MONDAY FORTUNE COOKIE 9/10/12

Many pleasurable and memorable adventures are in store for you.

SNARKY RESPONSE: Oh, sure! Which store? Do they offer discounts? Do I have to have a membership card?

Many pleasurable and memorable adventures are in store for you.

Well, I don't know about the future, but this past weekend was chock-a-block full of fun and adventures. Went out with friends, Alexa Day and Lucy Balch for drinks at a "new to me" wine bar, Secco Wine Bar, for drinks and nibbles before going to the local historical movie theater, The Byrd, to see Magic Mike. It was our first trip to Secco Wine Bar and we all highly recommend it. Knowledgeable bartender, excellent chef, delightful presentation and environment. The photo is of the Mighty Wirlitzer Organ which rises from below the stage and fills the theater with wonderful music before the two Saturday evening performances.

Enough has been said about Magic Mike on fb and elsewhere, but I can definitely say that the movie was exactly what I expected and also, not what I expected. The stripping and dancing scenes were all that I had hoped LOL.  The storyline was not what I expected. I guess I was thinking it would be all sex, drugs and rock n roll, but it was more (and less). I was glad I went to see it.

Then today, Joe and I drove to Baltimore for the Ukrainian Festival. We took the rural route to avoid the traffic nightmare that is DC. While the drive to Baltimore was much less stressful, it took much longer than anticipated. Saw a bunch of neat things, some old architecture, interesting eateries, and lovely countryside. When we arrived, finding a parking space was the final hurdle and then we were IN!

The festival is held in Patterson Park around a monument with vendors arranged around a circular area with a monument to Poland in the center. First stop was to get some authentic Ukrainian food, most offered by members of local Ukrainian churches. Perogies, stuffed cabbage, and potato pancakes all around.

Ukrainian beer and a shot of Medivka - Ukrainian Honey Liquor really got things off on the right foot.

Speaking of feet, there were Ukrainian dance groups performing as well. Dressed in colorful traditional costumes, they danced, leaped, spun and performed amazing steps. The crowd seated on chairs in front of the stage clapped and cheered. My knees ached just watching the young men leaping and squatting and kicking. Awesome!

A band at the opposite end of the park provided music for the beer garden and inspired at least one couple to trip the light fantastic!

There were also plenty of vendors offering lovely Ukrainian crafts to temp the pocketbook.

It was a lovely trip and a lovely day!

MONDAY FORTUNE COOKIE 9/3/12

Find release from your cares; have a good time.

SNARKY RESPONSE: Yeah, eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow you may die.

Find release from your cares; have a good time.

Seemed like good advice for a Labor Day Weekend and the beginning of Fall! Even though, in my neck of the woods, it doesn't feel like Fall, Labor Day Weekend is when most of us bid adieu to the carefree days of summer. At the very least, I've already noticed the days are getting shorter.

I love Fall! The temperature will start on that gradual downward slide and we'll revel in open windows, nights cool enough to require sweaters, and the scent of smoke from burning leaves or fireplaces.

Between now and New Year's Eve, my social calendar becomes filled chock-a-block with activities of all kinds. The James River Writers Conference, The Richmond Folk Festival, The Garlic Festival, various cultural festivals, and Oktoberfest are just a few of the delights on my crowded agenda. Of course, there are the Big Four—Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's Eve, though I admit the last two are actually within the realm of Winter.

Then there is the annual strip-tease performed by the region's deciduous trees that will hopefully entertain us for weeks. The coy things will bedazzle us with their annual transformation from their current dusty green to vibrant golds, reds, and oranges. Despite the fact that walks outside will often be accompanied by the gentle shushing of fallen leaves, we'll hardly notice the emergence of bare limbs until they're suddenly standing against a cloudless sky, limbs thrust outwards as if to say "ta da," their rainbow garb having been flung to the wind to settle down around their roots.

And the light! The sunlight shifts from the brilliant white yellow of summer to the golden glow of autumn. The disappearance of humidity will brighten the days and at night, the stars will take on a sharper twinkle.

Yes, there may be a built-in sense of freedom in the lazy, hazy days of summer with vacations, abbreviated clothing and footwear, but I'm ready to begin the cooler, cozy days of fall. What about you? Are you ready for Fall or are you in mourning for Summer?

Have You Seen This Bike?

I'm a devoted listener to NPR News during my commute. It is my only dip into current events and social commentary. I often find myself absorbed by their stories and last week, a very intriguing coincidence emphasized the importance of this connection between me and the world at large.


Halfway through my trip home, I caught the NPR's story about New York City's Ghost Bike Project. To recap, bike riders decided to take a page from the folks who post those white crosses along roads to commemorate the loss of a loved one in an accident. Their method is to take old bikes, strip them down, paint them white, and place them at the site where a bike rider died in an accident. Not only to remember a fallen friend or fellow enthusiast, but to help raise awareness about "sharing the road."

I thought about all the bike delivery folks in NYC dealing with/daring the NYC traffic and shared a moment of sadness for the riders who lost in that confrontation.

As I was driving down River Road toward the bridge, I noticed something on the road. When I got closer, I realized it was a ghost bike. A Ghost Bike here in Richmond?

I'm so sorry for all the folks this bike commemorates - rider, driver, family, friends. And I ask - Please folks, wherever you are, please SHARE THE ROAD.

Riders - please observe traffic laws just like any other vehicle on the road
Drivers - please be considerate of bike riders and give them plenty of room.

MONDAY FORTUNE COOKIE, 8/27/12

If your desires are not extravagant, they will be granted.

SNARKY RESPONSE: Okay, who's hedging their bets? So, if I don't get my desire, it'll be because it was too extravagant, eh? Fortune Cookie guru, you're leaving yourself a whopping big loophole there. And don't tell me that's the way the cookie crumbs.

If your desires are not extravagant, they will be granted.

Not only are you hedging your bets, Fortune Cookie Guru, but I think you're missing the point.

Desires, by their very nature, trend toward the extravagant. Needs are more modest, more fundamental – food, shelter, security. Nothing extravagant there.

But desires, desires are more often wrapped up in wish-fulfillment. And wishes are mostly all about big things, dreamy things, extraordinary things.

Keeping your desire small in order to have it granted is the waste of a good desire. Desires should be big, heart-pounding, pulse-racing, sweat on your brow big. In the case of desire, size matters.

If we limit our desires in hopes that fate will tip the scales in our favor, we always live in the shallow end of the life pool.

Don't do it! Dream big, desire extravagantly!

And if our efforts don't make the big leagues, at least we know we tried. We pushed ourselves. We took our shot and that is the point! The trick is that it's not the destination, but the journey that will make us more. (Okay, that's another fortune cookie saying, but it applies)

What say you?

Look! Show and Tell!

Blog Sister, Tracey Livesay tagged me for a fun game and explained it this way:

"My friend, Debra Kristi, recently posted a blog about a new meme making the rounds.  It’s called “Look” and the rules state that I do a search for the word in my current work-in-progress and paste the surrounding paragraphs. Afterwards, I tag others and the game is afoot."

I love a good game, so here's my section from my current Work-In-Process - "Aces Down":

He shook his head, though he dropped the cuffs into my hand. "You'd better hurry up with those. Hawkins won't stay down long."

"Really?" I muttered as I maneuvered one pair over Hawkins' feet and up around his ankles. I yanked them tight and then rolled Hawkins onto his stomach. He was heavy as a damned log. After I secured his hands behind his back, I pushed myself to my feet, stepped over him, and leaned over to look at Tristan's wound. As far as I could tell, the bleeding had slowed. Thank the stars for shapeshifter healing.

"How're you doing?" I asked, looking at him to make sure he was in full control of his wolf. We needed to get him inside, but I didn't think he could do it without a little help. Help that would put me way inside the wolf's personal space.

Thanks, Tracey for tagging me and I'm gonna tag the following talented bloggers/writers/poets: Shawna Christos, Joanna Lee, Erica Orloff, Meg Medina, Gigi Amateau, Shann Palmer. Check them out!

Tracey & I also blog with a group of Virginia writers of romantic fiction. the Wise Wenches. You can find the link to our blog here.

MONDAY FORTUNE COOKIE, 8/20/12

"A light heart carries you through all the hard times."

SNARKY RESPONSE: But a bottle of vodka will make you completely oblivious. Okay, so diving into a bottle is NOT a viable option, but this IS the snarky section, right?

"A light heart carries you through all the hard times."

The Fortune Cookie Guru needs a reality check. This reads like an oxymoron to me. Light heart/hard times? I would love to think that I could do this, but if my heart was light, the times couldn't possibly be that hard, could they? And if the times ARE that hard, how do I make my heart light? Denial might work, but it isn't useful.


Perhaps it's more about letting go of the attempt to control your life and trust that your higher power will get you through. (I make no stipulation as to what form your higher power might take, just that you trust it.) This is something that I've found amazingly comforting and empowering.

Additionally, metaphysics and religion aside, when facing "hard times, " I recognize that while there are things I cannot change, I CAN change  how I react to them. Okay, I admit I might spend a little time being angry, terrified, or overwhelmed, but then I try to  edge back from that ledge and take a long view.

I've been a very fortunate person in my life in that I've always managed to work my way through my "hard times" so far, knock wood. Perhaps that is the nugget of gold in this:

Recognizing that you've survived hard times before can give you the strength to survive them now.

If you're having hard times right now, I send you love and light AND the certainty that you will get through it.

He Said, She Gasped, They Shrugged

Lately, I've been struggling with something in my work as well as in things I'm reading both for pleasure and critique. It's the eternal battle over dialogue tags. (For those who may not use that term, I'm speaking of the words you see preceding or following a character's statement, most commonly "said.")

Dialogue tags are like spices in a recipe. Too little results in blandness, too much will ruin the dish, and just enough  make that dish lively and delicious.

The standard "said" is a perfectly useful and reader-friendly dialogue tag - as more than one mentor has said, the reader's eye glide right over it. This is not a bad thing, but if all you use is "said" the reader will begin to notice and may become irritated.

Do not swing to the other end of the spectrum and try to jazz up your said's with things like said angrily, said sadly, said softly. Better choices would be shouted, sighed, murmured. These dialogue tags portray your characters and their dialogue actively.

More so than active tages, my personal preference is to use physical beats, gestures as often as applicable. Why? Because that's how we talk.

Think about it.

When we talk to someone we gesture, our face changes expression, we move around. Communication is as much body language as it is words. Sometimes it is more about the body language than the words.

Though it's often said in jest, it's true that some folks couldn't talk if their hands were tied down - gestures play a huge part in communication. Other folks are more physically restrained, but facially expressive - a raised eyebrow can convey a thousands words. And there is inflection - rise and fall of vocal tone as well as cadence (but that's a different blog).

The interesting thing is that these notations of physical movement or expressions can take the place of the dialogue tag. And they serve the dual purpose of helping to round out your characters, make them more 3-dimensional as they move through their space.

Mary shrugged. "I don't care." VS "I don't care," Mary said.

Barry scowled. "Don't you dare walk out that door." VS Barry said, "Don't you dare walk out that door."

Don't be afraid to have your excitable character jab their finger, jump up and down, or pace the room. Feel free to let your more physically reserved character glower, laugh, or stare.

Another way of looking at it is to consider the difference between a static comic and an animiated comic. Both will entertain, both will convey the message, but which one is more engaging?

Most folks would prefer the "moving picture," so make sure your writing gives them the same thing.