how to wield the red pen

The oldest kid is working on her first 'research' paper. I've helped a bit with this project, but only when asked. The teacher has done a fine job of keeping the kids on a schedule by using their rough drafts as quiz grades. The finished product is due on Thursday and now the kid is looking to dear old mom to help polish the paper.

I've restrained my tweaking to this point and have verbally issued warnings to check the punctuation, the tense, the spelling etc. She has caught a few things, but others slid past her radar. The teacher didn't do a hard edit on the rough drafts and instead wrote general comments similar to what I verbally issued.

Do I get out the red pen at this point or do I let her attempt this on her own? I'm not sure if I'm taking this problem more seriously than some because of my background. My daughter has told me stories of how much other parents are helping on this project....basically it sounds like some are doing all the writing or they are doing some major editing.

And I thought the science fair was bad.

finished Follett

After a very busy weekend full of standardized tests, band competitions and the mall, I plopped on the bed and plowed through the last 300 pages of Follett's latest.

The appeal of huge books is the author can really delve into his characters. By the time you finish, you know those folks better than the majority of your relatives. Follett doesn't let you down in that regard. Caris, Merthin and crew are very real to me now and given the chance I'd read more about them. He included a nice twist at the end and although that plot point wasn't explored often during the book, he visited it enough to keep it relevant when crunch time came. I enjoyed the story and the few elements that struck me as 'awkward' aren't really worth mentioning as the good far outweighs the bad.

To tie back in to my lead in, the middle kid took the ACT for the first time. Just a hoot to watch those big old high schoolers glare in total shock at my very petite 7th grader....we should get the results in the typical 3-7 weeks.

The oldest kicked some major band booty at the regional competition and earned fifth chair...our of 85 players. Woot!!

And of course, my Hoosiers won in a trounce over Kentucky.....GO IU.

I survived the mall and the purchasing of the new outfit for Junior Beta induction....anyone who has shopped with a middle schooler will realize the magnificent accomplishment this is.

Didn't open Maddy this weekend. I seldom have the chance to do any writing when everyone is home. Plan for today may be scrapped, but I'm hopeful to carve out a few hours this afternoon and start back into the edits on chapter six.

I'm still laughing

If you have a moment, watch this one.....if you have kids, you may watch it more than once.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0ZpuA8_YYk

friday recap

I have to start my recap with the major announcement that I edited Maddy Blue this week. That is the most important thing I did for myself the past seven days.

Other highlights: Having Starbucks with Kim. Falling prey to the creeping crud that has infiltrated my house/family. Reading 1/4 of the Follett book (cut me a break, the sucker is over 1,000 pages). Wrapping the Christmas gifts.

That is about it folks.....a busy week in many ways, but most of it involves the kids and the minivan.

I'm sure I will be editing again today as the calendar is rather clear except for dinner plans with the hubby and another couple.

Enjoy the weekend:)

the big book

Word limit my foot....have you seen Ken Follett's latest massive contribution to the book world? I reserved "World Without End" last week and was able to pick it up from the library yesterday morning while I was in to stock the bookstore. I read "Pillars of the Earth" years ago when it first came out. I have a major soft spot in my heart for the mega sized historical novel. I blame my mother for this. She gave me Michener's "The Source" to read one summer when I complained I had nothing to do.

I crawled into bed last night, after I'd turned on the mattress heating pad, (if you don't have one run now and get one) with the book and a big mug of friendship tea. The darn book is so big that it is hard to lay in bed, read and sip without constant adjusting. The book ended up on the nightstand because the hubby got home from his work session and started to chat about the day's events and what we have going on for the rest of the week.

The first seven pages were great......Gwenda captured me from the first paragraph, but it would take a cold soul not to like a little girl who has to pickpockets to keep her family fed.

I'll keep you posted on how this sequel to Oprah's current book pick unfolds.

On other fronts, I worked on Maddy Blue yesterday....I actually edited, folks. Did you feel the earth tremble?? It was a momentous event.

themes for all things

Had a marvy few hours at B&N yesterday with my crit bud, Kim. We scoured the shelves and analyzed book covers for a while. Beyond the obvious pastel or bright colors versus the dark color difference in genre books, the layout is critical. Sort of like my critical fascination with fonts. A good font can rescue a bad day.

I firmly came down in the camp where I like a banner at the top. Such banner should say whether or not this is a series. For example: A Maddy Blue Demon Slayer Mystery. Below the banner is some sort of cartoonish graphic. At the bottom of the graphic is the title and the author's name. On the spine I like a thumbnail of the cover graphic.

So, why did Kim and I spend time looking over these things yet again? Because now she will have a book coming out in a year's time. She's moved from the fantasy to the reality, after years of hard work, networking and rejection. Her short stories will appear over the next year in Mouthfull of Bullets and Enspiren Press, out of Canada, has offered her a contract for her Shannon Wallace mystery. The girl is doing it!

Hat off yet again to you Ms. Kim........you inspire me:)

sophomore slump

"Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy" is the second book in Ally Carter's Gallagher Girls series. Our intrepid heroine, Cammie Morgan, is a legacy at the exclusive all girls school The Gallagher Academy, a secret CIA training facility. When boys descend upon Gallagher's hallowed halls, the emotions and hormones run high. Toss in some good old boy-girl competition, a possible theft of highly classified information and the inevitable run in with the old boyfriend and you've got a 240 page book.

I really liked Carter's first book,"I'd tell you I loved you, but then I'd have to kill you." My girls loved it......anyone I gave it to at the library loved it....I think the waiting list to check it out was a half dozen deep at one point.

This book will be just as successful because it does 'enough' to keep the reader engaged. I didn't feel, however, that the plot and new character development were strong enough to ward off the dreaded sophomore slump some series fall victim to.

It was a fun, quick read but it wasn't the 'get excited' read that the first book delivered. Carter does do a few things very well. Cammie and her buddies are smart, daring, loyal and not afraid to show it....even to the boys. I'd still recommend this book, but the grownups may feel a bit let down. I'm anxious to see what my two girls think of it.