BookingIt

New Year's is a time for resolutions and goals, but what about dreams? After having kids and staying home for years, I'd forgotten how much I love learning languages but with a new job and traveling to Costa Rica, I unpacked that dream, dusted it off, and played with it. 2010 wasn't a good writing year for me. Writing became tiring to me, something to trudge after rather than something to cherish. My hope for 2011 is that in the same way I rediscovered my excitement for speaking Spanish, I'll rediscover my passion for penning a good story. What are your hopes for 2011? What dreams lay beneath your bed? Do they deserve a good dusting or are they gone for good?

The dream of speaking Spanish fluently is still in my heart. I probably should go visit the mercado pueblo nearby and find someone who is patient enough to let me practice on them. :-) What dreams live in your character's hearts? Who does your MC spend Christmas with? Merry Christmas, everyone! Here's one of my favorite Christmas songs! I couldn't get it to embed...

I'm back from Costa Rica. It was an absolutely amazing, wonderful trip. I saw so many different things. I'll try to post pics later. I'm not going to be blogging for a little while longer because a shark bit my right index finger off... Just kidding. It actually got smushed by the boat's toilet cover. *blushes* The poor thing is really gross and I can't type well, so I'll be back when the stinker heals up. Merry Christmas everyone! Feliz Navidad!

Do I really love Costa Rica? I'm about to find out. :-) This coming Monday I'm going with my husband to Costa Rica. While he's out fishing and filming for his tv show Extreme Fishing Adventures , I'll be soaking up the sun and practicing my spanish. Woohoo! Here's the trailer for Jimmy's show. Have you ever traveled out of the country? What's your favorite part about it? Least favorite? And does it inspire your writing muse?

I finally sent it off! I ran into a word count snafu and that's why I had to disappear from the blogosphere. Even with devoting as much free time as I could to writing, I think I only topped 3k a day once. How many words are you able to get in per day? What's the most you've ever written in one day? With the holidays looming, how has your word count been going? Happy Thanksgiving everyone! May your fingers be nimble, your stories be fruitful and your tummies filled. :-)

I put a ton on my plate so I'll post next week. Hopefully will visit you all before then, though. What's on your plate? Have a wonderful week!

Editing a manuscript reminds me of pruning. Sometimes you have to cut off perfectly good branches, perfectly good characters, perfectly good scenes, so that the story can flourish. Proper pruning enhances the beauty of almost any landscape tree and shrub, while improper pruning can ruin or greatly reduce its landscape potential. In most cases, it is better not to prune than to do it incorrectly. In nature, plants go years with little or no pruning, but man can ruin what nature has created. By using improper pruning methods healthy plants are often weakened or deformed. So while it's important to cut our work, it's also imperative we know what we're doing. How do you prune without ruining your work? Have you ever overedited? Took advice when you shouldn't have?