Fifteen months, 362 pages and 94,457 words. The End.

Squee! I typed The End. Seriously, what other six letters with a space can give a writer that much pleasure?

Unscrew the Asti-Spumanti or Mountain Dew and Sharpie your name on a plastic party cup, because I just sent off my Badass Novel (BAN) to two First Readers.

Agreed, my manuscript is still  a little rough, a few typos left in just to see if the FRs really read the darn thing, but the bones are there, with a lot of muscle. A little fat.

Even if I never get this thing published, I've marked one big thing off my bucket list: Written the Big Badass Novel.

Laundry? Paint the kitchen? Mais non! I'm going to spend the next week working on my "I'm a Real Writer, Yes I Am" website because luckily that's what one of the things I do in real-life, before I get back to the edits from my First Readers.  Then off to query agents whilst enticing them with fresh baked snickerdoodles.  Didn't I read somewhere that agents love snickerdoodles? Maybe it's cupcakes.

But for now, join me. Pour yourself an Asti, douse a Ritz with extra Cheese Whiz; c'mon there's plenty for everyone.  Then sit back and let's enjoy the steam coming off the Dell.

Okay, Sometimes Sucked is the Right Word.

My Midwest Fellow Fellow Lara just blogged about the most appropriate time to use the word sucked. When? Whilst talking about high school gym, of course.

When Did Suck Become Okay?

Dropped off Sparkly Hubby at work due to a minor car malfunction. On the XM? His favorite news program: CNBC. Keep in mind, I'm a Fox news girl, but it was on, so I listened.  An announcer commented on a story, and used the term "that really sucked."  It piqued me.  Then he used it again, same context, next sentence.  That did me in.

Now, I'm supposed to be writing so I'll make this quick (I'm good at that). I'd like to know: "when did the word "sucked" become mainstream?"

I've heard it often-- news commentators, radio personalities, everyday conversation -- even my favorite librarian at the downtown branch. Kelly Clarkson sings that her life would suck without me.  Well, that's getting a little too personal, and to be perfectly honest, I really don't know Kelly that well.  Still, does all this mean saying something sucks is okay?  Is this the bottom of the word barrel? 
I looked up sucked on thesaurus.com, one of my all time favorite websites.  Though dictionary.doc acknowledges the use of sucked as slang, my friend the thesaurus ignores it, as if it will go away real soon.

I admit, I use the word because sometimes it fits.  Sometimes no other word will do.  But really, news announcers, public figures, Kely Clarkson: when did it become *okay* to use  slang, wavering around the derogatory area of colloquialisms? Is to too darn hard to say, "it's terrible that you dropped your iPhone into the Lake," or "the fact that I wrecked your new Prius makes me feel terrible."  Or, "the sushi could have been fresher."  Do we really have to tell our mother or father, co-worker or lover, that our day, hamburger, drive to O'Hare really, breath, sucked?

Well, maybe everything except the drive to O'hare, which really does suck . . .

My Fellow Fellows.

What an experience.  Back home from my Fellowship weekend with nine other amazing writers.

Many thanks to the Ball Foundation and Jama Bigger of the Midwest Writers' Group -- it was the weekend of a lifetime for any writer.

I'm a Jolly Good Fellow

"Congratulations!  Your synopsis and 1,000-word manuscript have been selected for the 2010 Midwest Writers Workshop Fellowship."  Well, heck thanks, MWW!

What the hay! I'm a Fellow! Looking forward to an intense weekend of revising my manuscript with some industry experts. 

We nine Fellows will spend Friday and Saturday writing and revising manuscripts in progress under the direction of three veteran writing coaches. The fellowships will pay the writers' retreat costs, other than travel and incidental expenses.


Awesome!


"This retreat experience has been an extraordinary event for the previous Fellows. We are very happy to continue this intensive opportunity for writers with serious works in progress," says Jama Bigger, Midwest Writers Workshop director.





Well, all righty then, write on.