Home Articles posted by Erin Zarro (Page 12)

It Got Better

I was cruising along Facebook this afternoon and found a video Adam Lambert had done called “It Got Better.” He’d originally done one some time ago for It Gets Better, but this is a new one. In it, he talks about his struggles with being gay and feeling alone because of it, and how he always strove to be himself. Here is the video if you want to see it. Damn, I love that guy. And his message. Granted, I’m not gay or struggling with being gay, but I have had struggles of my own. Recently I participated in #AprilLove2016, which was a month-long challenge to write love letters every day according to specific word or concept. It changed every day. And love letters didn’t have to be actual letters, they could be pictures, or paintings, or collages…whatever you wanted to create. I managed 14 days of 30, due to wrist tendonitis catching up with me (I was writing longhand in a journal for most of them, and for a few posted them to my blog). I really wanted to complete all 30, but doing14 of them was fun. By the end of the month, I was in the throes of a flare and could not even consider writing anything longhand. Maybe, once I feel better, I could try to the rest here and there. Anyway, one of the topics that got me thinking was “Dear Younger Me.” Writing that brought back so many memories of my teenage years and…

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The Pantser is Plotting, Yikes!

So, plotting. I am currently plotting out an idea I had a few weeks ago for a horror novel. Now, I am a pantser — that is, I make sh#$ up on the fly while I write. I’ve done this for most of the time I’ve been writing, with a few exceptions. If you remember, I talked about Monica Leonelle. She uses a method for plotting that is very detailed. More detailed than anything I’ve ever plotted, with the exception of Survivor, which was plotted using the Snowflake Method. But I have to wonder. Would Survivor be the awesome book it is today if I hadn’t thrown stuff in on the fly? I have whole characters and situations I’ve added that were never part of the planning. If I’d stayed the course, what would Survivor be like? What about that cool ending I dreamed up, that wasn’t the ending I’d plotted? Would it be the same? Would I have gotten there somehow anyway? (It’s like writer-fate. Would the story still insist upon being told the way it was fated to be told, or not?). Take Fey Touched, my debut novel. I purposely did NOT write a single thing down plot-wise. I just followed it along a vague path that was in my head only. In fact, I’d gotten superstitious about writing anything down until the last 10% or so when I got stuck for the first time and devised that cool plot twist where [redacted] does [redacted] and discovers [redacted].…

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Why I Didn’t Post Yesterday

Normally, I’m pretty good at keeping myself organized. Because we’re on a schedule, it’s pretty easy to remember. I’m the third Tuesday. But, apparently, I got distracted. Why did I get distracted? Well, you see, I was copyediting this awesome, kick-ass novel. The one we are releasing in May. I’d just gotten the second part, and I was DYING to keep reading because the place they ended part 1 was a bit of a cliffhanger and…gah. I kept thinking about it. And then I started copyediting, and time just went away. It’s kinda been like this all month. Kit and Siri, bless their souls, were running a bit behind on edits, so I was working on Ever Touched and Covenant, my two main projects. Then, over the weekend, I got a kick-ass idea for a horror novel (or screenplay). So that’s been on my mind. I’ve had a few personal things happening in the midst of this, plus daylight saving time (don’t tell me it doesn’t effect you because I will smack you. Some of us are sensitive to such things, mmkay?) and work stress. So, yeah, I spaced on yesterday’s post. I apologize for my error. I know you were all waiting with bated breath for my monthly thought-dump. But seriously? This book is out of this world (see what I did there? No? Okay, now I feel cheesy) and it’s very different from what’s out there which is the point. Awesome characters, awesome world, kind of dystopic, too.…

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Eight-Minute Writing

So I recently discovered Monica Leonelle. She writes fiction and non-fiction. I’ve read several of her non-fiction books, and one of them caught my eye: The 8-Minute Writing Habit: Create a Consistent Writing Habit that Works with Your Busy Lifestyle. This book was life-changing for me. First of all, if you’ve been reading my posts for awhile, you know that I’ve written every day of my life (with a few exceptions) for at least ten years. Eight Minute Writing (the book) focuses on integrating writing into your lifestyle by writing just eight minutes a day. Brilliant, right? Anyone can grab eight minutes a day to pound out some words. Monica suggests doing this several times a day, and eventually upping it to maybe ten minutes, or fifteen. Back when I was struggling with Survivor, my psychological horror novel, in 2007, I wrote 50,000 words of it by writing just fifteen minutes a day. I was having ~issues, and fifteen minutes was a no-pressure, easy solution to the problem. I highly suggest this for anyone who is struggling to find time or struggling period. It removes the expectations and wibbling (something which I engage in frequently) by giving you a clear deadline. Eight minutes and you are done. Note that there are no wordcount goals. This is strictly a time goal, and what you get — whether it’s 50 words or 300 — is fine. But, since I’m already writing every day, I thought about how this might work for my…

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Trigeminal Neuralgia: 5-Month Progress Report

Thought I’d give you an update on how I’m doing. For the most part, I’m pain free, which is wonderful. Some days I still have severe pain though, usually if it’s raining, if I’m stressed out, or, surprisingly, if I laugh too hard (that really threw me for a loop, but I suppose it makes sense — the motions of the face while I’m laughing must irritate the trigeminal nerve). I still have a bit of breakthrough pain near my next dose, and lately, I’ve had breakthrough pain as early as five o’clock (my second dose is at nine o’clock in the evening). Sometimes it will hit me out of nowhere with no discernible cause, and those times have me scratching my head. TN is definitely still a mystery, and I think it will take some time to peel all the layers off this condition. BUT when I think of where I was around this time last year, in excruciating pain and hopeless, I am ecstatic. Most of the time, I’m okay, and I’ve been able to handle the breakthrough pain well enough. It’s not constant anymore. And, I have a diagnosis. I finally have a reason why my eye and face hurt so much. That’s invaluable to me. And to think that if I hadn’t done the research, had given up hope…I’d still be in pain and depressed and probably suicidal (did you know that TN was once called the “suicide disease”? Because people, like me, were in such horrific…

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Christmas…Then and Now

It’s funny, but when you’re a kid Christmas is like the best day of the year (well, besides your birthday). And it’s magic, and Santa comes, and it’s all wonderful. But as you get older, things change. But the changes aren’t always bad: 1) Cooking. If you’re spoiled like me, you’ve never had to make a full Christmas dinner. But over time, I’ve had to take on some of the cooking for my mom who’s getting older. One year very recently she was too ill to make a Thanksgiving dinner, leaving me to make a very bare-bones dinner for my hubby and I. Everyone who knows me knows I hate cooking with a passion. But cooking with my mom is entirely different. One, I learn things. Two, we spend time together. And that’s really important as I grow older — taking time to be with the people I love. You never know how much time you or any one else you love will get, so every minute is precious. And, it’s all about helping take the load off of her — she’s not twenty anymore, and honestly needs my help. So, being the good daughter I am, I freely give my help. (Someday, it’ll just be me, and I hope those days are in the far, far future). 2) Stress. This may seem like a negative, but it really isn’t. I tend to stress out because I simply care. I care to take the time to pick out good gifts for…

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Gratefulness

Every year I do a post near Thanksgiving about things I’m grateful for. So, let’s do this! 1. Family. Without my family, I wouldn’t be the person I am or doing the things I do. To me, family is forever and everything to me. They make life worth living. They are a comfort in tough times, and those I celebrate good things with. I have the most amazing family, and every year, I give thanks for them and all they are to me.  2. My job. Those of you who know me and what I do for a living are probably giggling. My job is at best, stressful; at worst, insanity. And this isn’t an exaggeration. It is by far the most demanding, difficult, insane job I’ve ever had. I’ve had people threaten to sue me, cuss me out, treat me like a moron, and threaten to kill me. (For reals). I’ve been at this particular place of employment for almost 15 years. But.

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Dieting: Third Time’s the Charm?

  Oh man, sweets. I am a certifiable chocolate-holic and baked goods addict: donuts, cake, pie, brownies — if it’s baked and it tastes good, I’m there. And naturally, working in foodservice has a bit of a crappy side effect. You see, we sample stuff. Mostly pizza-related stuff like dough and pepperoni, but sometimes sweets, too. We once had a cannoli line. And once we taste tasted pies. And cakes. And…well, being that I sit all day at the office and I lead a pretty sedentary life, I’ve put on some weight. Okay. Quite a lot of weight. (In fact, the joke when I started working for this company was, “Heh, you’ll gain 25 pounds your first year here.” I thought it was a joke. Nope. It was the truth. I’ve been there for almost 15 years now….)

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5 Books That Blew My Mind

Thought I’d talk about books. I am a voracious reader. I’ve been known to read 3-4 books at one time, and devour 700+ page books in a few days. I read fast. (And, yes, I retain it all). I figure it this way: I don’t think I’ll ever be able to read my entire TBR pile in a lifetime, so I will read as many as I can as often as I can and see what happens. (Yeah, we’ll see how that goes. I’ve got bookcases and shelves filled with actual paperbacks and hardcovers, at least half that I haven’t read yet, and at least 2,000 ebooks on my Kindle. And that is growing daily).

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Trigeminal Neuralgia: One-Month Progress Report

So, if you remember, I finally got a diagnosis of trigeminal neuralgia and was put on medication a month ago today. Life has been…interesting. I’m on a schedule – I take a half a pill at 9am and again at 9pm. I have alarms set on my phone so I don’t forget. I also need to eat something with it so I need to always have some type of food handy. I try to eat healthy things. The nausea has gone away.

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