Babies = Hilarious

So, this weekend was gorgeous. Got outside, got some exercise, etc, etc .... Great weekend!

Last night, though, my little one was in a very cranky mood. He's four months old, and doing the math, I am guessing he's starting to teethe. No sleeping through the night anymore for this little guy! UGH.

Anyway, he was crying and crying, and I'd already put his bottle on to warm, and Papa was holding him and trying desperately to stop our normally angelic boy's fit of hysteria. Well, I went into the living room holding his bottle, and when I got round the doorway with it, our screaming, crying little man went from scrunched-up, red, teary face to big grin in a split second. He didn't even see Mommy - just that bottle, and the look on his face said, "Yes! They can be trained! Hooray!" Hubby and I started laughing fit to explode.

Yep. We know where we rate with our little guy. Man, why don't I write Mommy lit?

Getting to Knooooow You

So, I haven't written in my new WIP for a while, but I do have an excuse - I'm trying to work out WHY I haven't been writing in it. Usually when I put something down, it's because I don't feel all that spectacular about writing it. That's been happening a lot with this book, and I think I may have figured out why. I need to do more work plotting it. There are a few things that need better motivations and stronger twists, so it's back to the ol' drawing board to interview my characters and figure out a little more about what makes them tick.

The first two books I wrote, I knew almost everything about the characters. I'd known them for a solid 10 years or more. These two, I'm starting with strangers, and it feels odd to get to know them as I'm writing them. So it's time to play journalist, and sit these guys down and ask why they do what they do. It's much easier to have a character take action in his or her scene when you know what kind of reactions they will have, rather than just plop them there and see what happens. It also helps you create more active writing. So, that is what I will be doing the rest of this week - a little digging and peeling back of layers. I'm hoping to find a few prickly bits of character angst and flaws that I can work with! We writers are such a ruthless lot, aren't we?

You've Come A Long Way, Baby

If you ever want to know how far your writing has come, pick up one of your early works. I did that yesterday. One word.

*Cringe.*

I honestly couldn't read at least half of it. Head-hopping, useless dialogue, cheesy action. Now, really. Do you need a whole conversation on who's going to do the grocery shopping?

The upside to this is, I can be proud of how improved my writing has become in the years since writing that book. I flatter myself to think what I write now is actually readable.

I love the characters in that story to death, but if it's ever to see the light of day, it'll need SERIOUS reworking. If you're starting to think your writing is bad, reading old stuff will make you feel a whole lot better. Trust me!