8 Things I Love About Summer

Okay, I'm back and I'm going to try to stick to my previous blog schedule. Of course, I can't promise anything, but I want to get back into blogging and what better way than to do it on the Top 8 of '08 day!

Here's the top things I LURVE about Summertime!

1. Barbecues




2. Swimming




3. Sunshades




4. Camping




5. Watermelon




6. Pina Coladas




7. Summer showers




8. Vacations

Goals, Motivation, and Conflict

I made a blogging schedule but have not been sticking with it...My days are filled with work, my evenings are filled with recovering from my stressful day and finding time and energy to write.

Which brings me to the topic of my discussion today...GMC. Goals, Motivation, and Conflict. Those are the 3 things every character in your story must have. What do they want, why do they want it, and why can't they have it? It sounds simple, doesn't it?

Books have been written about it, it's been blogged about more than anything I'm sure. It's one of those things you know your character needs.

What about us? When it comes to ourselves, it's sometimes hard to figure out our GMC.

Goal: To write

Motivation: I love writing and building characters and their stories

Conflict: Time and energy

Yep, it's as simple, and complicated, as that.

My problem is I usually know what my goals are, but conflict gets in the way and I lack motivation. It's easy to forget or overlook what motivates me, especially when things get hectic and it's easier to relax on the couch with a glass of wine and a good movie.

Take blogging. I want to stick to a schedule, but time really does get in the way and it's hard to find motivation when you don't have a lot of readers on your blog. Well, it's hard to get readers when you don't blog!

Because today is my Top 8 of 8 if I go by my blogging schedule, I'm going to list 8 ways you can find motivation.

1. Keep a gratitude journal and write about what you're grateful for. Remember the small things we often overlook.
2. Pray.
3. Hang a picture of an inspiring person, place or event, or something that reminds you of what you want and why. Remind yourself why you want to reach this goal, and renew your vigor with that knowledge.
5. Assign yourself a personal mantra and say it everyday. I will I will I will.
6. Believe in yourself.
7. Reward yourself.
8. Penalize yourself. That's right. It's in direct contrast to what I said about rewarding yourself. I find that if I want something and I have the means (like if I want a piece of chocolate or a new pair of shoes), I'll usually buy it. I work for a living after all, why not? Yet sometimes that attitude makes it hard for us, because if we always get what we want, we don't have any reason to work harder at what we want. Parents penalize their children if they do something wrong, why shouldn't we penalize ourselves? When I first got on the insulin pump years ago, I had to be very strict about what I ate and what I did for a good month. I rewarded myself at the end of the month with an ice cream blizzard, knowing that if I did what I was supposed to do, I would enjoy that ice cream. It was rare for me to have Dairy Queen blizzards, so it was motivation for me to do what I needed to do. If I had a blizzard every time I was hungry for one (which I didn't back when I didn't have an insulin pump), I wouldn't have cared because I would have known I'd have one anyway. Just one example!

How do you motivate yourself?

Top 8 of '08

Before I post my monthly Top 8 of '08, I want to dance at some wonderful news I read today. Sandra Brown is my favorite author. Though I love many many authors, if anyone has ever read my blog they know that Sandra Brown holds a special place in my heart. I love her writing style and her stories! So today when I heard she cut a film deal for THE WITNESS, my heart soared with excitement!

Sandra Brown doesn't usually cut film deals (actually, this is her first that I know of) because, as she said, she has a voice (the voice I love!) that her readers have come to expect and, as we all know, you never know what to expect from a movie. But I'm so excited! I will always be a fan, no matter if the movie turns out bad, but THE WITNESS was one of the first books of her that made me fall in love with her and with romantic suspense.

You can read the news post here.

Now, for the Top 8 of '08, here's a list of my top 8 favorite fruits, herbs and/or veggies to plant (or eat) in the spring. Be sure to share yours, too!
1. Tomatoes
2. Cucumber
3. Peppers
4. Watermelon
5. Squash
6. Corn
7. Cantaloupe
8. Cilantro

8 Romance Novels I'd Want on a Desert Island

Since it’s the month of love and Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, I thought I’d share the 8 romance novels I’d want with me on a desert island. These are in no particular order. Also, I thought it’d be fun to share the 8 movies I’d like, providing this desert island had a television!

And, because I missed last month’s contest, I’m going to have my first contest of the year right now! Share your top 8 novels AND/OR 8 movies, and I’ll enter you to win. On Wednesday, February 7, I’ll post the winner, so that I can get your prize to you hopefully in time for Valentine’s Day! What is it? Ooh-la-la, I’m not saying, but it’s LOVEly and borders around the LOVE theme.

8 ROMANCE NOVELS I’D WANT WITH MY ON A DESERT ISLAND:

1. Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell
2. A Rose In Winter by Kathleen E. Woodiwiss
3. Fat Tuesday, by Sandra Brown
4. The Villa, by Nora Roberts
5. One Wrong Move, by ME! (how could I go to a desert island without my babies?)
6. Holding Fast, by ME!
7. Come Love a Stranger, by Kathleen E. Woodiwiss
8. The Bible (yes, it’s romance!)

8 MOVIES I’D WATCH OVER AND OVER AGAIN:

1. Top Gun
2. How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
3. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest
4. Spiderman
5. Batman Begins
6. Ten Things I Hate About You
7. Shrek 2
8. Cars

Wow, that was hard, because I realized there are a lot of movies I enjoy and could watch a million times. I'm excited about the new Rambo movie, because I love the old Rambo films (but I haven't seen it yet). If the old Superman films from Christopher Reeves came on, you could bet I'd watch it (turns out one of them was on last night). And it was hard to leave Bridget Jone's Diary out of my list. :((

So there you have it...let me hear yours. Choose novels, movies, or post both! The winner will be chosen on Wednesday!

Top 8 of '08: Things to Accomplish This Year

After looking back over the year, I determined I accomplished a lot more than I first suspected. I'm making goals, planning a better schedule, and praying I'll stick with it. I have a beautiful Disney desk calendar with appointments already written in (t's a work in progress), so I'm ready to tackle the new year!

Here are just 8 things I hope to do this year:

1. Go to at least one writing conference
2. Enter at least one writing contest
3. Take at least one cooking class
4. Take at least one craft class
5. Finish my 90K+ novel
6. Take a real vacation
7. Visit a spa for a day
8. Tell my boss I’m a writer and gain more support