My mom doesn’t really like when I share her momisms here but NOT sharing them was crushing all the fun out of my life so she’ll have to deal.

First, this classic from several months ago:

“Robert Pattinson. Isn’t he in that movie with Reese Witherwhatever, Elephants Can’t Swim?” -My mom

And then, from just now:

Mom: Doesn’t Reese… *a long pause ensues in which I assume she’s going to say some version of Witherspoon when she throws me a curve ball* Fillbus look good?

Me: …I’m sure I would agree with you if I had any idea who Reese Fillbus… wait. Do you mean Regis Philbin?

Mom: *unfazed* Doesn’t he look good for his age?

Me: *sighs* Yes, mom. Yes, he does.

And then, for old time’s sake, a rerun of this classic from the day Heath Ledger died…

Mom: Isn’t that a shame about Keith Richards?

My husband: You mean Heath Ledger? Yeah…

Mom: And Keith Richards is still alive! *she says as if Husband was the one who’d said it wrong*

Husband: Uh… yeah.

Mom: And now I’m all depressed about this financial stuff I saw on TV. I was watching that guy… oh, you know… the Mad Money guy…

Husband: *just trying to keep up* Jim Cramer?

Mom: Yes! Him. You know me. I’m terrible with numbers.

Doesn’t that just about sum it up?

The following post is a guest post from Megan of Help4Writers on Tumblr in honor of NaNoWriMo. Megan is a high school senior but has been writing for many years and loves to talk shop with other writers. Her blog has writing prompts, advice, reference and more so go on and check it out.

~Hillary

Image via Wikipedia

Many people dread the term “outline” when it comes to any kind of writing because they simply don’t feel it’s necessary to plan out what you’re writing. They get their best ideas by writing the first thing that comes to mind. Then they either edit as they go – a detriment to anyone that is participating in National Novel Writing Month – or they edit once they’ve finished writing (if they’ve gotten that far).

Outlines are an essential part of writing, whether you’re just starting out or have been writing novels for years. No matter what you’re writing down about your story to remember for a later time, this is an outline, something you wish to include when you get to a certain part.

For anyone participating in National Novel Writing Month, an outline will help you when plotting things out, especially if you’re plotting ahead of time instead of a day or two before NaNo starts.

There are four things you can do to enhance your outline so that, once you’ve completed it, it becomes your guide for the month.

• Details, Details, Details! – When you’re plotting, write down every minute detail you think you may need for your storyline. You may come up with a witty comeback for your character to say during an argument, and that’s the time to write it down. There’s no guarantee that you’ll remember it a few weeks down the road when you’re writing this argument in chapter eight. Even if you decide when writing that a certain plot detail isn’t necessarily needed, it’s good to have it down.
• It’s Not the Ten Commandments. Your outline isn’t written in stone. Things can easily change, and writers need to accept that sometimes an idea seems to work well in the planning stages but not when you’re trying to write it out. Some portions of your outline may be extraneous, and it’s perfectly fine to get rid of something that isn’t working.
• Stick To Your System. If you’re more comfortable filling out scene sheets that keep track of characters, settings and plot, use those; if you use a document on your computer to construct the classic numbered outline, utilize your computer skills to do just that. The important thing is to use a system of outlining that you’re most comfortable with. If you have a comfortable outlining system, that’s one less thing to worry about when starting on the sometimes-hectic journey of NaNoWriMo.
• Outline at Least a Rough Ending. I know this seems like an odd tip – even somewhat obvious – but you’d be surprised at how many people leave out a plan for their ending and then get stuck on what to do when the time comes to put a finish to what you’ve been working on. Having at least a rough ending before diving into your novel is important; as you write, you may go back to your outline and add more details to it, or you may change it completely; if you don’t think about the ending until you’re actually there, you’ll at least have an idea of how you wanted things to finish a month prior when you originally constructed the outline.

By keeping these four tips in mind when you’re outlining your November novel, you will easily get the premise of your novel down so you can go back and easily write later.

Playscripts was kind enough to invite me back to do a second guest blog post which just went up yesterday. This one’s called…

Adapt or Perish! Five Things to Consider Before Starting an Adaptation

If you have a second to visit their blog and read the whole thing and maybe leave a comment, it would be much appreciated! Here’s a teaser:

Playwrights, it’s hard to deny the lure of the adaptation. Taking existing content that you already know works and adapting it for the stage seems so much faster than writing something from scratch. An adaptation also makes your job that much easier when it comes to promotion. If your source material already has fans, they’ll seek out your content on the strength of the original name even if they’ve never heard of you. Sounds great, right?

Nearly all adaptations can be boiled down into two types:

• Format shifts: Taking a movie, short story, novel, life story, video game, comic book, etc… and converting it into a stage play. (“Based on the bestselling novel…”)
• Reboots: Taking an existing stage play and adding your own twist, such as modernization, style changes , etc. (“It’s Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet… but with zombies!”)

But writing an adaptation comes with its own host of writing challenges. Here are 5 things you should consider if you’re thinking of tackling an adaptation:

Read the rest at the Playscripts blog.