I finished my paranormal romance and sent it to my reader. She's hoping to have it back to me by Tuesday, so I'm hoping to have edits and what not done by the end of the week. Then, it's off to the editor!
I've been working on my YA zombie sequel in the mean time. I have two chapters done and have started the third. It took me a little while to get back into the story. I think my mind was focused on the other stories I needed to write because once they were out of the way, the writing got a little easier. It was either that or the fact that I kept telling myself it is just a draft. If you haven't noticed, that's my new mantra!
One of the things that made getting back into the story so difficult was getting back into my main character's head. It's told in first person, from the perspective of a 17-year old girl. I haven't been 17 for a long time (ugh! and I wouldn't want to be!), so trying to recapture her voice and the voices of the other characters has been challenging. Basically, I've decided to get the story down, then I'll reread "Life After the Undead" and go back into the sequel and make the proper character adjustments. It's all about the language and keeping it consistent.
From the topic of language, let me transition into my nonsequitor story of the week. I always try to watch my mouth around the boys, especially since they repeat everything they hear. That is not always an easy task for me. I have a really foul mouth.
Anyway, the other day I was taking the boys to daycare. There was a truck behind me who sped up to get around me, then realized he was in the wrong lane, so he had to shimmy in front of me. I'm a defensive driver, so I let him in and made some comment about "Yeah, maybe you should pay more attention to how you drive, D-bag!" (And I did say "d-bag." Remember, watching my mouth.) From the backseat, the 4 year old says, "Yeah, D-bag, we're trying to get to daycare!"
Do you have any idea how dirty that word sounds when it comes out of the mouth of a babe? It was funny, and I chuckled, but he can't say that. I imagined him running around with his little daycare friends saying, "Hurry up, d-bag! You're so slow, d-bag!" (or what have you) and then the teachers rinsing his mouth out with soap. So, regaining my composure, I explained to him that was a naughty word and only adults could say it, although I should probably quit saying it myself. Thankfully, he understands. And I didn't hear anything from daycare, so I'm sure he didn't repeat it!
So what is my point? My point is that if you get angry or upset this weekend and need to call someone a name, just use the real cuss word. Even if there are kids around, they know they're bad words, they know not to say them. When you try to sugar coat them, that's when you get into trouble! Have a fabulously long weekend!
