Go Julia!

I couldn’t believe it when I saw the news this morning. Julia Roberts chased down a Paparazzi forcing him to pull over. He was trying to get a video of her at her children’s school, but she reminded him there are other children present.

I don’t know my laws all that well and instead of researching this particular one when I should be working on my synopsis, I’ll simply state this. As a teacher, I wasn’t allowed to take pictures or video of the children for ANY reason unless I had written permission from their parent or guardian. Are the Paparazzi excluded from this rule? Shouldn’t they take into consideration the privacy of children (whether they are a celebrity’s kid or not)? Oh, they should and most of them are probably aware of it, but they simply don’t care. All they think about is getting that fat paycheck. I don’t know about everyone else, but I’m tired of hearing stories of how these people continually cross the line. Something should be done to make them accountable for their actions. After all, celebrities are people too. Maybe they can expect to lose some privacy because of their status, but enough is enough.

And… Since you asked… The synopsis writing is kind of dragging a bit. I started out trying to follow a couple of different “formulas” for this thing. Not workout too good. So, today, I’m going to try a different approach. I will take my little index cards (thank God I used them) and jot down the major plot information. It’ll be a little choppy at first, but I can smooth that out later. Let’s get some words down first. Otherwise, the whole thing seems soooooo overwhelming. Tips anyone?

A Teacher's Nightmare

Maybe this affects me more than most people because I used to be a teacher, but I’m very upset with this whole business in Sudan. For those of you who haven’t heard the story yet, I’ll fill you in.

A British primary school teacher thought she’d motivate her students to journal. She tried a trick many teachers use in North America. She had a student share her teddy bear with the class. Then the students were asked to come up with a few names so they could later vote on the best name. The children suggested eight names including: Abdullah, Hassan and Muhammad. It was really an innocent project, where the kids would take turns bringing the bear home for the weekend and then journaling about it later. Apparently, all of the journal pages were put together in a class book. One parent reported the teacher to the police stating she was insulting the Prophet of Islam by calling the bear by the same name. If convicted, the teacher could receive 40 lashes, a large fine or six months in jail.

Although the teacher should’ve been better informed about the religious beliefs of these people, this is going way too far. Cancel her contract, send her back home, but don’t punish her as though she purposely committed a crime.

Gotta Love a Stronger Pitch!

I’ve started the synopsis…sort of. I was working on the beginning blurb, when it hit me that I could use the pitch from my query letter. Hummm… There was something that just wasn’t quite right about that. I reworked the darn thing and now I believe I have a better, stronger pitch for my query letter. It’s a good thing I’m doing all of this in advance or I would’ve sent out the other query. Not that it was awful or anything, just not quite as tight.

A Good Distraction?

The reading of synopsis pointers didn’t go as planned yesterday. Between chores, phone calls and the twins, I just didn’t have enough time on my hands. Oh, well. There’s always today. Although the kids aren’t in daycare, so it’ll be more challenging.

For those of you who don’t know me, I’m a stay-at-home mom, but I send the twins to daycare for two hours twice a week. This is supposed to be my writing time and usually it works out that way. However, I’m playing catch up with things around the house after enjoying some wonderful family time over the holidays.

Anyway, I’ll get to the synopsis reading later. I have an additional distraction too—another book outline. It’s just the beginning of an idea, but one I don’t want to ignore. I’ve already recorded some character information into my digital voice recorder as I was riding a recumbent bike at the gym last night. It’s a start, but as most writers know, it never ends there. For the next little while, until I get some form of an outline drawn up, I’ll appear distant to everyone around me. In reality, my mind is constantly playing through different scenes until the outline is complete. It drives my husband nuts, but he understands it’s part of who I am.

The Beginning of Synopsis Writing

Despite the fact it’s a Monday morning, I’m ready to take on the wonderful world of writing. Last night, I discovered some really great articles by Alicia Rasley. I printed them off and will go through them this morning while the twins are at daycare.

What topics will I be looking at? Well, since I spent a good portion of Sunday reading up on synopsis writing, I thought I’d better brush up on certain things before I begin. I want to have the basic idea of what I’ll write in my synopsis before I put it on paper. So, I’m reading about internal and external conflicts, major turning points, and some more synopsis pointers. I’m sure my eyes will be buggy by the time I’m done, but there’s no way around it. In this business, either you take the time to do these things or you risk failure and rejection.

The Smart Bachelor

I used to be hooked on the Bachelor series, but I've gotten tired of picking the wrong person in the end and being disappointed for the poor loser. It's funny. Every time a new season starts, I tell myself I won't watch it, but I usually end up catching an episode or two.

Tonight, I just happened to turn the TV onto the right channel and was able to catch the show after the last rose ceremony. I was shocked to hear the bachelor sent both women home. This has never happened before. The women were crushed and the audience was pissed. I get that. However, I have a lot of respect for Brad. He knew in his heart that neither one of these women were right for him and although he had feelings for them, he realized it wouldn't go beyond that. Instead of chosing one gal and then breaking up with her in a few months as almost all of the other Bacherlor's did, this guy took a chance and stood up for himself. He admits he has problems and issues he's going to have to deal with, but at least he didn't drag it on any longer than it had to be. Good for him.

A Friend's Happiness

I'm so excited for a writer friend of mine. She received very positive news from the agent of her choice, who not only loves her book, but wants to represent it as well. I know that should come hand in hand, but sometimes it doesn't. An agent may like the manuscript, but may not be an expert in that genre or may not believe it's different enough from others to be salable. Luckily, that wasn't the case for my friend. It may seem silly, but I am truly enjoying the whole process through her eyes knowing some day I will be the one signing a contract.