NICE AND MEAN and everywhere in between

Just updated a whole lot, but posted in the wrong order! You can scroll down
to "What's New, Pussycat?" or just read out of order here. xo!

Now I'm both happily ensconced back in my life and also running around like crazy. For some reason, all the teachers in the world (or at least, in Louisville) want teaching artists to instruct their children in playwriting or drama through history RIGHT NOW. I'm booked almost every single day at one school or another, and am continuing to tutor two students and am adding a third. In the midst of this, I'm planning the wedding, turning 34 next week (hell, George!) and revising my novel for publication. Gah!

The latter, though, is awesome. To all you writers out there: I strongly recommend taking huge chunks of time away from your novel, preferably 18 months. When I returned to NICE AND MEAN after a major vacay, one that included drafting and attempting to revise a second novel and starting a third (don't be too impressed--most of my classmates have done the same in the last 18 months)--it was like I'd suddenly been given glasses with the right perscription, and could now see things I had been totally blind to before.

Things like, “Wow, why don’t I show Marina getting hauled into the principal’s office to account for the evil video she made about her so-called best friend? Seems like that would be an important emotional moment, especially if her mom, the source of all her misery, is there to shake her head in embarrassment.” You’d think I would have considered showing a scene of such emotional importance, but no, I’d merely referred to it. Or maybe, if Elizabeth, Marina’s good friend, was going to tell her they needed to take a friend-break, she’d come into the conversation knowing that, instead of springing it on Marina when they get off the bus. Wouldn’t want to make Elizabeth’s actions cogent or anything. Definitely warp her motivation!

So it’s just been fun, to go back to these middle-grade characters, after dealing in more adolescent angst in my other work-in-progress, shore up a plot whose shape I already know. It also makes me dread the fact that when I’m done, I’ll have to go back to books that are so mushy, but whatever. I’m sure there will be joy there, too.

Now I leave you, since I’m sure you’ve had enough of what is possibly an annoyingly sunny update. I hope to write more here (yeah yeah, I always do) and to read all your bloggerinas, too!

Bye now, for a bit.

~ Cake

ps My computer chair really hurts my back. Does anybody have any remedies for that?

I'm ending with a photo taken from our Clue party. I'm sure many of you know the game Apples to Apples, but did you know the superstition/whatever that the adjective cards you end up with describe up? As I hope you can see from this picture, this player's cards have a real tell!


In case you can't see, her cards say, "Fuzzy," "comical" and "unusual." !