Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Questions

So, how do you...

... feel when you delete 15 pages - but know your story is better?

... like your steak? I don't understand 'blue' and 'rare' myself. I don't want that poor beast mooing at me from the plate!

... add your blog posts to Goodreads? (yeah, I haven't figured this one out yet *sigh*) (edited to add: Now I know! Thanks Stephen! :))

... deal with telemarketers who continue to call despite our number being on the 'do not call' list?

... stop your characters chattering away in your brain at 4 a.m.?

... choose in Rock, Paper, Scissors?

... like doing those taxes?

... choose which book to read next from your TBR list?

Yup. My brain is very random today. Any answers? :)

63 comments:

Anonymous said...

To add your blog posts to Goodreads you have to sign up to have an author page. There's a link at this link ... http://www.goodreads.com/author/program

Jemi Fraser said...

Oh! That would be why I can't see a link (no author page!) Thanks Steve! :)

Jennifer Hoffine said...

As for deleting those fifteen pages...I'm a total wimp...I cut and paste them into an "extras" file until I know for sure taking them away makes things better.

Jemi Fraser said...

Jennifer - I'm a wimp too - I save the new version as a new file "story 8" is the one I'm working on now! :)

Shannon O'Donnell said...

If I KNOW my story is stronger, I can live with the 15 pages. Mostly. Steak = med. rare. And I like my sleep way too much to let my characters get away with that! He he. :)

mshatch said...

1. cutting is hard but often necessary
2. medium rare please
3. no clue!
4. thankfully the no call thing has worked for me
5. mine only talk to me when I'm awake :)
6. I usually start with rock
7. no, that's why I do them asap to get it over with!
8. I usually only have one book unless I've gone to the library. right now it's THE NIGHT CIRCUS.

Jemi Fraser said...

Shannon - I WISH I could sleep straight through!!! I need my steak well done too :)

Ms Hatch - good answers. I do feel good about cutting those pages ... now. It took a bit. I've really got to talk my characters into letting me sleep! :)

T. Powell Coltrin said...

1. Cry
2. Well
3. I'm going to do that too. Yay, Stephen.
4. Report them.
5. I get up and listen.
6. Practice the three beforehand then let your hand decide.
7. Yuck.
8. By mood ring (just kidding) mood alone.

Teresa

Julie Dao said...

HAHA - I don't like my beef mooing at me from the plate either! Medium well, if you please. And in answer to your first question, because I've just been revising - it feels like cutting off a couple fingers at first to delete so many pages, but after a while (once I get used to the idea) it feels fantastic!

Jemi Fraser said...

Teresa - mood ring! Why didn't I think of trying that method!!! :) I'm glad there's another well done fan too!

Julie - that's exactly what it feels like! I'm getting over the pain - but it's slooooooow! :)

Johanna Garth said...

When my youngest was two and telemarketers would call I used to hand the phone to him and say 'it's grandma!' That makes me sound really mean but for some reason he never figured out that it wasn't grandma.

Shelley Sly said...

- Deleting those 15 pages, or that entire chapter, or removing a character, or changing the ending of your story... those all freak me out at first. But if I know it makes my story better, I eventually get over it, knowing I made the right choice.

- Steak must be cooked! No mooing for me.

- I don't stop my characters from chatting in my head. Let them. I'll lose sleep over it if I have to.

- I choose the next book on my TBR list based on my mood. Sometimes I need a light and funny book; other times I need something a bit more dark.

Great questions!

Talli Roland said...

My goodness, those are some questions! You've made my head spin! :) I don't get rare, either. I don't want blood dripping... ugh.

Laura S. said...

Fun questions! I like my steak well done, though according to steak aficionados well-done steak is not really steak. Whatever!!

I choose what comes to mind first in Rock, Paper, Scissors. Sometimes I try to read the mind of my opponent and choose accordingly. But I haven't mastered that yet. ;)

I love chattering characters especially when they give me a fabulous new idea. If they wake me up at 4am, I assume it's for a good reason and write down whatever it is!

I don't do my own taxes. I'm so bad with numbers I'd probably get audited every single year, LoL. So my husband, dad, or mother-in-law does them! Much safer that way. :)

I choose the next book on my TBR list based on my mood.

Jemi Fraser said...

Johanna - I LOVE that! You little guy would have been thrilled and it would have totally thrown off the telemarketers! :)

Shelley - thanks! I'm surprised how many people like their steak cooked! And it does take time to get used to deleting those sections!

Talli - sorry :P Definitely like my meat cooked!

Laura - my mood defines my choice too! I agree - steak afficionados don't understand the joy of fully cooked meat! :)

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Glad you figured out the Goodreads thing. It's a cool feature. And speaking of Goodreads, thank you! Yes, I saw your review earlier.
Next time a telemarketer calls, tell him you want to order a pizza. Go through the whole thing - size, toppings, crust. He'll think your nuts and never call back!

Cat Woods said...

... I chop with no regret.

... Medium Rare--overcooked and I may as well be chewing on tennis shoe

... Don't you have to be an author? Am I misunderstanding?

... Remind them they called the day before...and the day before...and the day before...and that the answer is STILL NO.

... They don't. Only when I'm in the shower.

... I have a brain seizure and my fingers end up however...must be why I always lose.

... I don't. Which reminds me, I better get them finished up.

... Whichever one is at the top.

Fun post!

Nick Wilford said...

Interesting questions!

1. Feel kind of glad but worry the book will be too short.

2. Medium well.

3. Didn't know you could. *blush*

4. Hang up.

5. I go to bed very late and get up very early so that's one time I'm guaranteed to be out for the count! Unless they were invading my dreams.

6. Choose at random, or a different one from the one before, or sometimes the same one. Hmm, need a proper system.

7. My wife does them...

8. Look at them and pick the one that grabs me the most, or that I've wanted to read for ages.

That was fun!

Jemi Fraser said...

Alex - you're very welcome! And I love the pizza idea! Definitely going to try that next time :)

Cat - thanks! :) I'm getting more comfortable choppin with no regrets! Not great yet though! I'm still waiting on one form to finish off those darn taxes!

Nick - thanks! I now know you have to have an author page to post your blogs on goodreads (good to know!). And I wish my hubby would do the taxes - but then they'd never get done! :)

Kate Avery Ellison said...

I like my steak medium-rare!

As to the characters in your head at 4 AM, I am not sure... I haven't figured that one out myself.

Jemi Fraser said...

Katie - med-rare??? *shudder* no thanks! We'll have to work on a solution for our other problem together! :)

Old Kitty said...

I always choose the wrong thing with paper, scissors, rock! LOL!! I'm just not quick enough and get most confuse! LOL! Take care
x

M Pax said...

I dont' remember how I got my blog on Goodreads...

If it's a number I don't know, I don't answer.

Jemi Fraser said...

Old Kitty - me too! Then I have to think - okay, did I win or lose... does rock beat...??? :)

M Pax - we don't usually answer unknown #s either, but some of the call 3 times a day, every day *sigh*

RHYTHM AND RHYME said...

Well done steak for me.
As for good reads haven't the slightest notion.

Yvonne.

Jemi Fraser said...

Yvonne - Stephen figured out the goodreads for me! :) And yay for another vote for well done!!

Dianne K. Salerni said...

Forget the "Do Not Call" list. Companies circumvented that by hiring telemarketers outside the country who cannot be held accountable for US laws.

And I LOVE deleting 15 pages from my manuscript and making it better! I write too many words most of the time!

A said...

Hate doing taxes, always opt for "scissors".

DL Hammons said...

I always pick paper! :)

Yvonne Osborne said...

Cutting is strangely exhilarating and addictive. About those voices? I get up and listen.

Jemi Fraser said...

Dianne - they always find a way around the laws, don't they *grrrr*

Agnes - I'm completely with you on that one. It'll be time to celebrate when they're done!

DL - but Agnes said Scissors! Too many choices!

Yvonne - it may drive my hubby nuts, but I tend to listen to them too! :)

Elliot Grace said...

...post Blogger posts on GoodReads?! Really? Who would'a thunk it!

Oh yeah...
-chop it up and move on
-medium to savor the taste
-call 'em a *!**! and hang up
-haven't figured out the cure for that one just yet, explaining why I'm always tired.
-rock, always
-we itemize...and hire someone else to do it
-draw straws ;)

Good stuff, Jemi!

El

Jemi Fraser said...

Elliot - I'm learning to chop it up - just more than a little paranoid I'm doing the wrong thing! :) I like your telemarketer strategy - going to try that one next!

Sage Ravenwood said...

1)15 pages (which I've done, because I've had to delete 4 chapters, words go bye-bye)...Gasp loudly, hold my finger over the delete button, close my eyes and push. Then go do something else, because my stomach can't handle anything else for a few minutes.
2)Medium rare or they cook the flavor out.
3)Not there yet
4)Being deaf comes in handy sometimes ;)
5)I can't. During the day I confess to having multiple personalities, at night they can argue among themselves.
6)Scissors for the peace sign, Rock to rock on, and paper because I'm mellow - depends on the mood.
7)*Blink*
8)Once again depends on mood, sometimes the season. If I'm going through a difficult patch, I go with a book in my fav. genre. It's calming and familiar.
(Hugs)Indigo

Jemi Fraser said...

Indigo - that's exactly how I felt when I clicked delete!!! LOL at #4! And I love your views on R,P,S - awesome! :)

dolorah said...

LOL; when my brain is on overload, I play cards. Or watch sappy movies.

.......dhole

Unknown said...

1 Exhausted
2 Well Done
3 I had too much trouble uploading a "shelf" - I need to borrow Stephen.;)
4 I go with "I already have it" a lot.
5 That one is impossible
6 I mostly go with Rock
7 My tax is done by the government but as I keep getting rebates something is going wrong in a good way ;)
8 Strictly in order of purchase, unless they accidentally fall over ;)

Anonymous said...

I used to hate cutting from my manuscript, but now I love making my writing tighter.

I don't eat steak.

I can't remember, but I did it early on.

I don't get telemarketing calls. Or if I do, I don't pick them up because of caller ID.

I let them chatter away.

It's hard to choose.

Not my favorite time of year.

It's real hard choosing.

Jemi Fraser said...

Donna - sappy movies are always a good choice!!! :)

Elaine - those are great! I wish our gov't would do the taxes - especially if they'd give me bonus refunds!! :)

Medeia - it really is hard making those choices on the books - I've got so many I want to read NOW!

Unknown said...

Just making a quick stop to let you know there ia an award for you on my blog :) Have a nice day!
http://sivmaria.blogspot.com/2012/03/odins-wife-and-some-sunshine.html

Jemi Fraser said...

Siv - thanks so much! I'll pop on by :)

L. Diane Wolfe said...

I'd just like to know how to stop my cats from chattering at me at 4 am!

Jemi Fraser said...

Diane - lol :) I don't have any cats, just characters driving me nuts!

Rosalind Adam said...

I do have a solution for one of those problems. When characters chatter in my head at 4 a.m. Iplay my a to z game. Think of a topic e.g. fruit and work through the alphabet. I rarely reach xyz.

Jemi Fraser said...

Rosalind - that's a really good one! And one my brain would like - thank you! :)

Angela Ackerman said...

Blue rare is just gross. As a teen I had to cook them at Boston Pizza. It's seared meat on the outside but cold on the inside (raw). Y-U-C-K!

Jemi Fraser said...

Angela - I agree! When I was waitressing as a teen, I thought the person ordering Blue steak was making a joke. I wish it had been - YUCK for sure! :)

Susan Gourley/Kelley said...

I think if you know what to pick in Rock, Paper, Scissors and you always get it right, you should start playing the lottery.
My husband does the taxes because I get raging furious when I see how much we give over to the government.

Jemi Fraser said...

Susan - I don't think I EVER win at RPS - so it's a good thing I don't play the lottery either! :)

Taxes are so frustrating. Kinda makes me want to cry...

Laura Pauling said...

I love the feeling of deleting pages because it usually makes the story better! :)

Jemi Fraser said...

Laura - I'm getting better - there's still that initial panic, but I know it's stronger, so that helps!

Shelli (srjohannes) said...

when I delete pages - somehow they seem to come back. Like zombie pages.

Jemi Fraser said...

Shelli - zombie pages - yikes! As long as they don't eat the other pages... :)

Leslie S. Rose said...

I'm glad you asked the Goodreads question. I'm debating if I want to dive in to GR. I feel cleansed when I've done a massive cut to a MS. If only there were a direct correlation between cutting word count and cutting pounds.

Jemi Fraser said...

Leslie - I do like trimming and tightening the story - just deleting entire chunks of pages stresses me out a bit! Although if there were a pound correlation, I'd want the skinniest stories on the planet! :)

Nas said...

To choose from the TBR is the hardest for me. I have authors waiting for my review so which one should I do first? ....so hard...

Jemi Fraser said...

Nas - it's SO hard! I can't even imagine if people were waiting for reviews. We definitely need some kind of machine to create us a few secret hours per day just for reading! :)

Kela McClelland said...

Love your random questions :)

1. I've had to delete and rewrite more than 15 pages, it hurts, but the reward of a better story makes the hurt easier to deal with.
2. Done! I don't want it burnt, but it has to be all the way done.
3. I didn't realize this one...going to have to look into that.
4. Most of them speak Spanish and hang up on me when I say-Excuse me?
5. Is there really a way to stop them? Usually I just get to my point of exhaustion and pass out.
6. It's completely random-I never know which one my hand will throw out there.
7. Thankfully, my mom does them for everyone in the family.
8. If I won the book, or it was given to me by the author, it's at the top. Other than that, the decision is random.

Jemi Fraser said...

Kela - great answers! I'm surprised how many people enjoy their steak well done - I thought I was in the minority! :) Maybe our characters could chatter with each other at 4 am and let us get some sleep!! :)

Jean Oram said...

Too funny, Jemi. And I don't have answers to many of those!

Jemi Fraser said...

Thanks Jean - it's the way the brain is rolling these days! :)

DEZMOND said...

I don't do taxes, people pay taxes to me :))

Jemi Fraser said...

Dezzy - now THAT's the way to do taxes!! I'm going to have to work on that... :)