Reading from the Library

As I've posted previously, when I can't figure out what to read, I go to the beginning shelves of my library and grab a book.

For my bad reviews, I don't post the title, out of respect for other writers' efforts. I know all too well how much effort goes into them, but I still can have an opinion, and that I will post.

I grabbed a 500 page book by a male author, and had gotten about 100 pages into it when I stopped. The writing was actually pretty good, and if it weren't for the overall topic, I might have kept reading. Those 100 pages were 75% mindless rants of a drunken, incoherent character with the other 25% being flashbacks into the most depressing environment imaginable. I felt as if continuing to read would leave me in either a depression or madness, neither of which is a convenient state of mind to be in when I have to function as a productive person in society. I can take dark, I just can't take dark and rambling.

Next, I skipped to an author I had heard about, Mary Higgins Clark, and checked out her book, All Around the Town. Since my novel is heading into the suspense/thriller category, I figured I better start reading my genre. The results?
I couldn't put her book down. It was, as they say, such good writing that I didn't even feel like I was reading. One thing I noticed with this particular book is that she jumped around a lot with POV, but I didn't mind at all. It was the plot that kept you moving forward, but the characters were mostly believable and interesting. Mostly- because I had a little trouble with the multiple personality disorder portrayal.

I'm still chipping away at another revision on my WIP (AArgh- will I never finish?) but I also popped out part of a short story, so I'm still a little bit productive.

By the way, I'm on goodreads under the name Rose Munevar. I don't know if anyone else is on that as well so we can connect. I do list mostly all the titles I read there, plus I'd love to see what you're reading!

On Being a Nurse

Part of the basis of my WIP, which is heading into another round of revisions, comes from my experience as a registered nurse. One of the bits of advice I picked up from the book, How to be a Writer in the E-Age. . (see previous blog for link) was to work around building an audience in your genre by writing about subjects related to it. That, and fellow blogger Barbara Watson (click on her name for more info.), did a content consult for me and made a note with regard to the educational requirements of being a registered nurse.

My personal story was that at the age of 19, I went to school for 6 months to become an EMT (emergency medical technician) and simultaneously a ski patrol. An EMT is a lower level than a paramedic, but also works on an ambulance. I worked doing that for the next two years until I moved to Ecuador. My plan was to do volunteer work for 10 months and then go to nursing school, and I was on a waiting list for a community college. I ended up staying in Ecuador 3 years, but I never lost sight of my goal, and when I moved back I went to a tech school to be a LPN. (Licensed Practical Nurse) That is a diploma course that lasts 2 1/2 semesters and then you can take a state board exam for your license. Most LPN's work in long-term care, i.e. nursing homes, but it varies state by state.

After that, I moved around some, had two kids, and continued to work on my associate degree in nursing, which I finally finished a while back. You can be a registered nurse with an associate or a bachelor degree; both have to pass the same state board exam for the R.N. license. In the work field, there is little acknowledgement of the difference as far as pay or title goes, which makes the time and money involved for the four year degree less appealing.

This whole subject leads me to a book from my "reading through the library project" that I got turned off by. Again, for my negative reviews I won't post the title, but the problem I had was that it referenced a nurse giving a patient a bed bath and having only one patient (unless you're in ICU, you have more than one). The issue I had is that obviously the writer didn't research this, because nurses do not routinely give bed baths now, CNA's (certified nursing assistants) do. It's not because it's beneath us, it's just the reality is that we are so bogged down with documentation and paperwork that bedside care has been delegated. 

That's today's nurse. (Sigh)

Insecure Writers Support Group

It's that time again, and since I missed last month I wanted to make sure I posted today. I'm still insecure with my writing, and here's how this month.

I had sent an email to a regional writers group trying to get into contact with other writers in my area. The result was that four of us met in person at a local bookstore and compared notes for an hour and a half. I was worried that I'd be meeting hopelessly awful "writers" that I would feel obligated to teach how to write English. Instead, I met highly educated people, one of whom has representation but is yet unpublished, a published poet working on her master's in creative writing, and a journalist from a local paper. Oh, and did I mention the writer with an agent is also a registered nurse, like myself, except she's the head of the RN to BSN program at a college. And then there was little 'ol me.

To make it worse, my social phobia was in full form, and 75% of me wanted to hide somewhere in a corner.

Despite all that, the end result was that I left thrilled with the prospect of having critique partners to push and inspire me, and I hope I can help them in some way in return.

With that, today was a horrible day for me. I had to put down my dog Cookie. The first time I saw her was about two years ago- an old, lame, deaf dog with ear infections and covered in sores at the animal shelter where I volunteer. I couldn't stand to see her in the cold, dirty kennel during the winter, so I brought her home as a foster. Then, I fell in love with her. The sweetest dog ever, she wagged her tail constantly unless she was sleeping. She was 11 years old, and after years of neglect, she finally found what it was to be loved, and she loved me back.

Rest in peace, sweet Cookie.

And as the Lorax from Dr. Seuss says,

UNLESS someone like you
cares a whole awful lot,
nothing is going to get better,
It's not.

I console myself with the fact that I cared a whole awful lot. She was worth it.

Need some great writing/publishing advice?

I'm not being compensated in any way, shape, or form, I just simply liked this book so much that I'm dedicating this entire post to it.

Why it would be worth your time? It's written by two successful authors, one a social media guru/author and the author of the bestselling novel Pay it Forward, which was made into a movie starring Helen Hunt. Okay, now who doesn't want advice from them?

Click on the title to go to Amazon to check it out for yourself

How to be a Writer in the E-Age and Keep your E-Sanity

Since reading this book I now have a strategy for my writing career, and clear steps that I plan to take to get there.

The book covers everything you could possibly want to know about writing and publishing. I learned about writing, great starts, blogging and social media strategies, how to view rejections, self publishing, movie rights, and so much more! It is available for a limited time for $2.99, which I promise you will be the best $3 you'll spend if you're a writer. It helped clear so much confusion that I had about the changing world of books.

It also had a shout out to blogger/author Alex J Cavanaugh and used his blog as an example of how to build a platform in your genre. Congrats Alex! Click on his name to link to his amazing sci-fi blog.

Happy reading!

Using a Pen Name

You may have noticed that I've changed the name on my blog to Rose Munevar from Honey. Don't laugh, but Honey was actually my dog's name.

Yeah, that one!

Why did I use a fake name! A lot of reasons, some silly ones I refuse to confess to. Now that I'm getting deeper into the writing world, I feel the need to be taken a little more seriously, and the new name is close to my real one. I still don't want to be found completely, because the truth is, I live a double life. My secret is that I am a writer. There, I said it. I am a writer.

Only five people in my real life know. My husband, two kids, and my sister.

Why I feel the need to hide it has to do with the naysayers in my life. Writing is a hard enough industry without people in my ear saying "You can't do that". I have myself in my ear already saying that.

There are many reasons writers use pen names. Check out this link.

I was surprised to learn Mark Twain was a pen name! Probably everybody knew that, but me of course.

What about you? Pen name or real?

Writing book on Amazon

I found this link for a book on writing from another blog. It was on promotion for free and I've found a lot of great advice in it. Click on the title to link to Amazon. It's not free anymore but I think the price is only $3 anyway. Great deal for a very encouraging book on the writing industry.

How to be a writer in the E-age, and keep your E-sanity

And who doesn't need a morale boost in this industry?

On my last post I mentioned I've had a preference for male authors, but I do read all kinds of books by all kinds of authors. Maybe it was more a romance aversion, but some books I've read lately by women have been REALLY good. Probably my favorite recent one was Chosen by a Horse, a memoir by author Susan Richards. I would say it fell in between a James Herriot and Marley and Me type book. I laughed and I cried, and it takes a lot for me to feel that deeply about what I'm reading.

I'm reading four different books right now, one of which is from my "reading through the library" project. Why do I do this to myself, I don't know. What are you reading now?

Sexist Reader?

First off, I must apologize to my commenters. I usually respond to people right away and I missed a Monday blog, but all with good reason. We went to Mammoth Cave Kentucky for a week of vacation, meeting up with old friends. It was awesome! Definitely recommend it. We did two walking tours of the cave and canoed down the Green River. I didn't do any writing, the internet was practically non-existent, but I did read a little, especially on the ten hour car ride.

That brings me to my blog title. When I was younger I read almost exclusively female authors, my favorites being Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters. I think I read all their books, even the lesser known ones. The books written by men were ones I thought I should read, like Moby Dick, and I couldn't stand them. Too much detail, or violence, and not enough romance. As I've matured, without meaning to, I have switched my preference to male authors, even better if they have a journalist background or style of writing.

I've lost interest in romance. It's become too cliche for me now. The hard to get beautiful girl, playing standoffish to the handsome, tough guy. Blah blah blah. Heard it all before. I guess I'm not romantic anymore. Maybe washing my husband's socks for the past seventeen years killed it, but it's just not the same. Don't get me wrong- I love him. In fact, I am one of the fortunate who married the love of their life, but my interests have morphed into realistic, teach me something I don't know. The last library book I finished was quite the lesson in economics, but I was okay with that.

Hence, my blog title. I am currently forcing myself to read a famous female author's book in the romance genre just to broaden my horizons. The whole story is sooo tried and true, but it is pretty good writing and I feel I can still learn a lot from her.

How about you? Any preferences on writing styles from men or women?