You might be a writer if. . .
For some Friday fun, and in homage to Jeff Foxworthy, I've come up with a writer's version of his classic "You might be a redneck if. . ." (All the ones I've written apply to me. Scary, huh?) And for fun, let's keep adding to the list. Respond to the blog with your own "you might be a writer if. . ."
You might be a writer if. . .
You sleep with pen and paper next to your bed -- and the stove and the couch and the dining table and the shower and the toilet and the. . .
You have a favorite punctuation mark. My editor's trying to wean me off of em dashes -- good luck with that.
You have a favorite pen. Uniball Signo 207 with the comfi-grip in black ink. Uh, what do you mean there are other colors?
You get caught up in plotting your next scene and put the cereal in the fridge, and the milk in the pantry.
The stacks of your old manuscripts and rejection letters officially constitutes a fire hazard.
You desperately want Crayola tub markers so you can write down all that great dialog that comes to you in the shower.
You love restaurants that put a big sheet of paper over the table cloth and leave you with a handful of crayons.
You're talking to a real, living, breathing person and suddenly stop and listen because one of your characters interrupted you.
You think sleep is way overrated. Who needs more than three hours anyway?
Your novels are backed up on your laptop, your husband's laptop, two thumb drives, and you're seriously toying with the idea of getting a safe deposit box.
And finally, you know your a writer if you look at yourself and see a writer. Everyone else looks at you and sees an obsessive-compulsive, anal-retentive insomniac with a pen fetish.
Those are some of mine. Fess up and tell everyone some of yours. ; )
Tomorrow is the big day. Drop by the blog and I'll tell you where to go to get your Christmas present. I can't thank all of you enough for your encouragement and support!
And should you feel the urge to get me a little something for Christmas, a lovely review on Amazon or Barnes & Noble is the gift that keeps on giving. ; )
I got an email this morning that the bookmarks for Armed & Magical have shipped. As soon as I get them, I'll send out the book goodies to everyone who's requested them.
And speaking of Armed & Magical, it's now available for pre-order on Amazon. (Hopefully they'll put the cover photo up soon. It looks kinda bare as it is.)
Have a great Friday!
Lisa
You might be a writer if. . .
You sleep with pen and paper next to your bed -- and the stove and the couch and the dining table and the shower and the toilet and the. . .
You have a favorite punctuation mark. My editor's trying to wean me off of em dashes -- good luck with that.
You have a favorite pen. Uniball Signo 207 with the comfi-grip in black ink. Uh, what do you mean there are other colors?
You get caught up in plotting your next scene and put the cereal in the fridge, and the milk in the pantry.
The stacks of your old manuscripts and rejection letters officially constitutes a fire hazard.
You desperately want Crayola tub markers so you can write down all that great dialog that comes to you in the shower.
You love restaurants that put a big sheet of paper over the table cloth and leave you with a handful of crayons.
You're talking to a real, living, breathing person and suddenly stop and listen because one of your characters interrupted you.
You think sleep is way overrated. Who needs more than three hours anyway?
Your novels are backed up on your laptop, your husband's laptop, two thumb drives, and you're seriously toying with the idea of getting a safe deposit box.
And finally, you know your a writer if you look at yourself and see a writer. Everyone else looks at you and sees an obsessive-compulsive, anal-retentive insomniac with a pen fetish.
Those are some of mine. Fess up and tell everyone some of yours. ; )
Tomorrow is the big day. Drop by the blog and I'll tell you where to go to get your Christmas present. I can't thank all of you enough for your encouragement and support!
And should you feel the urge to get me a little something for Christmas, a lovely review on Amazon or Barnes & Noble is the gift that keeps on giving. ; )
I got an email this morning that the bookmarks for Armed & Magical have shipped. As soon as I get them, I'll send out the book goodies to everyone who's requested them.
And speaking of Armed & Magical, it's now available for pre-order on Amazon. (Hopefully they'll put the cover photo up soon. It looks kinda bare as it is.)
Have a great Friday!
Lisa
posted by Lisa Shearin at
8:02 AM
13 Comments:
I was planning to place a photo of my manuscript stack on my blog this weekend, with the ruler next to it.
Here's mine: You might be a writer if you interrupt your spouse's conversation with ideas (great or otherwise) about your work in progress. And he doesn't get mad because he's used to it.
And by far the best pen is the Zebra F-301. Blue or black -- I don't care. It has a fine point and is LIGHTWEIGHT, which is my biggest pen requirement. I've been using it for years.
And yes -- long live the em dash! Surrounded by spaces!
Do I get bookmarks? Please, oh please?
A pic of my manuscript stack. What a great idea! I'll definitely pop over and check yours out.
And I do the same thing. Bless Derek's heart, he's used to it.
Don't worry, I've got you down for book goodies. ; )
Ok here's mine: You might be a writer if you get up at 4:00 in the morning and go down to the computer to write because the voice in your head won't shut up and keeps insisting that you write this part right now.
You guys shouldn't get too obsessed with pens. The pencil is the best way to go!
Unh uh. I disagree. Pens are the only way I can write. Even the computer can't beat the good old fashioned pen and paper! :)
Ok here's mine:
You know you're a writer if... you know that some pressing matter just HAS to get done, but you absolutely have to finish that chapter. Usually this results in you being late and/or not finishing that pressing matter.
This happens to me a lot.
Michelle, I like the idea of pencils, but I'd have to keep sharpening them (can't stand anything less than a sharp point). I love gel pens (black, of course). The ink just flows across the page.
Kate, if I'm stuck, pen and paper is the only way for me to get unstuck. At that point, my laptop just doesn't get the job done.
I love my mechanical pencils. Never have to sharpen, and I don't end up smearing ink across my forehead.
You might be a writer if . . . on long car rides you're watching the scenery and abruptly say, "Wouldn't it be cool if that hill came alive as a dragon and started eating passing cars?" and the other passengers only nod, unsurprised. (Bonus points if they're so well trained they immediately start pitching in ideas on how to escape being eaten.)
If . . . you mentally add dialogue tags to real-life conversations.
If . . . your family is unalarmed when you squint at them across the breakfast table and say, "Which death would you prefer, turned into a deer and hunted down by dogs, or ripped apart by angry rosebushes?"
If . . . you have ever gotten into an argument over the serial comma.
LOL!!! Spartezda, I LOVE all of yours! I've never argued over serial commas, but I've gone head-to-head with a client over the correct use of the en dash vs em dash. You know you're a serious grammar geek when you get that angry over a freakin' dash.
I will take your word on it.:) Personally, I don't see the difference. Aren't they both essentially the same thing- I mean they both have the same basic function, don't they? (Mind you, this is from someone who HATED the grammar part of English class.:P)
Spartezda- you are lucky you have such a receptive audience. When I go off like that, everyone around me normally shakes their heads and says "She's in her crazy mode again." :D
*grin* Oh, I get the weary "crazy mode" stares too.
You know you're a serious grammar geek when . . .
. . . family members point out misplaced apostrophes simply to watch you gibber.
. . . when you're bored you try to imagine the adverb form of "leisurely".
. . . you hold strong opinions on the use of "they" as a singular pronoun.
. . . you sit and seriously ponder whether it should be "semicolon" or "semi-colon".
. . . siblings refuse to let you edit their school papers because the teacher returns it with fewer corrections.
. . . you know the difference between blond and blonde.
(I am also fanatical about "hung" vs. "hanged". I've trained my family in it too. . . it was a happy, happy day for me when my mom and I were listening to the news and it mentioned a trial with a hung jury. My mom turned to me, grinned, and said, "Good thing it wasn't a hanged jury, huh?" Grammar geekery is infectious. :D )
Oops, forgot one! You know you're a serious grammer geek when . . . you know what the Great Preposition Debate is, and will argue your side with religious fervor.
You might be a combined grammar and writing geek if . . . you can give a ten-minute lecture on omniscient POV, its pros and cons, and multiple examples thereof.
Michelle, I'm so with you on the getting up at 4:00 AM thing. Sometimes -- no, I admit it, many times -- I am disappointed when I wake up and it is 6.
This is a sure sign of a writer...
You're out and about, thinking about your story or character. And suddenly you have an idea to make a stock character or scene a heck of a lot more interesting, dynamic, or three-dimensional. And you carry this idea around in your head all day, cherishing like an unwrapped gift, knowing that the next time you sit down to write, you're not going to have beat your head, because the words are just going to pour out.
Great one, Bill! And welcome to the blog!
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