Wednesday Wordplay

I find driving cathartic. I do a lot of troubleshooting behind the wheel. Something about the open road and the repetition allows my mind to wander a little, explore territory I either hadn't considered or revisit something that's been bothering me for a while.

Plot twists for a story suddenly appear. Problems are mysteriously solved. The what-nots of a character's personality or a sudden insight into their personal history burst forth with an ah-ha! that leaves me wondering why the heck I didn't realize that earlier. A kind of palm to forehead kind of moment, you know?

And call me crazy, but I have full on conversations with myself while the cruise control is up and running.  Some of the best dialogue in my books comes from those talk-to-myself sessions.

But while driving the ten hours to spend time with my family this past week (there and back with a truck full of little kids. . .any wonder I needed a distraction?), I started a new tradition. . .added a fun twist to my driving repertoire.

It's a game I like to call Wordplay.

So, here's how it works.  Pick a word--any word--then come up with a different word for each letter. . .like this. . .

Imagination:

I - ideas
M - magic
A - artistry
G - gutsy
I - ingenuity
N - novel
A - analyze
T - tenacity
I - integrity
O - originality
N - know-how (okay, I cheated on this one!)


So, now you know how I distracted myself on a ten hour trip.  Necessity is, after all, the mother of invention.

Chocolate. . .Need I Say More?

I was told this week I rarely have a post that doesn't include chocolate in it. Okay, I admit it...my name is E.C. and I'm a total chocoholic.

The kick-ass person who noticed this is Tanya Reimer of the Life's Like That blog. So, of course I hopped on over to her place, put my feet up and unwrapped some chocolate only to find that Tanya awarded me the Lovely Blog Award.

So, now I have my chocolate and an award too. How cool is that? Very! Thanks a ton, Tanya.

Now, to pass on the award to a few deserving bloggers I've been following a lot lately.  With the A to Z Challenge going on there are a lot of cool ones out there, and oh, so many who are worthy, but I've got six that I think you'll enjoy too.

Speak Coffee to Me
Queen of Procrastination
All The Worlds Our Page
Adventures That Score
Chris Phillips
Writing By Heart

Hope you enjoy reading these fab bloggers as much as I do.

Now, I'm off to find some chocolate and a good book. As you've probably guessed, both are in ample supply in my house.

Roll with The Beat

I love it when I find something that moves me.  Nothing's better. . .well, except for chocolate ice cream and a pair of really fab shoes, but I'll leave that for another time (maybe for a post entitled Obsessions).


Right now, I'm talking about music. Last month, I rediscovered the band The Script (which I'm still listening to, by the way). This week I tripped into Adele and her new song, Rolling In The Deep.


It's old school.  It's got heart and soul. A real vibe that can't be denied.




Fabulous song, yes?

Man, the beat gets me going. And her jazzy style and wicked cool voice?  Both transport me. . .make me imagine and wonder and dream.

Everyone's journey is a different. What inspires one person doesn't do it for the next.  But then, that's where the magic comes in, right? If we were all inspired in the same ways, we couldn't learn anything from one another.

So, when inspiration pulls into my train station, I like to share it. Sometimes it's an off the rail experience that rolls through in the form of a movie or a really great book. Sometimes it's an every day conversation or a billboard. . .unexciting, but for that one snippet. That special something that sparks my imagination.

As a writer, I live and breathe inspiriation. It's constant discovery. The ah-hah moments that help me unearth a gem. . .the things that move me so I can include them in a story that may, in turn, inspire someone else.

So, I've added music to my list of things to pay attention to. Don't know what took me so long. I've always loved music, but maybe, for the first time I'm actually listening to it on a soul deep level, tapping into the energy to tease out the meaning, which will then allow me to share it with someone else.

In that spirit then, here are a couple of questions for you.  What inspires you? And how do you convey the source in your stories? Does it creep in without you knowing. . .or are you more deliberate than that?

My Very First Interview

Okay, I'm so jazzed about this. . .my very first interview on a neighbor's blog! 

Courtesy of who, you ask? Why, the fabulous Witless Exposition at the Cerebral Lunchbox. Thanks Witless!

So, pop by her blog to see what kind of questions she's asking and all the answers I gave. Fingers crossed, I've passed with flying colors.

Happy Weekend everyone!

Time: the Ultimate Commodity

I got up early to vaccum today. Yeah, I know. . .Go me. But, really, neglecting my house in April when I've got a one hundred pound golden retriever shedding like a hound from hell? Not a good idea. Yikes, even the dust bunnies gave me dirty looks this morning.

Okay, I could make all kinds of excuses. Believe me, I want to, but, honestly? What good will that do? Not one of those but-but-buts will land me in a magically clean house or put me on the right road.

I guess, then, it all comes down to time management. Uh-huh, I know. I hate that term too. It's overused and annoying as hell. . .especially if you're not doing it well.

I console myself with the fact that although my house looks like a train wreak (most of the time) at least I'm getting the important stuff right. Things like: quality family and friend time, kick-ass writing time, the recommended amount of shut-eye. . .well, okay, almost every night.

So, despite the dust bunnies, I'm doing all right. Because, hey, I'm only one person and sometimes, the healtiest thing to do is prioritized--find the top three to five things--and let everything else slide.