Melissa Maygrove

I had an idea for a meme months ago. I stuck it on my list of things to do and finally got it put together when the kids went back to school. With the holidays coming up, I figured this was the perfect time to unveil my idea. Gah. Not another meme . *frowns* I heard that. Untwist your Fruit-of-the-Looms and stop aggravating your TMJ. It's not what you think. I won't ask you to answer 1,011 questions or hyperlink 250,000,000 of your closest friends. This meme is simple. It knows you don't have a lot of time. *smile* Really? Yes. May I present the... The rules are: Copy these rules and include them in your post. Display the blog button, link the person who tagged you, and answer the three questions they asked. Come up with three new questions of your own; one serious question, one fun question, and one sentimental question — or just use the same ones. We're all busy, right? Tag three other bloggers and pass on the meme. See? I told you it ...

I wasn't going to post again until after Thanksgiving, but a woman always has the prerogative to change her mind, so I did. ;) Two years ago, my daughter cut eleven inches off her hair and donated it in honor of a family member who was dying of cancer. This past summer, it had grown to below her shoulders again. I asked her if she'd like to get it cut, citing a shorter style would be cooler in our sweltering Houston climate. She declined, saying she wanted to grow it out and donate it again this November. Like mothers do, I nodded and agreed, figuring she'd forget or change her mind by fall. I was wrong. Last week, we went down to the local salon at daughter's insistence and had her well-past-shoulder-length hair cut to just below her chin. She mailed it off to Locks of Love , an organization that makes hairpieces for children with long-term hair loss from things like alopecia, brain stem radiation, and burns. Donating is easy ($$ or hair). You just go to...

A few weeks ago, I tried something new, and it really sped up my drafting.  After reading about how--doing basically the same thing--Ava Jae over at Writability Won NaNoWriMo In 9 Days , I thought I'd post this for my writer friends who are struggling to make their word count. I typically write very clean, meaning I'm a picky polisher in my initial draft. It's closer to publish-ready than most, but it takes me forever. Besides research, the main thing that slows me down is coming up with fresh ways to describe emotion, movement, facial expression, etc.  I decided to try something different if I found myself really stuck. ( You know....when you sit there for twenty minutes , debating about a single phrase or word, and draw nothing but an icky cliche or a total mental blank. :P )   I started putting a note-to-self ( e.g. Show Harrison's outrage. ) or a cliched/bad version of what I was aiming for in brackets, and then letting go and moving on. I've left...

Al Diaz, better known as Father Dragon , bestowed upon me The Sweetest Blogger Award . In fact, he nearly made me cry with the kind things he said. The truth is, Al has left quite an impression on me. I was thrilled to find his blog and surprised to discover that 'Mother Dragon' was his mother and not his wife. Father Dragon exhibits talent and wisdom far beyond that of most young men. If you don't already follow his blog , you are missing out. Truly. Abrazos para ti, mi adorable dragon . :)

Author and editor Nick Wilford lost his stepson Andrew over the weekend. Those of us who know Nick and contributed to the anthology for Andrew are especially feeling the loss. Kyra Lennon is taking donations for the family via Paypal ( kyralennon [at] gmail [dot] com). Our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family, Nick. 

This is my Insecure Writers Support Group post for November.   For more information about the group, see the bottom of this post. Alex's awesome co-hosts for November are : CD Coffelt, Tina Downey, Isis Rushdan,   and Michelle Wallace! Please stop by their blogs and say thank you. I sometimes dislike the tone of my blog, and I've been pondering how I can change it. Other bloggers post encouraging, lighthearted content that makes me laugh and smile...and makes me envious. If I could stay positive and look at things from a different perspective, I could be like them, too. Problem is, it's hard to have an upbeat attitude when fate keeps throwing you curve balls and you're largely unhappy with your life.

Overtake vs Take over To overtake means to catch up with and outrun, such as in a race. To take over means to seize power, usually of a business or government. Oversee vs Overlook To oversee means to control and manage a process or activity. To overlook means to forget about something entirely.  ### Thanks for visiting. :)