Wanted: Magic

The magic has gone missing (Please, no grammar lectures here. I know what I wrote.)

My weekend was filled with grand plans of rewriting, editing, creating, and producing. Instead, I did nothing. Nothing of value anyway (Video games don't count--I'm sorry, they don't). I can't even remember how I spent Saturday (don't tell me I'm old--I know), and I can tell you how I spent today, but I don't want to (it involved hours playing a mindless game on the computer). Really, I wasted TIME--time that should always be handled as if it were precious, because it is.

I could try to justify my time squandering as a needed break from the day job or that my mind needed to disengage for a moment, but the truth is I was lazy. And honestly, I was scared. I have a major edit to do on a proposal that was difficult to write in the first place, and now I've learned it really doesn't work as it is. And so I'm afraid. I'm afraid that when I look at it, I won't know how to fix it. I won't know what to do. The Magic wasn't with me when I wrote it and I'm afraid it won't be there when I try again.

The stupid part is that I KNOW the Magic comes the more you use it. Just doing it (Thanks, Nike) actually works. No good comes from finding excuses or avoiding the work or "waiting for the muse." The muse comes when you show her that you respect her and do the freaking work.

So I wasted my weekend, and tomorrow is Monday and I'm back at work. Maybe I've learned my lesson. I'll let you know next weekend. In the meantime, if you have any magic to spare, send some my way.

(By the way, if my editor or agent reads this, don't take it so seriously.)
--Gabi
P.S. My contest ends March 31 at Fresh Fiction. Be sure to check it out.

Books I'm reading now:
Fortune and Fate by Sharon Shinn

Comfort...uh,...things

I just finished spring break. I had a list of things to do, finished most of them, and still had time to just have fun. (Gotta love a vacation) I read, watched TV and DVD's, and enjoyed great weather. I even wrote a lot. Overall I had a lovely, relaxing week.

So I got to thinking, what are the things I turn to to find comfort? First foods. If I didn't dislike cooking so much, I'd make comfort foods all the time. This past week I did make one of my favorites--veggie lasagna. But the other ones (which I didn't make): clam linguini, rakott krumpli (a Hungarian potato and sausage dish), spaghetti carbonara (are you getting the hint I like carbs?)...okay, now I'm just getting hungry.

I watched "Bones" on Netflix on the Wii this week too. I hadn't seen the show before, but had heard good things, so I tried it. And liked it. I'm in the second season now and enjoying the brainiac characters and the sparring of the two main characters. I really don't watch a lot of TV. I havn't seen (No angry letters please) Buffy, Firefly, only a few of Monk. Heck I don't even have cable channels unless I'm in a hotel. Here are some of my other TV show favorites: Glee, Amazing Race, House, The Mentalist

Movies? When I want to laugh: Notting Hill. When I want to sing: Sound of Music. When I want to cheer: Star Wars. Others: Indiana Jones (I know that's not one movie, but you get the idea), Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, LadyHawke, Casablanca, To Catch a Thief, Bringing Up Baby, The Shawshank Redemption, Disney (pretty much every one) and so many more.

Books: Bewitching, Dandelion Wine, To Kill a Mockingbird, From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E Frankweiler, And Then There Were None; I, Robot; Phantom Tollbooth, and so many more. Yes, I left out romance novels on purpose, except for the one listed first. That one has a special place in my heart.

I didn't even begin to list drinks, candy, places, clothes, or people. This blog was already getting too self-centered.

So what are your comfort items?
--Gabi

Don't forget my contest: http://freshfiction.com/contest.php?id=3261

Books I'm reading now:
Reader and Raelynx by Sharon Shinn
Fortune and Fate by Sharon Shinn

The Indomitable Spirit

If you're anything like me, sometimes you feel like the world is against you and that nothing you do seems to get anywhere or have any value. So and so's books are better placed than mine; my current manuscript is giving me trouble, I didn't earn enough money. I complain because I have to get up early, or it's too cold outside, or, damn it, we don't have any good snacks at home.

Then something happens that puts it all into perspective: the earthquake in Japan and the resulting tsunami.

I'd like to think I would maintain my dignity in the face of such catastrophe, but how do I know? I've been through earthquakes when I lived in California. Nothing like the one they experienced in Japan. I've never been hit with snow enough to bury me for days, no tornadoes, no wars (that I've personally been in--not talking about the one that we're in now that no one is expected to sacrifice for except those actually fighting).

My parents escaped from Hungary after the revolution there. They lived through the bombings of WWII. Me? My life is cushy. And I am grateful for that.

Someone has found my work worthy--I have been published. I have a job. I have a bed to sleep in that my early alarm clock disturbs me from. I have a warm house to escape the cold, and frankly, I don't need those snacks (Twenty-five pounds more to go).

I like cushy and I am grateful for it.
To those suffering right now, those we hear about and don't: well, I doubt you're reading this right now, but my heart and sympathy are with you.
--Gabi

Books I'm reading now:
Dark Moon Defender by Sharon Shinn
Bridge to Happiness by Jill Barnett

Contest

I promised you and here it is. A Countdown to AS YOU WISH contest. You can win a magic wand and an autographed copy of THE WISH LIST. You know you want one.

To enter just go to Fresh Fiction and fill out the form.

A wand. Really.



Good Luck.
--Gabi

Books I'm reading now:
The Thirteenth House by Sharon Shinn