Wednesday, March 30, 2011

SNIs and Baby Bump Pictures

There is no better feeling in the world of writing than that of a new creation sparked to life. Well, other than maybe getting that new creation published down the road....but still...great feeling, right? Somehow, Shiny New Ideas (SNI) always hit me when I'm almost asleep. And really, it kind of pisses me off....because my subconscious is a waaaay better writer than I am. Does this happen to anyone else? My subconscious will literally be narrating the story for me with the perfect words, while my mind is playing back the image. If I wake up all the way, it's gone, that inner-genius-writer living inside my head, and I can never get the words down exactly as good as they came to me. But anyway! The point is, I have a SNI!!! And I can't wait to sink my fingers into it. I have to ask, to all those writers out there, what's the first thing you do when you're hit with an SNI? Think on it more? Let it stew for a while? Plot it out, begin character development? Or just start writing? Or, like me, a bit of all three? 

In other news, I haven't forgotten about my SEKRETS. Thing is, what I was hoping to announce got pushed back....sooo....I'm still keeping them a secret until I'm for sure ready to reveal them. It has nothing to do with me growing a human, though, no worries. Someone thought maybe I was having twins, heehee! 

And speaking of which, anyone out there who has a boy want to answer this question for me: WHY IS IT SO HARD TO NAME THEM? Never has it taken me (us) this long to name our baby. I'm just now entering the third trimester and we've finally boiled it down to a top 3, after I posted on facebook (because yes, I'm one of THOSE people) wanting ideas and suggestions from people to help us name this kid! Ready for the list of semifinalists?

  • Anderson
  • Christopher
  • Gavin
  • Zachry
  • Ashton
  • Brandon
  • Bradley
  • Mason
  • Matthew
  • Reid
  • Xander
The three finalists are Anderson (which is winning), Christopher, and Ashton. Here is me and the little nugget (though he doesn't look very little, does he?):




And now, I should really try to catch some sleep before he starts doing somersaults in there, keeping me awake. Have a great week, Happy April Fools Day, and SHINE ON!

7 comments:

  1. When a SNP (Shiny New Project) idea hits me, I have to get enough of it down right then in order to set it aside and get back to work on the DOP (Dull Old Project). Sometimes, I can write down a few sentences and set it aside. Other times, I have to work out my character development and get a basic plot idea down. Still other times, I start writing immediately. That last one just happened--and I think it is actually one of the best pieces of writing I've ever had. After that, though, I had to go through my character development and plot outline, before I could move on with it.

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  2. Sounds like it all just depends on the project, and where you're at with any other projects, that may decide how you handle them. I like your idea of writing the ideas down right then and there. I do that with current projects when a light bulb sparks over my head, but I never seem to be around any pen or paper when a SNI or SNP hit me...so I just think about it over and over again to memorize lol. Some great methods, Catherine, thanks for sharing!

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  3. I get the same perfect dialogue thing as I'm going to sleep, and then it's gone when I wake up enough to write it down. But at least I know I CAN come up with perfect scenes. I just can't transfer them to paper ;)

    And my vote goes to Christopher :)

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  4. First, yay baby bump pics! Congrats! I like the name Anderson, though (don't kill me) it reminds me of the Matrix "Mr. Anderson!"

    Second, when SNI hits, I MUST write it down right away. If I don't it'll disappear into the void.

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  5. You look fabulous! Thanks for the bb pics! (I vote for Anderson, too.)

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  6. LOVE your baby bump!! Great name choices too - naming kids is so hard!

    I've been attacked by a SNI too - and it also happened when I was supposed to be sleeping. Drives me nuts!

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  7. Thanks all! And Stickynotes, very good point...at least we know we're capable of coming up with something that sounds good in our heads ;-)

    And now I have to wonder if they have any kind of notepad that can attach to your hip so that whenever you get struck with a SNI you have the means to write it down no matter where or what you're doing!

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