Wordpress Bugs

Yes, this is how the site was SUPPOSED to look!

I found out today, that the background I worked on for HOURS - nay, DAYS - only looks good on my own computer. Are you KIDDING me? Seriously. I grunted over this background - adjust, save, load, repeat. It never occurred to me that Wordpress wouldn't auto-fit the final concept. 

So I'll punt and go with a canned look. And that will be okay. (She tells herself with a growl.) I'm frustrated that I wasted almost 12 hours on setting it up, though. 

And that's where I started on this Wednesday ROW80 update. Frustrated. Not only because of my wasted time (a most valued commodity) but also because I've been constantly distracted with outside requests and issues. I haven't been able to write more than a blog article in days. And I'm burning to get to it! But thankfully, that's not where I finished this update - read on!

My WIP took an amazing turn last week, but I haven't had the opportunity to pursue it. So my writing goal hasn't been where I want it. But I have been doing some blog visiting - not as much as I wish. I have set up the new website pieces that I'll be opening sometime next month, though I'd like to be able to write more on them. And I got my exercise in this week and am eating right. (She says as she takes a bite of chocolate chunk cookie - yes, it IS sugar-free, but still.) Oh and I finally stopped procrastinating and turned in my contest piece. That's a win as well. So I guess there are more :) than :( or maybe that should be @**@.

For the rest of the week, I'd like to get ahead on blog articles again. Don't like this last minute stuff I've been doing. I truly hope to finish the changes that I'm making to my WIP so I can get back to the new story I've started. Too many scenes are running through my head. 

Now here's the rest of the story. As I wrote this, I decided I couldn't leave me blog half-done. Yes, I'm ADD and stopped to make adjustments! I had to make it look somewhat professional. So I changed the layout with the intent to go with a plain design. Well the layout fell into my current background beautifully. I added my original header to an enlarged version of it and I LOVE it. I'm so please with the way it turned out. I know it's only just for now, but it makes me smile! Go visit my new space! It is http://marjilaine.wordpress.com. (A simple change.) I'll be switching permanently soon, so bookmark it!

This post started out in a nothing's-right, rain cloud, but by talking my way through my week, I easily found some things to be happy about. (Oh, and the Dear Boy's Rugby team won the Texas State Championship!) I guess I just needed to step out of the emotion and view the reality of what's really going on. 

Where are you right now? On an upswing or down? If you're heading down, can you look for something good that you can grab hold of. Even small smiles can pull you out before you hit the dregs at the bottom of the tea cup.

Blessings!

News, Reviews, Previews

What a great week full of HOPE and joy!
My weekender has stories about:

• Articles of inspiration and writing
• A review of last week's blog articles at Faith-Driven Fiction
• My Sunday ROW80 Update
• A preview of articles and specials coming next week

Who Am I?

The A2Z blog that Patty Wysong started last year is about to gear up again and we’ve been challenged to begin things with a Video blog – a V-log or vlog.

Mine was recorded as we celebrated our fourth Christmas for the year at my in-laws home in Mounds, Oklahoma. I’m so blessed to get to

This is This and That is That

After I explained "who is what" in yesterday's post, I was reminded about how Flounder from Disney's The Little Mermaid, (Ariel's best friend) got himself and Ariel in trouble when he tried to explain things. It's where I got my post title.

Today is another ROW80 check-in, and I promised to explain some things that I've been trying. Let me give you a little background.

Back when I was in school, I was easily distracted. My third-grade teacher, WHO I LOVED, called it rabbit chasing. Today, they would likely call it ADD. Just in case you didn't know, it's not a kid's problem. It's something folks will deal with their entire lives.

I still get distracted, going into the kitchen for something and completely forgetting about it because I stopped to get the doggies water and folded a load of laundry, answered the phone and started

Writing Tip - It's Gotta End SOMETIME!

You would think, as a novelist, that I'm talking about a book ending. It's a logical assumption, and I hope to get to the end of the one I'm working on with due brevity. But such is not the topic for today.

See, I'm also a writing teacher, blessed with the challenge of learning enough to stay ahead of some of the sharpest young writers I've ever come across.

And yet, they suffer from a dire conspiracy that, I've noticed, even professionals experience from

time to time.

That of the run-on sentence.

It's not uncommon for writers to utilize fragments. They can introduce subjects, like mine just did (My "sentence" doesn't have a verb. Did you notice?) or define a situation with just a word or phrase. Sometimes, their choppiness can paint a mood across the writing.

Not so much with run-ons which tend to make the reader hold her breath until she reaches the end of the sentence it can really pinch a section as well the reader will have to go back and separate the sentences on her own since the author didn't bother to do it for her that halts the story line completely.

Sorry, I couldn't resist! :) Annoying wasn't it?

With the demands for juicy sentences and in depth explanations, along with parameters for paragraphs, I found my students stringing together up to three separate sentences. Sometimes they added commas to try to throw me off, or a series of semi-colons, looking like jewelry all through the essay. So I think I'm correct in my assessment that sometimes even the basest of grammar rules can need a little reminder.

A sentence is a complete thought that includes both a subject and a predicate. (Noun and verb) Basically, it tells who-did-what.

(Unless the sentence is the passive who-is-what, which doesn't actually make sense, because who, by it's very essence is who, and what is likewise what, so to say that who-is-what would be ... Would you repeat the question?)

(Yes, I know shades of "Who's on First." I think I'm in a loopier mood than normal.)

Feel free to skip the parentheticals. I think it's my drowsiness talking ... uh ... writing.

The problem comes when the sentence includes who-did-what, who-did-where, and who-else-was-there. I actually use "who-did-what" while I'm analyzing my students' papers.

A simple sentence is made up of the simple subject and the simple predicate. ~ When I looked across the road, I saw a funny looking man with a baseball bat.

Those parts are collectively called the simple sentence, made up of a simple subject and a simple predicate. (I was thinking of saying that they all lived together in a simple little house, but I think we've followed enough rabbit trails.) Very SIMPLY, if I find another simple sentence before the ending punctuation, "Off with his head!"

Oh, hold on. That was last week's post. This week it's just an evil laugh. *wrings hands* Bwhahahahahaha!

So here are some examples that I've actually seen before. See if you can separate the Run-ons from the complete sentences. For a double challenge, can you correct the mistakes or find the simple sentences in the correct ones?

1. In keeping with the mood of the music, the dancers work together with the choreographer their dance, composed as a team, offers the expertise of many instead of one.
2. Although the tiger cub could not survive in the cruel wilderness without the assistance of humans, he maintained his freedom, finding instead an accommodating cheetah.
3. Mercury, Chrysler, and Dodge vehicles are all very well-known, their family cars are among the best in America.
4. Whenever a nation learns of it's governments duplicity, it struggles to ascertain the importance of the deception was it slight or monumental.
5. While Captain America provided an excellent example of a hero, linking strength with courage and conviction and enduring personal sacrifice to promote the good of the country, Thor proved a more entertaining character because he began in a flawed state and progressed to the point of realizing his faults and seeking to rectify them.

For the next several Wednesdays, I'm going to talk about stopping sentences, or how to avoid energizer bunny writing. (Going on and on and on ...) There are a few tricks to it. For today, just be encouraged, as you revise or edit, to identify the main noun, the simple subject, along with the main verb, the simple predicate, in each sentence and make doubly sure you didn't do any doubling on them!

What's the hardest grammar rule you've ever encountered. For me, it was semi-colons. (I had to get tutoring to figure out how to put the dot on top of the comma!)

ROW 80 Update - Putting Those Fears to Rest

After a week of talking about fears, the silly type like in the blogs for Sunday and Monday, and the Godly type as in my Tuesday blog, I thought it was time to do some wrap up. Dealing with fears of all types is just

Writer Tips - What are You Shooting For?

When I thought up the title for this post, my mind drifted immediately to my sweet hubby's hunting days. We were first engaged almost 27 years ago while still in college. He, a farm boy to my way of thinking, lived in a rural town on an acre of land. Hunting season was playtime in that part of East Texas and I'll never forget the weekend that Bubba (yep, I've always called my brother Bubba - no lie!) took sweet hubby out to shoot some dove.

The birds sat on the phone lines as they drove out to the land where they'd gained permission to shoot.

Cackles erupted up and down the wires as the would-be murderers approached the promised land.

Those were the only dove they saw the entire day. Not a flicker of a wing caught their attention. I think they would've unloaded on a Mockingbird (oh, horrors) if they'd been given half a chance, but none of them showed up either.

Finally, they trekked back to the car (My hubby was the farm boy, but suburban Bubba did the driving.) and Bubba opened the trunk to put away his gun.

The loud blasts of Sweet Hubby's rifle made Bubba bump his head on the lid and bolt around the car where Sweet Hubby reloaded.

Bubba scanned the skies and the ground, seeing nothing. "What in the world are you shooting at?"

"Skunk." Sweet Hubby pointed to a fence post some distance away where black and white fur blew in the light breeze. Bubba smiled and grabbed his weapon and the two of them unloaded like Black Ops on a mission into that poor fluffy carcass. That is, until the light breeze carried the legacy of the skunk close enough to bring out the tears.

I think Bubba sold that car the next week.

There is a point to this story, honest. I read a brief article by Jody Hedlund to encourage writers. She talked about how she encourages her kids to believe that they can do great works.

I do the same thing. I've taught my kids: "It's better to shoot for the stars and hit the moon than to shoot for a mud puddle and make it every time."

Let that sink in.

The fact is, if we only attempt things we know we'll be able to do, we have no challenge, no risk, and ultimately, no delight in the accomplishment. That mud puddle is within easy reach.

But when we attempt something beyond ourselves (and as a Christian, that should be a daily goal) where the chances of accomplishment are slim and none, then a huge victory is scored with the success. And even without the success, there is victory in the trying.

I'll admit, I felt a little sick several months back when I read that I had a better chance of being shot by terrorists than being published. Daunted even more because an expert in the field mentioned it. Yikes. I don't have a chance. Pack it up, there's no use wasting my precious time.

I felt the same way last night when I heard for the first time, "Start over." Praise the Lord it was just on a minor issue and not on my whole story, but it still tore a chunk out of my armor.

Then Sweet Hubby came to the rescue - my real-life hero - and reminded me that I hadn't chosen this path. God had laid such a love for writing and deep desire to make a difference for Him that I dare not ignore His call. He also suggested that no one ever said publishing was the end of my path. Everything I'm doing, everything I'm learning will be to His glory and for His purposes. I just don't know what those plans are yet.

So when all of the best efforts come up short as we writers take the next step into this world of publishing, may the Father encourage us. And when we get tired of attempting greatness only to have critique partners (lovingly and patiently) rip our creations to shreds, may we be thankful for wise counsel to avoid painful Amazon reviews. (Yes, I love every stinkin' one of you gals!!!)

And when we get tempted to unload on a skunk because our real goal has flown the coop, may the Lord protect that darn rodent by showing His new path.

What are you shooting at, both long-term and short-term?

Bowing for the Beagle

Sweet-baby Marcie is almost 13 years old.

Humor can be a way of life for some people. I have been doubly blessed with many avenues of laughter; the stories from my mom and brother, the dry humor of my dear hubby. Even my kids, nephew and dogs get in on it. Yes, I said dogs. 

I speak for my dogs. No, I’m not an animal rights activist although I’ve been known to stop for a stray beside the road, and temporarily house a run-away until the owner could be found.  And I’ve even housed a cat before – I don’t even want to start in on cats! But that’s not at all what I

For Times, They Are A'changing

There's quite a buzz going on about Wednesday's Facebook format change. I'm beginning to think that the designers have their end-goal set up, but they know that making such drastic alterations would be overwhelming. So they space out their little changes along the way. Sort of like eating an elephant one bite at a time. Hoping for only minor squabbles and expecting irritation to die down quickly, they step their way from one design to another.

It reminds me of that word game - get from warm to

Who . . . Me? Awwwww, Shucks ;)

I'm so flattered to be given this award by Michelle Massaro. Her blog, Michelle's Adventures in Writing, is part of my inspiration list. She's a homeschooling mom of four who is also a pre-published Christian fiction writer. Sound familiar?  She has a great spirit of courage and it shows through her life and writing! By all means, go visit!

How I missed it, I'll never know, but I also received this award from Lindsey who I met through Twitter. Lindsey is also a pre-published writer who has a "Volleyblog." Another writer who likes volleyball? Throw in NASCAR and we could be twins! Check out Lindsey's Volleyblog!

Liebster means "beloved" or "favorite."

The Liebster is awarded to bloggers with less than 200 followers. It is an opportunity

Top Blog Articles for the Week!

Even though I need to take part of the weekend off, I hate skipping a day on my blog! Especially while I have the time to work on it. Once Volleyball season starts, all bets are off!

So this week as I browsed various blogs - and BOY do I browse - I linked a few onto this post.  These were my favorite posts for the week. I started to do a top ten, but it would be just too tough to choose between some of these!

  Sacred Cow-Tipping–Why Writers Blogging About Writing is Bad

Posted by Author Kristen Lamb in Blogging, Social Media Platform on June 7, 2011 from WarriorWriters.wordpress.com

  How to Build an Online Platform That Will Last
Posted by Author, Jody Hedlund on Wednesday, June 8, 2011

  Preslaysa Williams’ Thin Place: Cutting
Posted by Author, Mary DeMuth on Thursday, June 9, 2011

  Notes from the Beach
Posted by Agent, Rachelle Gardner on Wednesday, June 8, 2011

  E-xcited?
Posted by Jess Lourey at Inkspot on Friday, June 3, 2011

  Frivolous Friday: Quirky Is The New Normal
Posted by Jessica R. Patch on Friday, June 10, 2011

  5 Tips for Staying Encouraged During Querying
Posted by Author, Elizabeth Spann Craig on Friday, June 10, 2011