10 on Tuesday: reasons I love spring cleaning

1. It has to get done.
2. It's a reminder that St. Patrick's Day is right around the corner!
3. It's a great way to get away from writing for a little while if you're feeling stuck or blocked.
4. You find things you'd forgotten you lost.
5. You can implement your plan for being all nice and organized (and pretend it'll stick).
6. Everything looks shiny* once you're done.
7. It's an excuse to get Hubby to do some chores he's been avoiding.
8. It means the weather is warming up! Yay!
9. It's a reminder that I get to see my family soon!
10. You feel good afterward, knowing that everything is clean and put away and organized.

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*Oh, how I wish I had Firefly on DVD.  I guess I'll have to settle for watching Jayne on NBC.†

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†Could the writers get him to say "gorram" just once?  Let's be honest...he's basically the same character in both shows, anyway.

10 on Tuesday: things I usually have to edit in my writing

In honor of National Novel Editing Month, I present the following:

1. Adverb overuse
2. Unnecessary descriptions of what's going on
3. "Talking heads"
4. Noun-pronoun agreement (yes, I'm guilty of using "they" and "their" when I shouldn't)
5. Long sentences (sometimes I ramble)
6. Repetition
7. Rough scene transitions
8. Cliches
9. Things I think are funny that actually aren't
10. Too many line breaks (to show a change in scene, passage of time, etc.)

10 on Tuesday: things I've learned about myself through morning pages

Part of the process of The Artist's Way is "morning pages."  That means that every morning, before I do anything else, I write three pages of stream-of-consciousness writing longhand.

At first, I just did the pages without really thinking about the content.  Now, though, I'm seeing the real purpose of them.  If I let go and really write, my heart takes over, and I learn things about myself.  Problems are solved, true worries surface, and my creative self makes herself known.

Here are some things that have been revealed to me through the morning pages (in no particular order).

1. I'm worried about my heart.
2. Great things happen when you trust your creativity and God (or creative flow or whatever you believe in that feeds your creativity).
3. I'm excited about the changes I'm making in my life. (Details to come on my personal blog.)
4. I love staying home with Bean!
5. I'm happier now than I was before I started this process.
6. I need a vacation.
7. I don't take care of myself as well as I should.
8. I have champions in people I didn't expect, as well as creative "enemies" in people I didn't expect.
9. My handwriting gets messy when I'm trying to keep up with my brain.
10. I've felt very out of control for a long time, but it's getting better.

10 on Tuesday: songs I sing to Bean

(in no particular order)

1. Rock-a-bye, Baby*
2. The Garden (a hymn my grandmother sang to me)
3. It's Time to Go to Sleep (a song I made up for Bean when he was very, very little and couldn't sleep)
4. Down to the River to Pray (from the O, Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack)
5. Lullaby (Good Night, my Angel) by Billy Joel
6. I'll Fly Away (from the O, Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack)
7. Away in a Manger
8. The Way I Am by Ingrid Michaelson
9. Colors by Kira Willey (Yes, that is definitely the song from the old Dell commercial. Big whoop. Wanna fight about it?)
10. It's Okay, Wyatt (this is another song I made up for Bean; when I sang it, he immediately stopped crying)

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*I sing a different last line to this song: "But Mama will catch you, cradle and all."

10 on Tuesday: how to know if your spouse is a writer

[Please note: I use the word spouse in this post because that's my relationship status.  I don't mean to diminish other relationships in any way.]

1. You spend more in paper, printer ink, and books than rent.
2. You find your spouse staring at a wall or out the window, thinking. You come by an hour later to find your spouse in the same position, but claiming to have been working hard the whole time.
3. In conversations, your spouse tells stories about someone you don't know as if they have coffee together regularly, and when you ask about the person, you discover he or she is a character in a story.
4. You find ink pens in the bathroom.
5. Your driving schedule for family vacations is determined by bookstore hours.  (Ask Hubby about our trip to a used bookstore in Georgia on a drive home from up north.)
6. Your spouse scribbles a few notes on a paper napkin while you wait for your dessert at a restaurant.
7. When your spouse gets the remote, it's BookTV for the evening.
8. The bedroom light stays on at night until your spouse hits his or her word count.
9. Your spouse's hands are a neon rainbow from various highlighters.
10. When you ask your spouse a question during work time, you get a nod thirty seconds later, but not eye contact. No matter what the question was.

10 on Tuesday: movies I like (listed alphabetically)

1. Angela's Ashes
2. Atonement
3. Avatar
4. Finding Neverland
5. Moulin Rouge!
6. The Princess Bride
7. Stardust
8. Stranger Than Fiction
9. Sweeney Todd
10. Sylvia

10 on Tuesday: drinks that appear in the coffee house book

1. espresso macchiato
2. iced cafe latte
3. hot green tea
4. black coffee
5. "the Jeffrey"
6. cappuccino
7. raspberry Italian soda
8. Americano
9. hazelnut latte
10. mineral water

10 on Tuesday: things that will be awesome about this year

1. Getting a fresh start
2. Making positive changes in my life
3. Writing and finishing the coffee house book
4. Making more time to read for pleasure
5. Writing projects I have in the wings
6. Visiting my family for Easter (keeping my fingers crossed that it works out!)
7. ScriptFrenzy 2010 (I have a fun idea for my script this year)
8. Celebrating Mother's Day as a mother for the first time
9. Continuing to watch Bean grow and change
10. Meeting my goals for this year

10 on Tuesday: coffee-stained Christmas traditions

Hubby and I are working on creating traditions for our family now that Bean is here.  There are things his family does and things my family does, and we're blending some of those and creating our own traditions.  Here are some of the traditions from our families:

1. Reading 'Twas the Night Before Christmas as a family on Christmas Eve (Hubby)
2. Pizza for supper on Christmas Eve, saving a couple of pieces for Santa (NP)
3. "Stocking gifts," which consist of a paper grocery bag full of gifts all $1 or under (Hubby)
4. Including at least one enormous candy bar in the bottom of each stocking (NP)
5. When recording the festivities with the camcorder, including the year and location, which comes from moving so often (Hubby)
6. Opening gifts from the family on Christmas Eve, leaving the Santa gifts for Christmas Day (NP)
7. Opening all gifts on Christmas Day (Hubby)
8. A more recent tradition: steak rolls for Christmas dinner at my mom's house (NP)
9. Watching Christmas until Christmas Day beginning the day after Thanksgiving (Hubby)
10. A more recent tradition: finger-foods all day for Christmas Day at my paternal grandmother's house (NP)

10 on Tuesday: things to remember during the holidays

1. It's a good time of year to make amends.
2. It's a good time of year to be nice.
3. If you're in cold weather, it might be a good idea to make yourself a hot cup of coffee, wrap up in your Snuggie, and scribble.
4. Time off from your day gig is a great opportunity to scribble.
5. Writing can be an excuse to slip away from the chaos of family.
6. Don't forget all the end-of-the-year tasks you've been putting off!
7. Christmas songs can be writing inspiration.
8. There are only nine shopping days left for those celebrating Christmas!
9. It's not the only time of year to make amends.
10. It's not the only time of year to be nice.

10 on Tuesday: coffee house book characters

In the coffee house book, characters are often known by their favorite drinks (particularly customers).  So in addition to giving you the names of ten of my characters, I will share a little insider info with you by sharing their drinks of choice, as well.  Enjoy!

1. Piper, espresso macchiato
2. Sandra, skinny vanilla latte
3. Michael, espresso
4. Devon, chocolate raspberry latte
5. Jeffrey, "the Jeffrey" (barista's choice)
6. Vivienne, mineral water
7. Willow, soy cappuccino (iced in the summer)
8. Jonathon, double-shot hazelnut cappuccino
9. Martha, chai latte
10. Lucas, black coffee

More secret coffee house book information to come!

10 on Tuesday: what to do with your newfound free time

1. sit for a moment and revel in the fact that you do, in fact, have free time again.
2. sleep. (Remember that?)
3. reconnect with your friends and family.
4. go outside.
5. alternate heat and ice on your hands and wrists.
6. read for pleasure.
7. think about something other than how you can turn a phrase into more words than it needs to be.
8. give your poor eyes a break!
9. don't start a new project yet.
10. hold on to the motivation you had in November!

10 on Tuesday: yummy Thanksgiving foods

1. turkey (or for those who prefer: tofurkey)
2. honey-baked ham (since Hubby doesn't like turkey)
3. stuffing made from scratch
4. green bean casserole
5. sweet potatoes with lots of marshmallows
6. mashed potatoes and gravy
7. carrots (cooked with a little brown sugar)
8. corn
9. fresh dinner rolls
10. pumpkin pie with a dollop of whipped cream

10 on Tuesday: things that can wait until December

1. your other project
2. your reading list
3. cleaning your closet
4. catching up on TiVo (or Hulu)
5. your blood elf priest
6. updating your Facebook status
7. sending out Christmas cards
8. dusting
9. Tweeting
10. everything else!

10 on Tuesday: ways to boost your word count

I'm sure you'll use these techniques more as it gets closer to November 30th and your word count needs padding a little, but I'm offering it now just in case.

Good luck!

1. Don't use contractions.  Instead, write them out ("do not," "I will," etc.).  It gives you one extra word each time you would normally use a contraction.
2. Separate compound words ("some thing," "any way," "night stand," etc.).
3. Use full names of things and places rather than shortening or abbreviating.  This is especially useful for things that would normally be named using an acronym.
4. Omit hyphens.  Use spaces instead.  ("Mother in law" instead of "mother-in-law")
5. Use more "formal" writing to add words.  For example, instead of saying "She wrote formally so she could pad her word count," say "She wrote formally in order that she could pad her word count."
6. Go into as much detail as you can.
7. If you're writing third-person limited or first-person, let your prose have a little of a stream-of-consciousness vibe to it.  Let your characters ramble (internally and externally) for a while.
8. Introduce a new character, and describe him or her while employing #6 and #7.
9. Take your characters to a new place and employ #6 and #7.
10. Add flashbacks.

10 on Tuesday: ways to procrastinate during NaNoWriMo

You know you're already thinking about it.  I know you're already thinking about it.  So why don't we just cut through all the pretending you're going to write non-stop during your writing time and talk about procrastination techniques.

1. Edit your outline.
2. Tweak your character biographies.
3. Make a snack.
4. Tweet your word count.
5. Organize your writing space.
6. Eat the snack you made.
7. People-watch and claim it as research.
8. Meet a fellow procrastinator writer for coffee.
9. Brainstorm future projects.
10. Scrap your whole project and start over from scratch.  (I don't recommend this.)

10 on Tuesday: things to do to pass the time before November 1st

1. Write today.
2. Make sure you have your outline and character biographies ready to go.
3. Get in the spirit of writing by challenging yourself to write to a certain word count in a certain length of time.
4. Get acquainted with Dr. Wicked's Write or Die.
5. Spend all the time with friends and family that you can.
6. Stock up on caffeinated drinks and power snacks.
7. Get any household chores done that can be done.
8. Catch up on your email, phone calls, and other correspondence.  (Be sure to take this opportunity to let people know you'll be busy during November.)
9. Take a few pictures of yourself so your children and spouse don't forget what you look like.
10. Sleep!

10 on Tuesday: pictures of my son

I think I've done a pretty good job of keeping the pictures of my son on my personal blog, but what kind of mother would I be if I didn't brag here a little?  So enjoy!

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10 on Tuesday: places I've lived

My father was in the military through much of my life, so we moved every three years or so.  Here's a rundown of different places I've lived:

1. Rockford, Illinois (I was born at Rockford Memorial Hospital)
2. Biloxi, Mississippi
3. South Dakota (I'm not sure of the city; my brother was born in South Dakota.)
4. Enterprise, Alabama (My sister was born in Alabama.)
5. Clarksville, Tennessee
6. Katterbach, Germany (I was in 4th grade when we arrived; I wish I'd been older so I could've appreciated the experience a bitteen more. Also, my mother got pregnant with my other brother while we were in Germany.)
7. Byron, Illinois (I graduated from high school here.)
8. Charleston, Illinois (This was for a very brief time.)
9. Jacksonville, Illinois (I met Hubby here.)
10. Orlando, Florida

I've moved more times than this, but lived in some cities more than once.

10 on Tuesday: reasons to participate in NaNoWriMo

National Novel Writing Month is nearly here again, and it's time to start planning!  You can register on the site beginning on October 1st, and on November 1st, the sound of thousands of writers scribbling will be heard across the globe!

If you're on the fence about whether or not to participate in NaNoWriMo, here are some reasons you should.  And after you read this list and decide to join in the craziness with me, don't listen to Dana.  She'll tell you you're crazy.  Just ignore her.  She'll have tequila shots lined up for us on December first.  That's when we can listen to her again.

1. It makes "someday" today.  How many times have you said, "I'll write a novel...someday"?  And there's always been a reason not to do it.  Well, NaNoWriMo is just the motivation you need to actually do it.
2. A little healthy competition is good for people sometimes!  In addition to battling the clock to hit that magical number, you can use the website to check your progress against other writers or check your region against other regions.
3. What else do you have to do?  Sure, your life is busy, but you can spare a couple of hours a day, can't you?  That may be all you need to crank out 2,000 words.  So you miss a couple of episodes of Snapped.  They'll be on again, I'm sure.
4. It can be a good excuse.  If you're looking for a way to duck out of lunch with an annoying coworker, or you'd like to slip away from the family on Thanksgiving, you can use your WriMo status as a reason to be alone.
5. Coffee!  Even the most casual coffee drinkers turn into jittery java junkies (like the alliteration?) during November.  So if you love coffee, what better excuse to load up than staying up late to write?
6. It brings people together.  If you've participated in NaNo, and you see someone on the street wearing a NaNo shirt, or you see the logo on someone's blog, you feel a connection with that person.  You know what they went through in November.  And you feel their pain.
7. You'll never know if you can do it until you try it.  Can you write 50,000 words in a month?  Can you finish your novel?  November gives you the chance to find out!
8. What will you do in March if you don't write in November?
9. It can be a great refresher for your normal writing life.  If you can find time to write a novel in November, why can't you make time for your other projects?  Maybe NaNoWriMo is just what you need to remind yourself that, yes, you can be a writer no matter what else is going on in your life.
10. Who else is going to tell your story?

p.s. This is my 500th post.  Coolio.