What's Up Wednesday

This week...

My current WIP (work in progress): Finished the first round of revisions for the first half of the book. Hurray!

News from the publishing world: For anyone looking for an agent or considering getting an agent, I thought this quiz was interesting. Link: Test Your Literary Agent IQ

Quote of the week:  "Do it now. Sometimes 'later' becomes 'never'." ~ Unknown. This happened to me a couple of times last week. I had a hectic schedule and planned on working on revisions later in the evening and then never got to it.

Health news:  Carvacrol is a substance found in oregano that gives it it's smell and flavor. Researchers have found that Carvacrol may also help protect against the norovirus, a nasty gastrointestinal bug. Unfortunately, there's no way a person can eat enough oregano to avoid contracting the virus. Researchers are looking into developing non-edible ways to use the carvacrol compound to help fight contracting the norovirus.

Random things:  We had our first snow fall this past weekend. It wasn't anything measurable and didn't really stick, but it reminded me winter is coming as much as I might wish it wouldn't.

Random photo of the week:

I tend to read more in the winter than I do in the summer. I think it's because in the cold weather, I'd rather be inside where it's warm and dry.

Sourdough Bread and Writing

I've mentioned here before how much I like making homemade bread. I've always wanted to try and make sourdough bread, but have always been put off by how long the process is. The shortest recipe time I've found is letting the sourdough starter sit a minimum of 12 hours before actually making the bread.

One day last week, I mentioned to a friend how much I want to try making this type of bread, but it seems like such a long process just to make a couple of loaves of bread. My friend gave me a strange look and said, "but you don't think anything about the fact that it takes you months to write a book."

Suddenly the proverbial light bulb went off over my head. She's right. I don't think twice about spending so much time thinking about plots, dialogues, characterization before I even start the actual process of writing. I started seeing the parallels between waiting those 12 hours for the sourdough starter and my pre-writing process.

Letting the starter sit so the yeast and other ingredients can ferment is a great deal like my need to do character sketches, try out various plot lines, make sure my hero and heroine both have believable goals and motivation before I start writing. Letting the starter sit the required hours gives the bread the foundation it needs to rise and bake properly much like my pre-writing ensures my completed novel will have a sturdy structure as its base.

I think I'll be making sourdough bread this weekend. :o)

This I know for sure...

I'm that person that hates Christmas shopping. Don't get me wrong, I love the Christmas season. I love the music, the cartoons, the baking, and pretty much everything else associated with the holiday except for the shopping.

I hate having to fight the crowds, to try and find a parking spot in over crowded lots, and I'm not a big fan of waiting in long lines while the cashier works in slowest manner possible because he/she doesn't want to be there.

Last year I vowed to do less shopping in stores so earlier this week, I started my shopping by ordering online. I hope to do the majority of it that way with only a few stops in actual physical stores.

Which form of shopping do you prefer?

What's Up Wednesday

This week...

My current WIP (work in progress): Still working on revisions. It seems to be a slow process lately. I'm still jotting down scenes and dialogue snippets as they pop in my head for the next book.

News from the publishing world: For those of us who mourned the loss of locally owned bookstores, this article is great news. Link: Indie Bookstores Aren't Dead

Quote of the week: "The secret of getting ahead is getting started." ~ Mark Twain. This is for those rough days when the last thing I want to do is sit down at the laptop and write.

Health news: According to researchers from the University of British Columbia, strength training helps boost associative memory (such as putting names to faces). Cardio exercise helps boost episodic memory (such as remembering what's on your shopping list). Working out helps increase the blood flow to the brain, most importantly to the hippocampus where memories are stored. Exercise also increased growth factors in the brain which promotes cell health.

Random things: Now that the weather has grown colder with highs in the low 50's and the nights even colder, I've started crocheting in the evening. I'm currently finishing up a blanket. The really nice part is that it's big enough to cover my legs while I'm working on it.

Random photo of the week:

Here's my cat helping me keep track of my yarn while I'm crocheting.

Happy Halloween

 

Happy Halloween!

What's Up Wednesday

This week...

My current WIP (work in progress):  Still working on revisions. Met with my critique partner and had her read the new beginning. She liked it much better and so do I.

News from the publishing world: This article is an Indie author's interpretation of Amazon's algorithms in relation to sales. The article is a little long but I thought well worth the time to read. Link: Rachel Aaron Numbers  

Quote of the week: "Things work out best for those who make the best of how things work out." ~John Wooden. Something I need to remind myself of on a regular basis.

Health news: According to a new study from Tufts University, drinking soda or other sugary beverages can be just as detrimental to a person at a healthy weight as to an overweight person. Our bodies store excess calories as visceral fat. This type of fat is a dangerous form of adipose tissue that surrounds our internal organs. It can increase the risk for heart disease and diabetes. 

Random things: Now that the weather has gotten cooler, I've started making bread again. There's something about the process of kneading the dough, letting it rise, and kneading it again, then letting it rise once more before baking it that I find infinitely relaxing. 

Random photo of the week: 

Here's a picture of a loaf of olive bread I made late last week.