"You Can Do It!"

This past weekend, Myra McEntire gave a speech at the first annual UtopYA conference.  If you weren't there, Myra posted her keynote on her site.  Click here to read it.  Did you read it?  Seriously, click here and read it ... I'll wait.



Didn't you love the video?!
For those of you who didn't click when I told you to, I'll share it with you.

Love, yes?
Now raise your hand if you didn't dribble a tear or two.  In my case, the faucet was open and ready to pour.
You can do it. 
So simple.
You can do it.

Now go read the keynote... You can do it. Just click here

Eminem, My Mom and Your Characters.

My mom said, "Mindy, you can do anything you set your mind to." 
Funny thing is, she never told me how to set my mind.
I know how to set my character's minds.
Music.
Theme songs.
Seems like, these days, before anyone sits down to put their words on paper, they’ve created a playlist for their novel. 
And each character has their own theme song.  
I’m no different. 
I’m plotting a new story and one of the first things I did was pay a quick visit to iTunes, YouTube, and Pandora’s shuffle list.  I surfed through songs until just the right one smacked me between the eyes! 

Why do we do this? 
My answer is simple: It gets me into character. 
All the angst and raw emotion that I need to convey from my brain to my fingers seems to be “juiced up” when I start my writing process with my character's theme song. 
Of course, it got me thinking:  If music can get my brain , and countless others, into character mode, how many other writers have picked out a theme song for themselves?  
And I’m not talking the traditional Natasha Bedingfield: UNWRITTEN. 
I’m talking about the, gut wrenching, this is why I write, theme song that fires you up, brings you to tears and makes you look at the empty page of white and say:

 “BRING IT ON, Bitches!!!” 

Fired up, right? 
So why don't we do this for ourselves? 

My theme song comes from the most unlikely place you could imagine. 
Me, Mindy Ruiz, mom to four boys, woman whose curse repertoire is filled with gems like: “Son of a Blanket” and “Ah, spoons!”, found her theme song in Eminem’s: LOSE YOURSELF! 

I have NOTHING in common with this man.
I grew up in a middle class suburb, clay-tile roof over my head, two dysfunctional parents, no baby-daddy.  Yet, in Eminem's words, I find the guttural roar I need every time I sit down and the cursor is flashing: “YOU SUCK, Mindy!” 
I write with the passion that this is my one shot.
I’ve only got one chance to impress my dream agent.
There is only one moment to seize everything I wanted and I’m not going to let it pass through my fingers!   
My trailer, my 'hood', is a nine to five job that sucks my very essence from my soul; steals my time from my husband and children, trading it for dollars that won't mean a thing once my gas tank is filled; and leaves me at the end of the day determined to tell the stories clawing at my insides! 

And isn’t that how each of should be writing?

And how would that passion translate to your characters?
And how do you think that need to produce would resonate with a prospective agent/editor/reader?

Don’t you owe it to yourself to start every moment of writing with the passion that this is that moment.
The one second in time that could change the course of your life. 
Dramatic?
But that's what we're writing!
Drama and believable, fantastic moments that make our readers suspend their reality, for just a few more pages, until those pages end and our readers scream:

I WANT MORE!!!

What's your theme song?
How will it change your day?
How will it change your writing?
What will you say if that one moment, that one opportunity, slips you by and you weren't ready?
For me, it's not an option ... and I guess I have Eminem and my mom to thank.

New Meat & Shiny New Project!

I find it fitting that I grew up a real estate brat.  One of the things my momma always said when I was a Realtor was, “Go find some new meat to chew on!” 
Aside from being crazy cannibalistic because the new meat was code for a new client, she was right!
Have you ever had an amazing piece of steak and about the fifteenth chew go round you’re kind of done with that piece and readying another bite on your fork?  *non-meat-eaters insert something like meat* 
Of course, the next bite up is just as amazing as the bite that’s sliding down your throat until chew fourteen or fifteen.
But!
What if you went to a restaurant and were served one bite of meat at an extremely outrageous price with some sort of fancy kale to fill in the vast amount of plate real estate?  Ya’d chew that sucker till it all but disappeared on your tongue. AND you’d walk away from the experience just kind of deflated, cranky and looking for an In –N-Out burger (no In-N-Outs?  Pleeeease haul your toosh to Cali!) 
Real Estate is a lot like eating meat and therefore a lot like writing books. 
Hold on, bear with me, cuz it sooo is! 
I wasn’t a very patient realtor, mainly because people want to look at more than one house and they kind of act Craaaaazy when they’re in escrow.  I had one client who looked at fifty-two houses before she found one she would consider and then canceled the escrow because of the bird’s flight pattern over said house.  I kid you not!  My mother had a client cancel an escrow because the cat said, ‘No!’  I don’t know how the owner figured out that one, but God’s honest truth, the freakin’ feline said NO! 
Chew, chew, chew = get a new client, get a new client, get a new client!
I’ve been working on a project for-EVER!!! And it’s a great project but I feel like I’ve been chewing the same piece of meat for two years!  I’m ready for that cued up bite/shiny new project sitting on my fork/hard drive to start making its way up to my mouth/putting words on paper!!!
Chew, chew, chew = start new project, start new project, start new project.
So what’s the point to this pretty little post?

      1.       It is entirely possible to over chew your WIP.

2.       Trust your beta’s and critique partners.

3.       Make sure you give yourself time to dream about your SNP!

4.       Don’t procrastinate with your edits!!! It’s like stopping mid-chew and keeping that glob of meat in your cheek!

5.       The next adventure is always as much fun as the one you’re afraid to let go of.

Writing With Reckless Abandon!

If you’re like me, always in the back of my head, there is a tiny little voice saying:
“Is this like so and so?”
“Is this too far over the top?”
“Is this publishable?” 
What if for one moment we could write like this:

Now, in the blocks, this runner looks like everyone else. He starts like everyone else, but after the second hurdle, we KNOW he’s not like everyone else.
I’m sure he’s probably having a bad day.
I mean, really, hurdles?
I can barely walk down the stairs without falling headfirst and bouncing down the suckers. Props to hurdle thrower for even being able to squat in the same blocks with the others.   
What I really like is that by hurdle number four, well, we all know he’s NOT gonna win this race so why not finish with a bang. 
Queue the hurdle toss. 
He finished, he took his teammate out with him, but who needs a medal when you’ve got a gazillion views on YouTube? 
I’m sure hurdle thrower didn’t start the morning saying: “I think I’ll just try running through the hurdles.”
He probably woke up thinking he had a decent shot at winning.
A great shot at conforming.  Just look at those snazzy red shorts if you think different.
But come along hurdle number four, when it’s obvious he’s not conforming, he’s not ‘winning’, HT has a choice:  Finish his way or don’t finish. 
I’m not saying if you know your WIP is a pile of shredded hurdles you should rush out and query it, but what I am saying is don’t be afraid to throw few hurdle rules around. 
Write for the passion, not for the commercial success. 
Write the story the way it NEEDS to be told, not the way that is gonna be easy. 
Vampires never sparkled before Stephenie Meyers.
Wizards never played cribbage before J.K. Rowling
And hurdlers never ran like that before. 

How Plants Can Help Your Writing! They can... I promise...

I have a confession:
I’m a plant killer.
I don’t wanna be … but I am.

Every spring I buy an ungodly amount of flowers and hope, nay, pray, beg and promise to the flower gods that I will remember to water these new bulbs of life.  Sadly, without fail, I kill them three or four weeks later.  I over water them, under water them, forget to water them and ,only once, accidently water them with sudsy water. 
ACCIDENT!
I promise.
My reign of flower carnage was so epic, the eldest mini-me asked the granny, aka my mom, if she could come over and plant the flowers because, “Mommy’s flowers always die…"

 *whisper*

"I think all flowers are afraid of mommy.” 

Fruit of my womb right there!  Turned traitor on me for a few petals of pink and chocolate chip cookie.  

So why would this spring be any different?
Because, the flowers I bought last year for my writing room are still BLOOMING!!!!!
I have three plants.  Yes, THREE PLANTS that have survived the curse of my brown thumb and declared an end to the rein of houseplant terror that has plagued me for YEARS….
I spend soooo much time in my writing room.  Sometimes there’s just the mad click of fingers on a keyboard, but often—more frequent than I’ll ever admit— there are times where I just need a sounding board, an ear if you will, that will just sit there and take whatever I dish out. 
Let me introduce you to my cheerleaders:

This is my inspiration plant: 

When I’m feeling full of self-doubt.  This is the plant I turn to: 

It was given to me, not on Mother’s Day, put on an ordinary day by middle-me.  MM came into my room and said, “Momma, Daddy said you weren’t feeling very good so I asked him if we could buy you this.”  Hands me the plant. I weep and give the petals their initial assault of salt watering.  “I know this will make you feel better momma.” 

Now don’t laugh, but this next plant is my whipping plant.  It’s gangly and ugly and really should be shoveled somewhere!  When the WIP or revisions aren’t going as planned… well, just look at this thing! Scrawny little thing needs some love, but when I tell those beany barbs how pretty they look … we both know I’m lying. 

Finally, my OMG-holycow-how is this even existing in the same space as me- plant.

Take a minute.

This beauty’s been with me for almost THIRTEEN MONTHS!!!!!!

I named this plant HR.  This orchid is where I turn to when I think one day, just one day I may sign with the agent of my dreams.  It’s for every book I read that made my head shake in awe; for every passage I’ve written that could be as awesome as those before me.  I talk to THIS plant: 

HR sits right next to the whipping plant to remind me that every line that looked like this…

 could one day look like THIS!

I really do think every writer should have at least one plant in their writing space.  If for no other reason to hold you accountable.  It's easy to let an hour slip into a day.  A day to slip into a week. A week to... well, you know where I'm going with this.  Three very different plants on different watering schedules require my toosh to walk by my computer when I'm in a funk.  If those plants are dying... then so are my dreams of being an author and that's just not acceptable.
Now go water your WIP plant!

My Favorite Things = Queries ... yep, it's a Monday! Query???

Like most writers, I hate querying!
HATE. Querying.
Querying is like a giant word problem with variables like: X is to Y like cat is to? 
And the cursor on the screen blinks at you like some psychotic math teacher who KNOWS you have no idea that the answer is Mount Everest.
I hated querying.
Yep, used the past tense on that sucker.
Why?
What?
Who?
Come closer and I’ll introduce you to the ninja master of Query letters.
First, do you solemnly swear to scream all of the awesomeness about the author from who you are about to learn?
~nod your head and eat this piece of lemon bar~
Second, do you promise to never glare at your screen when asked to write a one-page query?
~nod and put on these stilettos~
TR-uuuu-St me!
Finally, Do you  *insert pen name*  pinky promise that you will tweet, +, Facebook and all other forms of crazy social media this author’s name and book to all of those floundering, query zombified writers who aimlessly bang there head on their desk when attempting to write a query?
~nod and spin three times~
Alright. *glances suspiciously over shoulder while reaching into my Johnny Depp fan club tote bag*
Here it is:

C.J. Redwine’s, QUERY: Everything You Need to Get Started, Get Noticed, and Get Signed. 

I was privileged enough to take C.J.’s weeklong query course of awesomeness. 

The woman takes the word problem of queries and gives you what X is, tells you why you need to have Y and –here’s the best part, after reading QUERY— you will always see why cats are equal to Mount Everest and dogs are likened to underwater basket weaving.

C.J. takes the quandary out of the Query and makes you feel confident when hitting that send button.  At the end of her weeklong class, I had a shiny query letter that I couldn't WAIT to share.
C.J.’s YA debut, DEFIANCE, comes out 8/28/12 from Balzer & Bray, so the girl has some serious success when it comes to the query question.
Still not sold?
You can follow C.J. on Twitter
And I HIGHLY recommend you follow her blog.  

I’m so thrilled that C.J. put her Query class into e-book format I’ve already bought one AND I’m going to be giving away a copy of QUERY: Everything You Need to Get Started, Get Noticed, and Get Signed. 
To enter, fill out the form below and if it isn't working, this is my first time using Rafflecopter, shoot me a comment and I'll be sure to beat  fix the problem. Sign in with your name and email so I can notify you if you're the WINNER!

And the winner is......

Stephanie!!!!!!

Stephanie, email me mindyruiz1(at)yahoo(dot)com for your Query book by C.J. Redwine!!!!



My Favorite Things... yep it's a Monday! With Chocolate and Heroes!!!!!

This is the kick off to heroes week!

And how better to kick off heroes week than with my very own favorite hero!!!!



too sweet!!!

Yep, that's my husband!

And besides literally saving my life, he is the inspiration to our heroes discussion this week:

Why Your Fictional Hero Shouldn't Wear A White Hat!

As if Mark's inspiration isn't enough, my amazing husband constantly brings me these yummies!!!!

EDIT MUST HAVES

And only 130 calories of AMAZING!

 

Mark's theme song is A Real Good Man by Tim McGraw.

*Yes, I gave my husband a theme song*   



see the resemblance! I. DO. TOO!!!!

 Now, if you've never listened to this song, then you must!!!! 
Aside from drool worthy husky voices and naughty references to h-h-honkytonks. 
....Wait.... I gotta catch my breath.....



mkai, I'm better.

There's a line from the song that just sums up what every hero should have a sprinkle of:

I may be a real bad boy, but baby I'm a real good man!

Now I'm not saying your hero has to be a down and dirty typical bad boy, but there needs to be an element of recklessness.  A moment where your heroine is completely flabbergasted, taken aback, holy cowed or SOMETHING by her potential "man". 

It's called tension ladies!

And even though we HATE when our heroes go against our words of wisdom, there's a piece of WOWZA that occurs when it happens at the right moment and over the right thing.

I can't tell you what that moment is, but ya sure as heck better have one!

Otherwise your hero will look like this:



Hi, I'm two dimensional and hate chocolate.
oh, you like chocolate...
me too!



Instead of this:



You'll like the chocolate...
on my abs of YUM!
Trust me.

 Or this:

You know you like my smolder!

Or THIS!!!!!

Firefighter Ruiz... so taken ladies.

Okay, I've shared enough of my eye candy husband. 

Now, go find that WOWZA moment in your WIP.

My Favorite Things ... yep, it's a Monday!

I debated about what should be my favorite thing.  I’ve got so many swirling around in my head.

I could go with the personal aspect:

weather, hot tamale candies, butterscotch coffee, fresh linens.

I could go the mommy route:

snuggles in the morning, mini-me- Dylann’s- dimple, I love you mommy’s.

But I think today I’m going to go with the writer in me and my most favorite thing is

the Microsoft Word Navigator. 

I LOVE IT!!!

I’ve always written my books in order. 

If I had an idea about another part of the book,

 I’d start a new document, save it and, usually, lose it!

Then I stumbled across Helene Boudreau’s blog. 

In this AMAZING site is a writer’s toolbox tab.

 If you ever do anything for yourself, go play in this site and this tab!!

This is what the navigation pane looks like. 

In here, you can flip from chapter 1 to chapter 20 like this:

And then, just as easily flip back to chapter 2 and repeat. 

This may seem extremely simple,

but to a girl who would create whole new documents for ideas…

this was fantabulous.

Voila! 

Two must-have, my favorite things!

1.      Word Navigator and 2. Helene Boudreau’s Blog!

Who's Your Heroine???

It's a really important question!
Is your heroine this:



A little on the weak side?
Begging for someone not to steal her man.

Or is your heroine this:



Completely sure of herself.
Willing to kick your ass if you mess with her man?
Someone who will fight for love till the death?

Is your heroine Bella Swan or Hermione Granger.
Here's the thing...
There is no perfect heroine.
They're both flawed.
They both have character flaws they have to deal with and journeys they must follow.
And those flaws don't always have to include a hero. 
Let's face it, if your heroine handled everything perfectly, then she wouldn't be entertaining to read.
There would be no black moment.
And there definitely would NEVER be any character redemption.
It's not wrong to have a weak heroine, if in the end she finds some strength in herself.
It's not wrong to have a kick-ass heroine either, as long as she has to admit she has some vulnerable element to her make up. 
The key to amazing heroines, weak or strong, is that you stay true to the character you're creating. You make them confront the very things we, as readers, are screaming at them to fix!
As a writer, you have to stand by every bad decision they make because that’s where they grow.
That's where they become the heroine worth saving.
And THAT is where your reader is entertained.

A Pee-My-Pants Big DREAM Post!

It’s not so scary to dream.

What would I do if I won the lottery?

What would I do if I had a million dollars?

What would I do if I had three wishes?

But those aren’t dreams.

Those are fantasies.

Did you know one definition of fantasy even goes so far as to say a fantasy is:

An unrealistic or improbable supposition.

A hallucination.

On the other hand a dream is defined as:

A condition or achievement that is longed for; an aspiration.

To regard something as feasible or practical.

To conceive of; imagine.

Crazy, right?
How can two words that are so interchangeable be so vastly different?
And, here’s the BIG question:

Are you fantasizing about your career or are you dreaming about your career?

And, if you’re dreaming about your career, is your dream BIG enough?
Does your dream scare you?

I dream of signing with an agent.
I dream of having my book published.
I dream of having someone, not my family, buy my book and post a review.

Big dreams, right?

Wrong.

Why?

Because I wasn’t specific.
I have a DREAM agent. But you didn’t hear me say that before.
I have a DREAM publishing house. But you didn’t hear that either.
I DREAM of not just someone buying my books (yes, plural) … I dream of LOTS of someone’s buying lots of my books.

What’s the difference?

My first set of dreams are really doable.
I can see the roads I have to take.
I know the steps I must complete, the classes I should take, the networks I should connect with, the way to spread the word.
My second set of DREAMS … they pee-my-pants, huddle-in-a-corner, eat-till-I-pop, SCARE me.
They scare me because I can’t see the entire road to take to get to the amazingness of all of those BIG DREAMS.
They are just out of my reach, require just a bit of growth and a guide I don't have, yet.
They'll require some really hard, concentrated work and a bit of faith in me.
They scare me because anybody can dream the small ascertainable dream, but few are capable to see the BIG DREAM and not assign it to the realm of unrealistic fantasy.
And, few think they deserve to dream BIG DREAMS.
So here’s your assignment for the day, and I TOTALLY stole it from my coach, Tom Ferry:

Write yourself a letter from December, 2012.
Yes, that’s the future.
Have your future self to you what you accomplished in 2012.
In vivid detail, tell yourself about all the doubts you overcame and all of the BIG DREAMS you accomplished or set in motion.
Then, if you’re brave enough, post the biggest most scariest part of your dream in the comment section below.
You’ll be surprised how many people think your borderline fantasy is really just a BIG DREAM you’re to afraid to say out loud.
AND!!!!
You’ll be surprised how many people really are there to support you.
C’mon.
Don’t be afraid.
I triple dog dare ya!
Print that letter out.
Put it in your purse, wallet, idea folder.
Next year, you’ll be amazed how far you’ve come.

Three Nano's and Me.

So many way to Nano…


Nano #1

Yep, you know I can’t start a Nano post off with out my writer’s block de-blocker. My Nano and I have an amazing relationship. I clean and provide a USB port and the Nano provides a plethora of what-if ideas that usually kick start a stalled imagination.

Nano #2.

It’s a fact. Being named Mindy almost ALWAYS gets a response of, “Where’s Mork?”

To which I say, “I married him!" …

okay, I married Mark, but if our minister can get away with that joke during our wedding, then I think that gives me an open-ended pass.

Or

Na-nu Na-nu. I know its pronounced nah-noo nah-noo.

You would be surprised how many people say Na-No Na-No.
They also get the hand gesture wrong.
You don’t want to know… trust me!

Nano #3

If you’re a writer you know November is the start of a mad dash-holy cow- kids fend for yourself- month.

For those of you who aren’t writers.
NaNo is National Novel Writing Month.
For thirty days we write till we look like this:




or ssometimes like THIS: *caution you may want to scroll fast past this one*



At the end of November we have, twenty-five days to Christmas, our pants sporting massive muffin tops and a very, very rough first draft of a novel.

Rookies make the mistake of thinking they’re done and send their NaNo project out on query.

DON’T DO THIS!

Others sit and let their NaNo project marinate a few months and then decide if it’s worth the edit process.

And finally, there are the NaNo projects that’ll make you go. WOW!!!

My darling friend Trisha Wolfe participated in NaNo last year.

Edited

Queried

Found an Agent

Submitted

And SOLD her book!

Moral of this post...
you now have three ways to get your Nano on this November.
Pick one and let me know how you're getting your NaNo on!

DOUBT....

It should be a four letter word.
It's that U that makes it so perfect.
U.
Doubt.
I do...
Sometimes, I doubt this book will ever be ready.
Sometimes, I doubt that when this book is ready... no one will want to read it.
Sometimes, I doubt what's looking back at me in the mirror.

I doubt.
I doubt.
I doubt.

It's amazing what can happen when the clock ticks at four in the morning.
When the hubby's sound asleep
The refrigerator's humming
And yoUr defenses against doUbt are at their lowest.
I guess that's why there's that U in doUbt...

Why not u?
Why not yoUr book?
Why not grab what God has given U and enjoy the ride?

It's Up to U to figUre oUt how to kick doubt in the teeth and know U are doing what U are sUpposed to be doing...

Writing....

So, hUgs to U and Urself...
Now get back to that MS.

PS. this has been brought to U by the letter U and the number 1 ... because U are... 
just in case you needed to be reminded.

The Year's Half Over! Where Are YOU!?!

The year's half over!
I can't believe it myself.
We're already in June.

In California that means June gloom.
 For four weeks we re-visit winter with all its nasty gray skies, drizzle and long for the sun.  Then, in July, the sun and summer sucker punch us with all that pent up heat we should have been enjoying in June. 
June in the Ruiz house means planning the next school year, figuring out summer activities, finding someway to keep the kids from uttering those famous summer words, "I'm boooooooooored!" Vacation countdowns begin as well as the back to school mom countdown. 
June for the writer in  me, I'll be honest, this is my first summer as a full time writer.  When I was a Realtor we would look at June and make sure we were half way to our yearly commission goals. If we weren't then my momma would turn on the glare factor and we would kick it up a notch.  You see,  most people move during the summer. They find a house in June, they close escrow by mid to late July and that leaves all of August to find new school friends. 
I'm not sure what the calendar for publishing is, but I did find last year a number of the agents I follow took off mid August and came back after Labor Day.  After Thanksgiving it was pretty quiet till the New Year.  So, I guess nothing has changed from Real Estate to Writing.  June is still the stop, evaluate, throw it into overdrive month.  Are you half way to your 2011 goals?  I'd love to hear them as well!

A Tale of the Tell

Poker players say that everyone has a tell; something or some movement that they instinctively do when confronted with a good a hand, a bad hand, or a bluff. Poker players don sunglasses, hats, tape their hands to their sides, I even saw an ad for a poker helmet.  It looked like a biker's crash helmet that guaranteed to hide all your tells. There’s a website, www.Poker Tells.com, that helps new poker players learn how to spot these behaviors. The website defines a poker tell as:


“Any behavioral pattern that a player exhibits which can tip you off to what they hold.”

Poker players go out of their way to make sure these uncontrollable slips in truth don't come through. 

Why?

Because if you saw a poker player scratch his nose every time he had an unbeatable hand you'd fold.
If you saw that same poker player cluck his tongue when he was bluffing you'd call the bluff.

People are the same way.

When I was a little girl my mom always knew when something was bothering me. I would twirl strands of my hair around my finger. Over and over and over again these strands of hair would flip around my index finger until I got whatever was bothering me figured out in my head or my momma would ask me, “what’s bothering you?”
My husband sucks in his lower lip and his top lip goes paper white when he’s angry.
One of my brothers says “Not a problem.” When he’s doesn’t know the answer. He also ends a lie with the phrase, “I believe.”
My oldest son folds his hands in his lap and rubs his thumb when he is disappointed or his feelings have been hurt.
My middle son scrunches up his eyebrows when he feels left out.
My youngest son cocks his head and grins a thirty-two-tooth grin when he’s been caught doing something he shouldn’t.
These are all tells and in my current Work In Progress I use a handful of these tells to breathe three dimensionality into my characters. The characters become believable to the reader and even better they become signs to my reader when a character is lying, hurt or done something they shouldn’t. Tells let you experience the character without being told what they are feeling or what they are hiding.

So I ask you:

What tells are you using in your Work In Progress?
Are tells part of your character worksheet?

If you aren’t using tells look around; start observing those closest to you and make a list of their tells.
Your characters will thank you.
Your editors/agents/critique partners will thank you.
Your reader will thank you!
Trust me.
A male can only run a frustrated hand through his hair so many times. And there’s a physical limit to how many times a female can bite down on her lip without causing a deformity.

Now go study your tells.