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

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Excerpt - part 1

CHAPTER 5: RUDE QUESTION “Well, Ms. Proctor, you and your baby are both perfectly in spec,” Dr. Mike Forrester smiled as he noted her file. “It looks like your time in zero gravity has had no significant effect. Any questions or concerns?” “How soon can you arrange for an abortion?” “What?” Mike’s... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Pat_B at 5:07 AM | add or view comments (8) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

It's an old story... a twice-told tale... twice, thrice, who's counting?

There's no new story. No plot you can come up with is completely original, it's all been done, from boy meets girl to the butler did it. The only thing new is your way of putting it together, your characters, your particular twists and turns along the way. So my cool new idea (in 1978) about a... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Pat_B at 4:05 AM | add or view comments (12) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Monday, October 8, 2012

Writing "Adam's Mother" - Naming the characters

I asked a girl to read a chapter of the latest draft - this was around 2001 and my story had been revised to a fare-thee-well. At the time my working title was "Last Man." The names of major characters had changed a few times, but my title character was always Evelyn Proctor. It seemed important to... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Pat_B at 5:24 AM | add or view comments (9) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Sunday, October 7, 2012

Character issues

When I first started "Adam's Mother" I strongly identified with my protagonist. In those days I didn't use the words "protagonist" or "antagonist" - it was heroine and villain. My heroine was a woman working a man's job - ex Air Force astronaut running her own salvage operation collecting space junk... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Pat_B at 5:47 AM | add or view comments (14) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Saturday, October 6, 2012

Talk about your "cold edit"

Last week I read something from Writer's Digest about editing -- tip of the week was to let writing chill for a week or two. Don't try to edit or revise while you're still flushed in love with what you've written. Your hot, beloved darlings cannot be touched or amended -- but after the thrill is... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Pat_B at 5:22 AM | add or view comments (8) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Friday, October 5, 2012

"Eight Things You Didn't Know You Could Paint"

In an email newsletter this a.m., HGTV included an article with this title. With our Kabu in mind, I decided to check it out. Item 1: baby food jars. Paint 'em white, put labels on and use them to store spices, nuts & bolts etc. Well, that's nothing new, but it's still a good idea. (I use empty... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Pat_B at 5:31 AM | add or view comments (6) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Thursday, October 4, 2012

Hospice

In the end the one dying pays a fare; counts out treasured coins of memory as Xanax soothes away anxiety and the fresh breeze of morphine cools festering memories of transgressions others have long since forgiven. The bright coins are compensation for the toll-taker who makes the crossing safe,... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Pat_B at 7:00 AM | add or view comments (9) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

About my timeless moon blog - a few days ago

I sent a copy to my kids. Their dad passed away on the 16th of July, and we've had a lot of conversations about his life and what it meant since then. Naturally, most of our conversations were about his failing health and the unbelievable recoveries he made. We'd given him up several times in recent... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Pat_B at 5:37 AM | add or view comments (3) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

double posts in the comments sector: sorry about that

As I was posting a comment to DSM TCH's blog about the election debate, my words seemed to evaporate into the web.. So I tried to replace the disappeared bit. A second later I realized both were there in all their ridiculous redundancy... along with several other other new comments and responses.... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Pat_B at 5:31 AM | add or view comments (0) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

My Island

I used to have an imaginary island, warm white sand with lace-edged wavelets caressing its small boundaries. At night the water was black velvet in the moonlight. In the daytime it looked green and blue and there were flowers blooming in an infinite variety of colors. There was a small hill on the... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Pat_B at 5:01 AM | add or view comments (8) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

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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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