Tag Archives: blogging

The Scary Things about Cat Editors (Guest Post)

Posted on by

7

by Molly Hunt

editor cat-there are days by Rogena Mitchell-Jones Manuscript Service.jpg

Editor Cat- There are days… by Rogena Mitchell-Jones Manuscript Service

Tinkerbelle is looking me in the eyes from her bed behind my monitor where she does her best editing. She knows what I’m thinking. She knows I don’t have a clue what I’m about to write, and she knows I’m going to bull my way through in spite of that. Cats know these things, but…

How do they know?

Tinkerbelle, Prime Editor.jpg

Tinkerbelle, Prime Editor

I turn slightly and see Tink is not alone; Little is also watching. She wants to see what I do next. She looks exceedingly smug, knowing that if she doesn’t like it, she will drift her feathery fur across my touch screen and make it disappear.

“No, Little, no! It can’t be that bad. Can it?”

Little, Hands-on Editor.JPG

Little, Hands-on Editor

Continue reading →

Monday Musings #11

Posted on by

14

On Inspiration:

Outback

I’ve had a pretty crappy month, not gonna lie. But what I’ve learned in the process of that is that sometimes when things suck, you’re opening the door to yourself as a writer to find some pretty good inspiration.

Now, let me tell you about my Friday night:

Once I knew that we were in for the evening, I popped open the bottle of wine I had just bought (funny story, while buying it, I made the cashier sad because of how young I was. Apparently she graduated from high school the year I was born. Can’t harsh my mellow though, I was already in a bad mood ha!). ANYWAY. Opened the wine, drank it and another bottle (this is not a common occurrence, I promise).

Started trying to read a book (do not recommend), and then decided that I was just going to watch TV. Normally I turn to the Food Network, but I needed something different.

Open up my DVR screen and BAM. Grey’s Anatomy was back!

I don’t know if any of you saw it, but I sobbed (no shame) and after watching it, I didn’t even delete it. I rarely watch things twice, that but episode was everything I love about thriller/drama genre type of stuff. That episode was my favorite, even beating out the Superbowl episode with the bomb, and the two-part plane crash episode, and the ferry crash episode. (I think we can sense a theme in my favorite episodes haha!)

I kept it on my DVR to use as inspiration. After I watched it, I wanted to write something so bad, but I was quite inebriated and even though I’ve written a post called ‘Write Drunk, Edit Sober‘, it doesn’t mean I’m necessarily going to DO it (not yet anyway). Continue reading →

A Crappy Valentine’s Day Poem

Posted on by

2

to my fiance, and to all my readers out there.
Happy Valentine’s Day

Roses are red,
violets are blue,
I want you all to know
how much I appreciate you.

So eat a lot of chocolate,
drink a lot of wine,
spend time with your loved one,
or by yourself, that’s fine!

Happy Valentine’s Day
from The Caffeinated Writer,
I hope your day
is full of all your desires.

And now, a good poem!

To My Valentine:
by Ogden Nash

More than a catbird hates a cat,
Or a criminal hates a clue,
Or the Axis hates the United States,
That’s how much I love you.

I love you more than a duck can swim,
And more than a grapefruit squirts,
I love you more than a gin rummy is a bore,
And more than a toothache hurts.

As a shipwrecked sailor hates the sea,
Or a juggler hates a shove,
As a hostess detests unexpected guests,
That’s how much you I love.

I love you more than a wasp can sting,
And more than the subway jerks,
I love you as much as a beggar needs a crutch,
And more than a hangnail irks.

I swear to you by the stars above,
And below, if such there be,
As the High Court loathes perjurious oathes,
That’s how you’re loved by me.

What a sappy holiday, haha!

 

It’s a Novel Idea (Guest Post)

Posted on by

0

by Jade Sutton

castle

One hot summer evening, a couple walked up to a splash pad in the park and decided to go skinny dipping so they could cool off.  After the couple had removed most of their clothing, they began running and jumping in the cool, crisp water.  Suddenly, the jets turned off and on the ground was a very well-dressed woman laying face down with stab wounds in her back.

Next on the scene is New York’s finest homicide detective, Kate Beckett (played by Stana Katic) and the famous mystery novelist Richard Castle (played by Nathan Fillion). The two work together to solve crimes in New York City. After Castle killed off his main character, Derek Storm from his previous series, Castle needed a new muse to inspire him.  Kate Beckett was the inspiration for his new character, Nikki Heat. Sometimes Rick Castle and Kate Beckett are stumped by a case and Castle asks his Poker buddies, James Patterson and Michael Connelly how they would write Castle’s hypothetical story/case. These cases later become the bases for his Nikki Heat series.

The fictional character Richard Castle has written a series of Nikki Heat books.  Just like the TV show the book jacket reads, “Richard Castle lives in New York with his mother and daughter.” The real author of these books is unknown. If you would like to read more, you can find Richard Castle’s books in your local library (I’ve also linked to each book via the image below).

The Nikki Heat series is as follows:

                         

You can watch Castle on ABC Monday nights 10pm EST.  Also, you can purchase past seasons of Castle on Amazon.

Jade Sutton lives in eastern North Carolina with her husband and 2 beautiful feline fur babies. She is an educator by day and an artist by night and her current interests are art journaling, mixed media, scrapbooking, making cards and photography. If you would like to see more of her art, Jade Sutton’s blog is jadesuttonart.com

 

Want to write a post and have it featured on The Caffeinated Writer? Submit your pitch here!

 

When You Get an Idea You Don’t Know How to Write

Posted on by

11

Never let the fear of striking out get in your way..jpg

I encountered this problem a few weeks ago where I had this awesome dream that I felt needed to be a story, novel, movie, SOMETHING. I won’t divulge what it was (yet) because I’m still sitting on it pretty hard trying to figure out what to do.

This is only an issue because the the piece would be some pretty hard fantasy, and I do not write fantasy at all. I’ve only read it briefly. I struggled with the people in my creative writing classes who wrote really high fantasy pieces because it’s not my genre. I just don’t personally get it. I have a hard time reading it because I get lost in all the world building.

But I’m not here to talk about why fantasy isn’t my favorite genre, I’m here to talk about writing in genres that are uncomfortable to us. Continue reading →

Monday Musings #10

Posted on by

13

500 Words or Less:

So there’s this writing contest that I’m trying to enter. The challenge for me? A captivating, complete story in 500 words or less. I’m not always the most wordy person, but there’s a reason I have more novels (finished or not) than short stories in my personal portfolio.

To me at least, writing short stories is harder than writing a novel. Especially 500 words or less. Flash fiction I guess you could consider this?

I did take one January-term seminar on flash fiction, and it never got easy for me. I hardly ever feel like my story hits its potential in 2 pages.

I did write one piece to try submitting, but I had 3 people read it, one who was also an English/CW major, and two who aren’t, and got some interesting feedback. Confusing too, because everyone has a completely different opinion about it. Everyone read into it differently (although that was intentional). And everyone thinks it’s a different stage as far as being turn-in ready. Gah! What am I supposed to do now? Hm. Continue reading →

Coffee Shops – My Therapy

Posted on by

9

 

coffee therapy.png

Friday, you got the pleasure of reading a wonderful guest post by Brent Jackson (if you didn’t read it, make sure you do!) about how for him, coffee shops are his second office.

After my mental breakdown on Wednesday (I call it that, but I don’t think it was that bad), I needed to recuperate. On Thursday, I don’t go into work until 2pm, so I stopped in at Starbucks (just a mile from work) and got up to the counter pondering what was going to give me the best start to my workday.

Deb (I seriously love her) was working, and she asked if I wanted my usual – a grande blonde roast, with room for cream. “It’ll have to be a pour over though, is that okay?”

I have no problem with pour overs, I get them all the time! But I wasn’t sure I was feeling the plain coffee thing today though. And I think she could sense my hesitation before I said yes.

She asked if I wanted her to use less coffee grounds or something, and that’s when I told her that I’d had a bad day the day before, and wanted something different. Continue reading →

Starbucks: My Second Office (Guest Post)

Posted on by

12

by Brent Jackson

dreamstime_xs_58237049 - Starbucks Cafe Interior

 

“When that first sip of coffee … touches your soul.” I see memes with this saying all over the internet. I have a few pinned to my Coffee Shop Stuff board on Pinterest. I love coffee! I love coffee so much, all I have to do is walk two blocks to my local Starbucks. The moment I open the door, I’m at my second office.

Think about it. A coffee shop is a special place. The smell of fresh coffee greets me the moment I open the door. The sounds of busy coffee machines and steaming milk fill my ears. The look of bar tops, tables and comfortable chairs inviting me to make myself at home. All that’s left is to order my coffee.

Continue reading →

Wedding Planning is Hard

Posted on by

21

 

Pardon the non-writing related update, but dangit I had a bad day Wednesday and I want to write a post about it. Which is double unfortunate because I woke up in a great mood. I had every plan to have a wonderful day.

Wednesday, it suddenly hit me that our wedding was a mere 4 1/2 months away, and that we still didn’t know where the ceremony was going to take place. We’re getting married on a Saturday in June. It’s kind of imperative that we put a deposit on a church sometime soon.

Brad’s family is very religious. Southern Baptist, specifically. They don’t want alcohol at our wedding reception, but that is not happening.

The one big request I am trying to guarantee is that we get married in a church by a (male) pastor (their request).

But oh my goodness. It’s kind of difficult when you’re planning a wedding in Texas when you live in a Virginia. I have only spoken with one church, but (no particular surprise), their requirement is pre-marital counseling. IN. PERSON. Continue reading →

Monday Musings #9

Posted on by

16

On Procrastination:

Yesterday I read a post by Bryn Donovan titled “Stop Procrastination and Unleash Your Full Power… In Writing and Everything Else” and boy did it make me remember the good ole days of college (like they were so far back, my goodness haha).

I’ve always been a master procrastinator. If such a degree existed, I would have it for sure. Maybe it’s not a good thing to have, but oh well.

In college, I was terrible. We’d get a syllabus at the beginning of the semester with deadlines. We’d get the actual assignment for papers at least a month before the due date. Some classes scheduled library research days where we would learn (for the millionth time) how to use the library resources, find good articles, etc. This class day got incredibly old come my junior and senior year. Just because we’re taking a 100-level class does NOT mean we need to learn how to do research, my goodness. They’d make us turn in an outline or an intro paragraph or whatever.

No matter how hard they tried, I wrote papers the night they were due. Even if they required a rough draft ahead of time, that was written the night before, and then the final paper was rewritten/edited the night before as well.

Some funny (terrible) college procrastination stories: Continue reading →