Megan's Writer's Diary

Moving To A New Home

2007-05-02T15:31:00.001-04:00

Hey!
Are you still reading the Diary on this feed?

It's changed to www.meganframpton.com now. Update those bookmarks!

CHANGE OF ADDRESS

2007-04-23T13:43:00.000-04:00

I've moved to WordPress, so (and I know this is a pain) please update your bookmarks, etc. to www.meganframpton.com.

Thanks!

Megan

Sleeping Epiphany

2007-04-22T14:13:00.000-04:00

I complain way too much about how little sleep I get [I know that, I just CANNOT STOP!], but it's in the in-between stages of sleep/not-sleep when I get ideas (or realize I did my financial math wrong, but that's not a romance. Oops).

Last night or this morning, not sure which, I figured out the hero and heroine for my next book, which I am going to try to embed in my current book, kind of a jumping-off point. My hero is going to be waaaayyy Alpha. I like those Alphas. I like writing them a lot, too--allows me to live vicariously confident and kick-ass through them as opposed to the confrontational wimp I am in real life.

I still haven't found another book to start reading--the Regency-set historical I tried just wasn't cutting the mustard, so to speak, so I'm dumping it before I berate myself for wasting time.

I am thinking about picking up the next book [that I haven't read] in Barbara Hambly's Benjamin January series because she never, ever disappoints. And I always find a word I don't know within the first three pages.

In other news, I am still dull. Dull, dull, dull. But at least I am not miserably cold. Just dull.

Stuff, Churning

2007-04-20T09:00:00.000-04:00

Grump. Grump, grump. GRUMP!

Oh, but wait:

I'm over at the Riskies today, come join me.

Megan

Self-Aggrandizing Moi

2007-04-18T17:59:00.000-04:00

I am a good woman.

I say this because I got Borat from the library for me and the Likes Uncomfortable Situation Comedy Way More Than I Do Spouse to watch. I am expecting I'll spend most the movie grimacing.

Writing is going well, I say guardedly (note: Stephen King said "The road to Hell is paved with adverbs.").

Reading is not going well. I tossed a book after two chapters because I just didn't care if these people got together or not. My TBR shelves are mocking me. I am not sure what to choose next.

AND CAN I SAY I AM SO TIRED OF WEARING MY WINTER COAT?!? IT'S APRIL, PEOPLE!
[I know. The weather is a) a boring topic b) not controllable and c) predictable in blogdom. But still.]

My Torture Continues

2007-04-17T14:45:00.000-04:00

So the Seven Year-Old hasn't watched the darn movie in years and years, but still, I've had The Lion King's "Hakuna Matata" going through my head for the past week.

Maybe I should start listening to Metallica.

Monday's To-Do List

2007-04-16T13:26:00.000-04:00

Taxes? Filed.
Books? Mailed.
Muscles? Exercised.
Freelance? Completed.
Diet Coke? Halfway Drunk.
Rain? Poured Down.
Fiction Writing? Um . . . yeah. About that. Going to start in about twenty minutes.

Superstition At The Riskies

2007-04-13T13:43:00.000-04:00

It's Friday! So I'm over at the Risky Regencies! And the universe is not on fire!

click on over and survey the wreckage.

(When in doubt, post a picture by one of your favorite artists. This is by John Singer Sargent).

Bite of the Apple

2007-04-11T19:10:00.000-04:00

So yesterday I was uploading music, continuing our quest to completely digitize our collection prior to moving.

We've gotten up to the "M"s, and I had put in Metallica's Mandatory Metallica, disc 2, and it totally jammed. Would not come out.

Does our Apple enjoy the metal music? It released Meat Beat Manifesto and the Meters just fine, although it had a hiccup around Thee Michelle Gun Elephant. Anyway, after 24 hours, it finally released the disc.

It felt like a small triumph, even though I had done nothing to get the disc to eject besides sigh and wonder if we'd have to traipse the machine in and get it removed. Plus I was wondering what the tech guy would think, if anything, when he saw the disc: "Hey, this older lady's still stuck in her leather-wearing youth, loving the Metallica. Loser. I wonder if she knows any new music?" to which the answer would be, sadly, no. And actually, in my youth, I did not like the metal. It was only later, and I still don't love Metallica, so the irony is that we will likely never listen to this particular disc.

In other news, I have no other news. I am trying to tackle the writing the Wise Writing Friend's way, it's going okay so far. My hero is tortured, but not as tortured as the heroine thinks he is. Heh, heh.

And I am totally jonesing for a pair of wedge sandals, even though I kinda hate the look of cork on heels.

Are you as all over the place as I am?

Megan

Jewelish Inquisition

2007-04-10T14:18:00.000-04:00

So the Wise Writing Friend emailed me last night and asked me the questions I was too much of a wimp to ask myself:

Are you a plotter or a pantser?
And if you are a pantser, why are you trying to plot out the rest of the book?

Thank you, Wise Writing Friend. You are right. My gut is relieved I don't have to figure out the end (besides the HEA) right now.

Which just means I have to finish writing the rest of the book. Piece of cake.

Smokin'!*

2007-04-09T18:15:00.000-04:00

Thank you to the Delightful Phone Friend and her friend for this.

Megan
*Get it? He plays Sir Walter Raleigh, who brought tobacco to England.

Fat and Plotless

2007-04-09T10:45:00.000-04:00

No, I'm not nearly as depressed as the title sounds, but the gist of it is true: After spending JUST THE WEEKEND at the in-laws' house, I am up three pounds. Darn that Easter candy.

And this week I am going to plot out the rest of Road To Passion (I almost wrote 'attempt to plot,' but that sounds like I'm already dooming myself to failure). I came up with a way to up the stakes for the hero, but not sure if it will work. We will see.

So this week: No candy, plenty o' plot. Even though I'm better at eating the former, and totally lame at the latter.

Boo. Hoo.

2007-04-07T20:59:00.000-04:00

Is there anything sadder than going to a highly-anticipated library book sale and only finding one book, and that book isn't even one you're stoked about?

I thought not.

Instant Gratification

2007-04-06T09:23:00.000-04:00

Hey! I'm over at the Risky Regencies today talking about the problem of long- vs. short-term gratification. Not quite as boring as it sounds, maybe not as fascinating as it could be. Come by!

I'm Cooking With Gas!

2007-04-05T18:09:00.000-04:00

Okay, so Angela fed my ego, and asked for a recipe using rice noodles. I cook with them a lot since the Eats My Leftovers Every Day For Lunch Spouse complained about how much rice I sent him in with (he did point out rice noodles are made with rice, but at least it's not grains of rice every single day. And he doesn't like sandwiches, the picky bastard).

This is a recipe I make about once every two weeks (it's from Ken Hom's Quick & Easy Chinese Cooking, and the title is accurate). It's fast, it's tasty, and it's so easy (you do need the chili bean paste, which also goes under the name Guilin Chili Sauce. A specialty Asian grocer will have it, the rest of the stuff a regular store should have):

Fast Spicy Meat Sauce For Noodles.
1 1/2 T. peanut oil
2 T. coarsely chopped garlic
3 T. coarsely chopped scallions
2 T. coarsely chopped fresh peeled ginger (and why wouldn't you peel the ginger anyway?)
1 pound ground pork or ground turkey
1 T. chili bean paste
1 I. dark soy sauce
2 T. rice wine or dry sherry
2 T. hoisin sauce
1 t. salt
2 t. sugar

Heat a wok, add the oil. Add the garlic, scallions, ginger and stir-fry for one minute. Add the meat and cook until it's almost done. Then add the remaining ingredients and cook for five more minutes. Serve on top of noodles.

The sauce freezes well, too.

I've made Vietnamese Chicken Salad using rice noodles, too, they were good, but not as rock-solid as this recipe. My pad thai didn't turn out as well as I'd hoped--I think I screwed something up, 'cause Mark Bittman is seldom wrong. Unless you have plenty of liquid to coat them, rice noodles can clump together way more than regular-type noodles, so toss them with a little sesame oil to keep them unstuck if you are early with your noodles.

Okay, is anyone awake?

I finished up my editing today, on the first almost-half of the book at least. Next week's task is to plot out the rest of the book so it doesn't meander. Easier said than done, my plotting skills really DO stink.

Megan

It Was A Good Day

2007-04-04T20:59:00.000-04:00

Someone had two naps today.

And then someone bought a brand-new can opener, the kind that doesn't leave any jagged edges and has a lifetime guarantee!!

And then? Then I went to Pearl River Mart because I was in dire need of hoisin sauce and light soy sauce (I have plenty of dark, thanks). That store is the coolest. I couldn't resist stocking up on rice noodles, either (I cook a lot of Chinese food, this is my second bottle of hoisin sauce this year).

But the coup de grace was heading to Daffy's, where I bought a mooseload of much-needed socks.

Bliss is small errands done well.

And tonight, some editing and a lot of tea.

Megan

Things I Have Learned Today

2007-04-03T19:24:00.000-04:00

I am very, very fond of gerunds [In linguistics, a gerund is a kind of verbal noun that exists in some languages. In English, for example, the gerund is identical in form to the present participle (ending in -ing) and can behave as a verb within a clause (so that, for example, it may be modified by an adverb or have an object), but the clause as a whole (sometimes consisting only of one word, the gerund) acts as a noun within the larger sentence. For example: Editing this article is very easy.
Within the clause "Editing this article," the word "Editing" behaves as a verb; in particular the phrase "this article" is the object of that verb. But the whole clause "Editing this article" acts as a noun within the sentence as a whole; it is the subject of the verb "is".]

I can work very quickly if there is no internet to distract me [the library is my friend].

I am able to change my heroine's eye color from stormy blue to deep, rich brown. Look ma, no contacts!

I make my plot overly complicated because I don't trust myself.

And my day can make for some dull blog posts.

Sorry.

Megan

Action Woman!

2007-04-02T17:44:00.000-04:00

I have had more than eight hours' sleep for THREE DAYS IN A ROW. Do you feel the excitement?

I have an Action Plan for the next few days, sans son*:

Clean house
Work on freelance stuff
Work on house-planning (we are officially in contract, as of today)
Work out every day
Edit first half of book
Plot second half of book
Worry about future

And the Freelancing Husband will be away for a day also, leaving me ALONE! Again, excitement in the air? You betcha.

Can you even guess how much coffee will be drunk over the next few days? The mind boggles.

Wish me luck, but not too much, or I'll procrastinate.

Megan

*He is at the MIL's, having attention lavished on him like me at a Sexy Librarian convention.

Alyssa's Interview

2007-03-31T10:56:00.000-04:00

Alyssa has posted the interview with me over at her place.

The New England Conference is inspiring, I am hoping to come back to Brooklyn fresh and raring to write. And I got more than eight hours' sleep last night! A miracle!

Megan

Croak-Us

2007-03-30T07:45:00.000-04:00

I am particularly uninspired over at the Riskies' today, but come on over if you want to discuss horticulture ("You can bring a whore to culture, but you can't make her think"--Dorothy Parker).

Megan
PS: Back on Monday. Off to New England.

Clarification

2007-03-28T17:26:00.000-04:00

To clarify: I haven't taken on a real freelance job in real estate, but the Working Stiff Spouse and I have been looking for property to buy. We've been renting all these years, and we figured it was finally time.

So we found something. It needs work, but it has a backyard, and a big basement, and an open kitchen/living room, which was a deal-breaker for us (right now, we are in a railroad, so when I am cooking dinner, I have no idea what the Only Child Son is up to in the living room. Now I'll know). And today I wrote a check for a portion of the down payment. But since the Spouse is working hard (see above), it's my job to deal with all the minutiae of house-buying and construction and stuff. Hence the new job crack.

I didn't end up editing last night, but I did print stuff out. Baby steps.

The Son heads to the in-laws for Spring Break, so I should get a chance to write--my job description next week will be write, worry, panic. Repeat.

Megan

At Rope's End

2007-03-27T18:53:00.000-04:00

I am wiped out.

I haven't been sleeping (that person? Up at 3am? That's me.), I've been dealing with my new new freelance job--real estate--and my son is sick again and won't be going to school all week, so I've got that worry. He'll be fine, btw, it's just something to deal with.

If I were a lesser person, I'd crawl into a box of Chips Ahoy! (and what's with that exclamation point?). But I am not.

So tonight I am going to a) clear off the dining room table (conveniently located in the living room b) print out my ms. as it is thus far and c) print out my two readers' comments so I can d) edit the superfluity out of Road To Passion.

Wish me luck. And some sleep.

Lack of Progress

2007-03-26T11:04:00.000-04:00

No writing. Plenty of other stuff, but no writing. Which stinks, honestly, 'cause otherwise I feel guilty about doing random things like reading, or sitting, or anything other than constant motion. And I am not a constant motion kind of person.

So maybe tonight some writing because my super-ego cannot take the lack of forward motion. Damn you, super-ego! Why can't I be a slug?!?

Sticky Contest Post

2007-03-25T07:48:00.000-04:00

Alyssa is running a contest over at her place, giving away a signed copy of A Singular Lady; plus, we're giving away a bonus special horrid prize to the winner, too. NOT my book, for all of you who immediately assumed 'special horrid' referred to my writing.

All you have to do to enter is go over there and ask a question.

[Look below for current posts; I'm keeping this one on top 'til the contest's ended.]

Thanks, and thanks to Alyssa, too!

Megan
PS: My middle name is Alyssa, not that that means anything. Just an interesting point.

Costumed Risky

2007-03-23T07:00:00.000-04:00

It's Friday, so I'm at the Risky Regencies talking about playing dress-up. Come on over and make a suggestion!