Skip to main content

Thoughtful Thursday

There's a whole lot to be thoughtful about right now. Particularly now that we're post-election. No more ad campaigns, no more lies ... well, fewer lies anyway... maybe.

But, I'm not going into that. No sirree. I'm going to talk about less formidable, less headache-inducing things. Fantastic things --and one not-so-fantastic thing-- that happened this week.

I'm doing this so I won't cry.

Look at this! ↓

Fantastic: My book, my little, tiny story has been in the top 100 kindle classics for kid literature for three weeks now. THREE WEEKS. Why? I'm not exactly sure. But a few sales a day sure can make a writer happy. THIS is fantastic. If you haven't read my middle grade book, you should.  I kind of like it. The Puzzle Master. ◄▬ Click on that and get the Kindle version for only $.99.


Not fantastic: See this coupon? Imagine me cutting coupons out of the Sunday paper. Imagine me trying to save money. Imagine seeing this coupon, reading what you're actually saving (ten cents per box of tissue) and realizing it's not even worth the paper it is printed on. What's worse?  I could walk my grocery store and find thirty cents on the floor in thirty seconds. This piece of paper is NOT a coupon. This is absurd. This literally insults me. So NOT fantastic.

Fantastic: Fortune cookies are pretty cool. Not for the taste necessarily, but for the little piece of paper that is going to change your world.  I found two of these little gems in a vintage coat. Proof that we are all the same and proof that we all wish for the good fortunes that come from these pieces of paper even back when JFK was president. While these fortunes have no real bearing on us, at any time or for any reason, they make us think twice. Whoever owned the coat I was looking at held onto the fortunes hoping it would bring him luck. One of the fortunes says, "you will always have good luck in your personal affairs." Very generic, but always a comfort to read. That's fantastic.



Not fantastic:Well, this week hasn't been a fantastic one for me, even though I will remain positive about it all. In that light, I'm not going to end on an un-fantastic note. I will stick with the fortune cookie scraps from decades ago as fantastic. And I will have good luck in my personal affairs, darn it ... even if the government feels it has to lend a hand in that too.

Keep writing. I am, even if it's about coupons, Amazon rankings, and fortune cookies.

I will not cry, I will not cry, I will not cry ...

Comments

  1. I've noticed most coupons lately are pretty useless. Congrats on your book. =D Maybe the fortune you found in the coat pocket is luckier than you think.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Characters That Work

I’ve heard countless times that agents, when looking for the next great manuscript and readers, looking for the next great read, want compelling characters. But, what does this mean? Compelling? And why have I never thought of characters as compelling when I can’t put the book down? Sure, these characters are amazing, and sometimes I want to be in the middle of the stories as if they were my own experiences. But why? Compelling characters make me --force me-- to be in love with them as they find their way through trials or charge fearlessly down hidden hallways and dark forests. This makes for wonderful literature, and for fascinated readers. But how do we do this? How do authors create compelling characters -- ones that not only we want to read but others too -- and convince our readers that they should care about them? Here’s a tiny list by which I try to strive: Make them human: This is a given. And most writers would tell you this is. Give your character flaws that lots o

Increasing Your Vocabulary │ Overused Words

My husband and I have this running joke that if we played a drinking game for the first -- and only the first-- five minutes of any news segment, anywhere in America, we'd be under the table in two. Why? Because this drinking game is based on the repeated use of the word "impact." It's okay if you can hate me now. Because after this post, you will notice this word EVERYWHERE and how overused it is. I get it. The word is impactful. It makes a point. Pulls a punch. But ... it's beyond this, my friends. It's overwhelmingly beyond this now. I also understand that each decade has it's colloquial and trendy words. Totally understand that. I can dig that, yo. But, there's an all-out assault on this word. And most of the time, it's used incorrectly. Do you know what the word impact means? Per Merriam-Webster, it means 1.   a.: to fix firmly by or as if my packing or wedging   b.: to press together 2.   a.: to have a direct effect or i

Make a List │ Getting Things Done

Like many of you, I am a list-maker. I find them to be one of the most rewarding things I can do in my little life. Well, that and drinking coffee and wearing vintage. But, I digress. List-making really only consists of three things: paper, a pen, and your brain. While there are myriad articles and books on tidying up and minimal living (both of which I fully embrace), living a simple and minimal life can also start just by making a list. So, why should you write a list? Three reasons: it's simple, it's in front of you, and anyone can be master of their world with one. Yes, dare I say master of your universe. Pretty amazing, right? That little list holds your sanity, order and clarity. And those are all we really need. Check out this list I wrote the other day: I listed the errands I had to run (go to post office, then to Salvation Army and Goodwill to find my vintage to sell). I listed the work I had to do (list two items items for sale on my vintage Etsy site,