Building a New Habit: Day 3

Inspiration for my "Kennedy's" inspired story. 
Now I just need to write it ...
[Photo by gdcgraphics] 

I'm a day behind on my Day 3 entry.  I did end up writing yesterday (went to a write-in with my pal Tory Leblanc), but it was slow going.

I didn't have a computer so had to write long-hand, and I'm not very good with that.  My brain is trying to write much faster than my hand wants to move, so I  find it's a tedious way for me to write.  I need a computer otherwise it seems like a waste of time to me.

I've also decided that just writing isn't going to be enough here -- I need to have a clear goal in mind for each session, so I'm aiming for 750 words each time.    I'll try to get one of those word count links on the side so I can keep track of how I'm doing ... but for now I'll probably just include it in my blog post.

And because this post was fairly boring today I'm uploading a photo of Aaron Eckhart.  For no other reason than I think he's hot ...

Building a New Habit: Day 2

My writing partner.  She doesn't contribute many good ideas but she
does like to take breaks to look up old boyfriends on Facebook.
(Photo by Davide Restivo)

Okay, Day 1 was HARD!  As soon as I wrote my blog post I pretty much convinced myself that I'd done enough work for one day and then shut down my Microsoft Word and started to check out movie trailers on IMDB (thank God Joseph Gordon-Levitt makes so many movies - my perfect Beta dream man ...).

It took a lot of "inner goddess" to convince me to actually write (sorry, couldn't help the 50 Shades reference since everyone seems to hate E.L. James, while I think "good for her ... she's writing what she likes and she's selling!").  And I DID write.  At first I just skimmed over the last 5 pages I wrote a few weeks ago, mumbled the words "wow, that sucks!" out loud, and then reminded myself that everyone thinks their writing sucks and convinced myself to keep my committment.

And I'm glad I did - I walked away feeling great that I tackled some pages, edited some old ones and even did scene caps for tonight ... which I'm about to use in a few short minutes.

So Day 1 was successful and with a glass of wine in my hand I have no doubt that Day 2 will be as well.

Habit officially begun!!!

Building a New Habit: Day 1

I remember the days when blogging used to be used as an online journal.   I haven't used it as a journal in a long time - now I just use it to write fun posts like what movie I want to see (I don't know why, but Total Recall is grabbing me), or what guy I think is hot (um, okay, Colin Farrell).

My shiny kitchen sink.

I haven't used it as an online journal in a very long time.

But I have to make some changes since I haven't been writing a lot these days.  And true confession:  I've never successfully made writing a habit that sticks.  Regularly.  I know I shouldn't say this out loud - I mean an agent or editor might read this and pass me over, right?  But I have got to find a way to make writing a regular habit - where I write consistently day after day after day.  And maybe even, gasp! - look forward to it!

I recently read Sink Reflections, which is also a habit changing book - albeit about housework.  I have a fairly clean house, but I've never been great at keeping it that way day-to-day.  I'm usually a 'clean it all up on the weekend, and watch it get messy through the week' kind of girl.

The first thing the author of Sink Reflections tells you to do is clean your sink.  Nothing else, just the sink.  She swears it works! So, I spent about an hour cleaning it up, and you know what?  It's actually made a difference.   I stick to her "clutter hotspots" rule, where every night I clean up the places that attract clutter.  It only takes about 10 minutes a night, and my house has been clean consistently for about a month.

If I can change my housework patterns, I'm sure I can change my writing patterns.   Which is what I'm trying to do today.

For the next 2 weeks I'm going to blog every day, at approximately the same time, and then I'm going to go write.  Worst case, it doesn't work ... but I'm going to try to be optimistic.

Fingers crossed!

Top Five ... Romantic Comedy Remakes



The good news is, as a mannequin
my shaving needs are non-existant!



I went to see the "The Amazing Spider-man" movie this weekend.  It was okay.  I liked Andrew Garfield more than I thought I would, and my girl-crush on Emma Stone remains solid, and yet still shy of Jim Carrey-like creepiness. 

But I wondered the same thing as many others ... why did we need this movie??

Tobey Maguire did a fine job in all 3 Spider-Man movies (and I would dare to say the villains were cooler than The Lizard .. although not much), but I guess when you're guaranteed to make millions of dollars re-packaging something you should go with what works.

I, however, would love to see a remake of my favourite romantic comedies.  I still watch my faves over and over, usually all spliced up into about 10 parts on YouTube ... but I do think it would be fun to see a fresh take.  And by "fresh take" I mean less 80's clothing and mullets.

This wasn't from the movie ... just a regular night at Kurt
and Goldie's place ...

I know all you purists out there will be mortified to even suggest a remake (I can almost hear Julia Phillips Smith gasping at the suggestion) ... and even I have the good sense not to put a John Hughes movie on this list.  But Zac Efron just can't be standing around making horrible Nicholas Sparks movies all day, can he?  Those abs are going to waste ...

Here are my nominees for favourite romantic comedies that deserve a remake. 

1) Overboard

I'd never realized that mini-putts were so 'high concept'.  This movie is pretty flawless as far as I'm concerned, but definitely looks dated.  Sleeveless denim shirts?  Okay, he still rocks that look ...

2) The Cutting Edge

"Toepick" was my favourite word for about a year.  Technically, they've made sequels to this so it probably shouldn't be on the list ... but since they also made sequels to Spider-Man and they rebooted it, you're outvoted.

3) Ever After

Love Drew Barrymore, and loved this movie, but her British accent sucked. And I had such high hopes for Dougray Scott and he seemed to die out a bit after Tom Cruise killed him in Mission Impossible (what would have been had he been able to play Wolverine ..)

4) Mannequin

Have not seen this in years .. kind of like Andrew McCarthy's career ... but I would love to see this again.  Although "Lars and the Real Girl" might be considered a more realistic version.

5) Legal Eagles
Remember when Debra Winger could do anything!?!  I loved this movie, and it would be easy peasy to remake again ... as long as they don't try to film it with Robert Redford and a heavily-filtered lens.  I'm done with that trick ...

What would you remake if you had the money ... and a lot of time on your hands??

Blogging with the Rubies

The Rubies!

One of the first things that happened when I became a Golden Heart finalist was that I joined an email loop with all the other finalists.  I thought it would be a kick to get to know a couple of other ladies before the conference, but it really turned into a community, and now I'm anxiously awaiting Anaheim to meet all these wonderful ladies.

The Ruby Slippered Sisterhood is a group of GH finalists from 2009, and not only are they a close community as well, but they are serious bloggers and invited each of us to take day on their blog to share our stories.

Today, I'm blogging about the secret society that is being a GH finalist ... I hope you hop over to take a look.

http://www.rubyslipperedsisterhood.com/meet-2012-golden-heart-finalist-nikki-mcintosh/

Writer Stuff: Making Mischievous Happen



Zooey Deschanel and Liz Meriwether.  Probably
laughing at the fact that I'm not published ...



New Girl is without question my favourite new show this year.  It has all kinds of funny, great setups, tons of romantic tension, and ... Schmidt!!   What's not to like!!??!!

Liz Meriwether, who writes the show for Fox, says that she often writes when she's feeling mischievous.  I think my best writing happens when I'm in that kind of state, but sadly, it's a little hard to feel "mischievous" at 5:30am when I'm trying to cram in writing before the day-job starts and I can barely put instant oatmeal together, let alone write complete sentences.

So once in awhile I need to Make the Mischievous Happen.  This is easier said that done, but when I need some inspiration, I almost always turn to my hero.  And he, like a good hero that he is, always reminds me why I love to write.

Current inspiration?  Aaron Eckhart.
You're welcome.

I collect photos of him (always an actor - easier to mimic them in my books I find if they're living, breathing things ... with a good set of abs, of course) and peruse the photos when the time is necessary.  I've done collaging, Microsoft Movie Maker, and am currently setting up a Pinterest account.  I'm not sure I need all three mediums in order to gain inspiration to write ... but unlike fashion, finding inspiration should not be relegated to the 'Less is More' category.  When you need help writing, it's definitely 'More is More'.

How do you re-inspire yourself when you're stuck?    Have you tried collaging?  Movie Maker?  Pinterest?

Books I'm Reading: Staying at Daisy's

I've been a big Jill Mansell fan for the last two years or so. Walked into a bookstore without knowing what I wanted and bought "Rumour Has It" on impulse.  Gulped it down in a day ... been a fan ever since.

She writes about women in small town settings and there are usually a couple different love stories in play.  She always makes someone who should be a villain into a real person who you end up liking in the end.  And it's always a fun read.  Always.

Right now I'm reading "Staying at Daisy's" ... it's an older one that I hadn't read before and downloaded it last week since I was going to be on a plane.  Hoped to do some work on that flight, but mostly read the book. :)

I know chick lit is supposed to be dead ... but I'm dragging it around like the corpse on Weekend at Bernie's ... not sure I'll ever give it up!!