not to the content of the entry. It's no reflection on the writer's ability to plot, describe or characterize. It's merely that she pounded out the requisite 50,000 words in thirty days. As for the novel itself,... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Pat_B at 4:31 AM | add or view comments (10) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

This just in --

MUNDANE, 11-27-2012 -- Informed sources reveal the Blogiteer known as Pat_B filed on National Novel Writing Month's website a novel written this month and has accepted an official Winner's Certificate three days ahead of deadline: wordcount 50,174. Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Pat_B at 12:47 PM | add or view comments (10) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

How your characters surprise you

In my planning for this year's November writing marathon, I intended to follow my mother's story, the struggles she faced, the triumph of living well in the end. I managed to get the bones of it in place pretty quickly. I'd been there for some parts, and she'd told me about others. And then there... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Pat_B at 4:40 AM | add or view comments (5) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Monday, November 26, 2012

At seventeen we want to blow this town, see what's out there

ESCAPE Sometimes prisoners don't discern the jailer is also captive. His routine, his obligation to pay attention, his standing by: these control his days even as the prisoner's. So it is as children we chafe against imposers of curfew, enforcers of rules who fight our persistent distracted... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Pat_B at 3:40 AM | add or view comments (6) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Sunday, November 25, 2012

Wrimos -- the deadline is about to bite your butt

I'm not a girly girl. Never was crazy about shoes. Don't care for ruffles. Dressing and shopping for Barbie dolls would have bored me to tears. I can't tell you how often I was thankful that icon had not been placed on a pedestal until my own daughters were old enough to think she was stupid. I... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Pat_B at 5:13 AM | add or view comments (5) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Saturday, November 24, 2012

Something tells me I'm onto something good...

Yorkshire terriers are animated little fuzz balls that make you smile. If you have a Yorkie in the house you do not need a doorbell. A little over twelve years ago my daughter (now a law student) showed up at my little house in Seattle with a tiny little Yorkie, a two-pound diva who did a... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Pat_B at 4:21 AM | add or view comments (4) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Friday, November 23, 2012

Six trillion stories...

No, it's not the national debt or deficit or whatever... It's a card game. The Storymatic. For sale by Writer's Digest Shop. The ad says there are 540 cards, with either a character trait or a plot point - combinations that prompt writers to go in "directions you never thought possible!" They're... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Pat_B at 6:41 AM | add or view comments (6) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Well, ya had a good day for it...

Thanksgiving, the pre-Black Friday sales, a drive in the country, kids to the park, a cook-out, even sitting on the porch with a cup of coffee. It got up to seventy degrees, warm sunshine, just a slight breeze. It was the kind of day you dream of and long for on a snowbound day in mid-winter. And... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Pat_B at 3:58 AM | add or view comments (2) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Thursday, November 22, 2012

A Poem beause Blogit time today is devoted to preparing the feast...

GRAND OLD CAROUSEL 11-24-85 Long arched ivory necks of horses prancing nowhere the gilding's gone but for a few flecks that catch the lights as the old frame turns on new bearings. It is night and we can be young again on a carousel see all the things we want to see fill in the blanks from memory.... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Pat_B at 3:07 AM | add or view comments (7) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

About this Blog

Sometimes you have to write it down in order to learn what you really think about life, what it means, how to do what's best. Sometimes you need feedback from someone else to put things in perspective.

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