Friday 13 September 2013

Chat Expert

To assist in thickening my social register, I put an ad in Kijiji (a Canadian version of Craigslist) seeking to find new friends. A woman, Mary, replied to my ad and we have become friends. She is recently single and has tried a bit of chatting. Unfortunately, she has found herself in a sticky situation and so called me up last night to ask if she could come over. I had given her Shall We Chat? Revealing the Secrets of Chatting Online and she felt I might be best in assisting her.

Along with her cute dog, Mary arrived last night in a thunderstorm. Was she ever desperate to talk. I was so glad that I was available to her. We had a wonderful discussion and I think I helped ease her worries. She said a few times how reading my book had helped her. I'm glad I have helped even one person.

Work is proceeding slowly with Locker Rooms. I have taken a fine toothed comb and am reviewing each word, sentence, paragraph to make it a better novel. I think I have made some good improvements.

Sleeping great! I feel so much better. That little CPAC machine has given me back my life. Something so simple as blowing air into my nose all night has cured my sleep problems. Ridiculous, eh?

have fun,

patty
www.pattylesser.com

Sunday 8 September 2013

The Writing Course

Pushing myself to be a little creative today. Woke up early this morning. I put on and took off the mask for the CPAC machine a couple of times and it broke. Getting something to fix it until I can get a new one, but it stopped me from going back to sleep.

Well, I'm really pleased about yesterday. My alarm clock was set for 7 am at which time I rose from my bed not feeling exhausted or wasted. It was amazing. Within a few minutes, I was ready to start the day. I have never felt like that before. In the past, rising at an early hour was almost impossible for me. It has been easier since I started with that CPAC machine. I watched Skyfall (not bad but want to watch it again before I give my rating) and then took a shower before I left the house at 9 am.

I misjudged the time it would take for me to reach the location of my writing course which was in a room in a church. Arrived a half hour early. Brian, the course instructor, was there and he remembered me even though I haven't taken a writing course from him in maybe five years or more. The class filled up all and on time. It was a good group of all women except for one man (an unemployed wimp though he wrote well). Most of them had a main job and writing was just a hobby. Everyone hoping to write a book.

The purpose of the workshop was to write great dialogue and I found it rather basic. Oh I did learn a few things and I am glad I went, but I doubt I will attend anymore of his courses. They are excellent for those interesting in writing. You do finish the day feeling quite creative eager to write.

Today (and until it is finished), I will work on Locker Rooms. Luckily or not, I have nothing much planned for the rest of September. Therefore, I have all the time in the world to finish correcting my novel. No pressure except from myself.

have fun,
patty
www.pattylesser.com

Friday 6 September 2013

Summer is Over

Earlier this week, I received the evaluation of my novel, Locker Rooms. It was a good critique and I agree with all the editor's corrections and advice. I think their help will make it a better novel. So, now I'm re-reading the book from the beginning. One error which is a pain to change was the ' character. Sometimes the apostrophe is straight or curls. I need the one that curls. Apparently the straight one doesn't publish well and I have to change them all. That's tedious, but generally I enjoy re-writing.

In addition, I attended at the Sleep Disorder's Clinic and saw the doctor. The CPAC machine has worked well and he was very pleased with the results. I won't see him now for another 6 months. The trial period is over for the machine and now I have a new machine straight from the boxes. Used it for the first time last night and worked okay. Did wake up a couple of times and looked at the clock (2:24 and 4:14). We'll see how it goes tonight.

Tomorrow/Saturday, I will be taking a course from Brian Henry who has been teaching writing courses in the area for the past 10-15 years. Brian is an editor and teaches writing at Ryerson College. I took most of his courses maybe six or so years ago and I am still on his mailing list so I receive emails about different courses being offered.

Now one comment the editor made was that, though my dialogue was easy to read and follow, some of my characters should have a unique voice. Writing accents or different types of dialogue is very difficult. I know that is not my strong suit. But, the course Brian is teaching tomorrow is How to Write Dialogue. Perfect timing. I know it will help me re-write those areas.

The weather has been fantastic even though summer has ended. Gee I remember looking forward to summer. Time flies. It's warm and sunny with blue skies. I enjoy fall except for the fact that our next season is winter. I don't like winter. But let's not be sad and enjoy the weather now.

have fun,
patty
www.pattylesser.com