Strangely Ironic Book Meme

Here’s a fun little meme. I found this at The Atheist Blogger. Odd blog for me to be reading, but an interesting little meme idea.

  1. Grab the nearest book.
  2. Open the book to page 56.
  3. Find the fifth sentence.
  4. Post the text of the next seven sentences in your journal along with these instructions.
  5. Don’t dig for your favorite book, the cool book, or the intellectual one: pick the CLOSEST

Well, the closest book was one I had just placed on my desk for reading. Mama Gena’s School of Womanly Arts by Regena Thomashauer.

“You want glow – you gotta have fun. That’s the simple equation, my beauties. While working hard is great, hard work without fun is empty and meaningless. And fun is not all “Ha-ha, whee!” It is whatever experience entertains and grabs you. Sometimes fun is going to a movie that is so sad it makes you sob like a baby. I rent Il Postino or Once Around when I want that kind of fun.”

Well, that’s seven sentences. I really like that. It’s a great book, by the way.

I’m going to do the same thing as the Atheist Blogger did and tag YOU. That’s right. If you’re reading this, and you have a blog, take five minutes and give us seven sentences from page 56 of the closest book. Go on. Make sure you link to me so that I can come find it and comment.

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Writing Meme

I snagged this meme from Chrysanthemum Rose. If anyone is reading this (Hello? Hello? If you’re reading, please let me know!)

Do you write fiction or non-fiction? Or both?
I write fiction. I also edit non-fiction – usually university reports for ESL students. Hey, it’s a living.

Do you keep a journal or a writing notebook?
Not really. I do try to make sure that I have pens and a notebook handy, as much as possible, but it’s hard to juggle an infant and a notebook.

If you write fiction, do you know your characters’ goals, motivations, and conflicts before you start writing or is that something else you discover only after you start writing?
Oh, that would make it a lot easier, wouldn’t it? I have a bare idea about the story plot and very little idea about why the characters do what they’re doing.

Are you a procrastinator or does the itch to write keep at you until you sit down and work?
Both? Is that possible? There are times when I almost can’t breathe because of the scenes flashing through my head, like someone on speed watching satellite tv with a remote in their hands.

Do you write in short bursts of creative energy, or can you sit down and write for hours at a time?
Short bursts. I’m going to use Nanowrimo in November to train myself to write in a more steady, solid, scheduled manner.

Are you a morning or afternoon writer?
Evening, actually. My best scenes come to me once Treehouse tv has been turned off, and the phone stops ringing, and everyone’s gone to bed.

Do you write with music/the noise of children/in a cafe or other public setting, or do you need complete silence to concentrate?
I CAN write with background noise. If I couldn’t, I would get very little done. The background noise of a cafe is awesome, because it’s like white noise. At home, I need to keep an ear on the noise.

Computer or longhand? (or typewriter?)
Both computer and longhand. There are times when I feel a strong urge to write on paper. When I do, the scene normally flows well. Most of the time, though, I write on the computer. And one oddity – I write in Trebuchet font. I know – when I submit it to an agent, I’ll need to use an ugly font. :)

Do you know the ending before you type Chapter One? Or do you let the story evolve as you write?
My major WiP started *because* I knew the ending, and the beginning, and I needed to know what happened in the middle.

Does what’s selling in the market influence how and what you write?
No.

Editing/Revision – love it or hate it?

I don’t know if I love it or I hate, but I know I need it. Like most writers, my first drafts are crap. (Which makes me wonder about the intelligence of blogging to the world – my blog entries are entirely first draft material)

So there it is! Please grab it and link back to me. And go visit Chrysanthemum Promise while you’re at it. She stole the meme from someone else.