http://www.sarawilsonetienne.com sara wilson etienne. author, creative genius, and inventor of lazy afternoons. Thu, 04 Feb 2010 20:37:42 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Last week, we got a new puppy! Huzzah! Four-month-old Kitsu is adorable and fox-like and endlessly entertaining. But as I've watched her stalking dust bunnies, pouncing on shadows, and chasing her tail, I've been forcefully reminded of my own writing process. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zq3mdUtOOsw] See, during the past months of revision, I daydreamed about ... http://www.sarawilsonetienne.com/meep-meeeeep.htm Last week, while I was driving home, a patch of dense fog materialized on the dark road in front of me. The thing is, it wasn't a foggy night. I wasn't near water and there was no dip in the road.  And yet, I could barely see through the white ... http://www.sarawilsonetienne.com/stranger-than-fiction.htm So. I'm 2 chapters out, and one week away from finishing my revision, and my back aches from sitting at the computer. And there's no food in the refrigerator. And worst of all, I can't think about anything except my book. A writer friend assures me that this dire condition is ... http://www.sarawilsonetienne.com/book-goggles.htm In the TV show Castle, the amazing Nathan Fillion plays a mystery writer, Rick Castle, who works with the police to solve crimes. Believable? No. Amusing? Yes. Anyway, Rick Castle occasionally wears a bullet proof vest, but instead of 'POLICE,' his says 'WRITER.' My friend, and brilliant writer, Alexandra Amor recently ... http://www.sarawilsonetienne.com/kevlar.htm What does revision sound like? For some people it might be the clickity-clack of typing. For others it's the shush of a highlighter against manuscript pages. But for me it sounds like Battlestar Galactica. Yes. My revision, at least for my current book, sounds like an epic battle for humanity. Every morning, ... http://www.sarawilsonetienne.com/humming-along.htm Since last week's blog on synopses, I've been busy talking with other writers about what really hooks a reader. So I guess it's time to talk about the synopsis' hot older sister... The query. She's sexy and alluring and you wish you could get to know her a little better. And unlike the ... http://www.sarawilsonetienne.com/its-a-wonderful-query.htm A while back, I had to write a synopsis for a book I was working on. Ugggg. I'd written synopses for that story before and most of them sounded as if they should be narrated by this guy. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3H5XYJYExg] Which is dramatic and all, but maybe not exactly what I was going for. ... http://www.sarawilsonetienne.com/how-i-learned-to-stop-worrying-and-love-the-synopsis.htm My family has a tradition of putting together puzzles during the holidays. The wobbly card table comes up from the basement. The furniture's shuffled around. And in the quiet times between visiting relatives or Christmas shopping, we'll sneak a cookie and saunter up to the table, idly trying to find ... http://www.sarawilsonetienne.com/missing-piece.htm This past summer, my beloved puppy dog passed away, leaving a corgi-shaped hole in my life. My husband and I'd had her for almost as long as we'd been a 'we.'  Together, we'd moved across the country 3 times and lived in 5 different apartments. We'd been camping up in ... http://www.sarawilsonetienne.com/better-stronger-faster.htm Doesn't this picture make you ANGRY! I mean how dare donkeys go to the police with their problems! Do they even pay taxes? What? Oh. What I meant was how dare William Steig portray the police as pigs! That is outrageous. And this poem... it just really gets under my skin. Clearly, it's teaching ... http://www.sarawilsonetienne.com/one-penguin-at-a-time.htm