We've moved!

Finally at 345 posts, we got some new digs. And are they spiffy. Yes indeed.

What Came Down Today now posts from a new url.

So, please update your bookmarks, del.icio.us accounts, RSS feeds, and blogrolls. This blog has been renamed What Came Down Yesterday. Get it?

The archives will stay up for at least a year at this location, I think. I'm still trying to import some of these posts (the good ones) into Wordpress. Just need time and more time.

And please forgive the construction at the new location. Wordpress is a whole new ballgame for me. Some of the ads don't work yet (static) and the search boxes don't work either, I don't think. And I'm just not sure about the theme yet. Hope I settle on something soon! I've only changed it about twenty times!

But anyway, see you over there!

Book 1 of 100: Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

I've heard half a dozen people recommend this book to me in the past few months, but it wasn't until agent Kristin Nelson recommended the series in her April newsletter that I finally paid attention. And then the book sat on my book table in my living room for a month before I realized it was due back at the library and I couldn't renew it because it there was a waiting list of people after me! So I read it, just this week, in entirety. And I couldn't read it fast enough.

The Uglies series by Scott Westerfeld is a YA look at a semi-spooky future, but you don't realize it is spooky until after you finish the book, which I think lends to its charm. Tally Youngblood is three months away from 16 at which time she'll undergo plastic surgery (everyone on earth does at 16) to become pretty. Until then though, she's still an Ugly. The Uglies can't do anything fun and are bogged down with rules and plain-jane clothes and surroundings, whereas the Pretties live the high life: parties and clothes and fun and games. At the start of the book, Tally sneaks over to the Pretties side of town to see a childhood friend and on her way back meets another Ugly, one who isn't content with her Ugly lot.

It's a book filled with new images and places and yet, all of this is easily recognized as a darker picture of our modern society. The book moves very fast and every page is jam-packed with new information that enlarges the landscape. Tally has quick wits and is modestly fearless. She brings to the YA fantasy genre a new heroine that teens (and adults) won't be able to resist. I certainly could not.

It's high-concept YA at its best, I think. And it solves the often-perplexing problem writers face. Eudora Welty says to write about what you don't know about what you know.

And then Alice Laplante points out, as writers, we're not looking to provide a lesson, or a moral; we're not therapists looking to cure our characters of pain or neurosis. Our job, as writers, is simply to render what is, using precise, concrete detail.

I think that's what makes Westerfeld's first book so lively and engaging. He does not tell us why something is, he shows us how it is. He doesn't give us easy answers. Rather, he helps us understand the precise nature of the questions.

As Mexican writer Carlos Fuentes says, "Bad books are about things the writer already knew before he wrote them."

My Beginning

A blogging friend, Jen Miller, author of The Jersey Shore, Atlantic City to Cape May: Great Destinations, and the inventor of the Book A Week Blog, sent me a copy of her blog in Word form this week. Planned to span 52 weeks (a book a week), it actually went much faster than even she anticipated (we're all in awe of her now).

I really liked her opener to her book a week series (posted back in October):

I like to read. A lot. Whenever I move, my mom asks "do we have to move all your books? Again?" I have managed to turn books into a sliver of my freelance career -- I review for a few newspapers and magazines, and write about books and authors, too, if not profiles, then using them as 'experts' in my magazine articles.

I can't give you one reason why I like books. I think they offer an escape, and a much more textured and indulgent one than you'll find on TV. Even the frothiest of novels demands more from you than watching TV, and I don't think that's a bad thing.

I know that reading a book a week is not a new idea, nor is it a new idea to do so and write about it. But why not give it a go? I find myself drifting when I don't have a book to read, and I'm in need of an anchor.

Trish again.

I like to read too. A lot. Whenever I move, my entire family asks "do we have to move all your books? again?" (they've only helped me move them three times, whoop-de-doo-dah) and while I haven't had the amazing freelance writing career of Jen, I've worked on a lot of books before publication--as a copyeditor, project manager, proofreader, researcher, and developmental editor--from non-fiction to fiction, college textbooks to gift books. I love my work and I love my job.

But the books I read for work are not what I would pick up and read for fun.
Thus I feel a bit disconnected and adrift if I don't have a book I'm reading for fun. So I recompense with several books at once!

So I decided, after seeing Jen's blog and then her blog in book form, I need to record my book reading journey.

You see, a few years ago, I discovered Jane Smiley's Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Novel and it has since become one of my most favorite books. When I am at odds with life, I sit down and thumb through Jane's mini-reviews (similar to what Jen has done) of the 100 novels she read after September 11, 2001. It took her three years, but what a rich treasure came from those three years. It will probably take me longer and I don't doubt there will be weeks (and months) that I don't get any book reviewed on my blog.

I'm not in a race, and I'm not doing this to try and beat Jen's record. I think that by doing this, I will a) have more interesting content for this blog and b) I will keep a record of what I've read. I read voraciously (thanks to a well-stocked King County library system) and often there is no pattern or texture to my reading. I just read. You may like what I read, or you may not. The choice is yours.

I think it will enrich my life and perhaps the lives of those who faithfully follow this blog, even though a) I still have not published the novel, and b) I work too hard some days and my brain goes completely empty.

So, dear readers, this is my beginning.

And, thanks to Jen's good example, I intend to start . . . today.

Balancing Your Creativity With Others' Input

This is hard work for me. I'm a people-pleaser, I guess. If someone gives me advice, I really try hard to take it and use it, but oftentimes that makes me double-minded about my work and my creative pursuits.

I have made a decision and it was not hard, but obvious to me, however, it wasn't the popular consensus. It meant choosing a fiction project over another. I'm neck-deep in revision and it is so easy to want to start on another fun project, but 2008 is the year I learn to plow through the tough revisions and persevere. I can write first drafts until the end of time, but the point is to revise.

So I picked my current WIP to continue on and I will make it the best I can. Next up, the fun book (which is a series, high concept, and just really entertaining for me).

A few stories:

Journalism going mobile from Editor and Publisher.

Sex and the City ads banned in Jerusalem, from Haaretz.com.

And off I go to get things done so I can write.

Currently listening to: Leona Lewis
Currently reading: Pretties (Scott Westerfeld)

No One Cares What You Have For Lunch

Saw a book with this title on Amazon today and chuckled. I feel like this blog has been just that dull of late. It's been a miracle just getting something up on this blog every single day in May. (Don't travel when you want to improve traffic to a blog!)

So today we go back to the basics. This blog is my writing blog. I'm not here to help anyone improve their writing, or even to improve my writing, I'm just talking about my writing journey. I am an aspiring novelist, have written and published several non-fiction gift books and one children's picture book and I'm moving onto YA this year. I also write essays and non-fiction and copyedit a lot of pages on a weekly basis.

Currently I'm just about to begin my massive revision of the YA novel I've been working on for the past year. I plan to have 100 pages ready by the first of August (or sooner) to send out to a second editor for her opinion and I plan to sell this book in time to grab the summer/fall reading lists for 2010. This means I need to find an agent this fall and sell sometime in early 2009. Or somewhere thereabouts. Plans of mice and men and all that . . .

News roundup today:

CJR reports on the changing face of journalism; not so much about magazines anymore.

Print news is growing, not decreasing, in emerging markets, according to the NYT.

Professional blogger/podcaster Amanda Congdon is back on her own terms.

And a bunch of information sites to get the scoop on everyone you know (or hate). Privacy? What's that?

And last, not definitely not least, Penelope Trunk talks about productivity testing, with some very interesting results.

Have a great productive Tuesday!

Currently listening to: ASAJ 2008 mp3 recordings
Currently reading: Pretties (Scott Westerfeld)

Home Again

Whew.

And we're home. Really glad to be here too. London was delightful and wonderful and I would do it again in a minute, but I was ready to head for home, especially when I heard about the wonderful weather we're finally having here (England was lovely too, for the record).

And so today is a la-de-da day, with me trying to get back on the correct time zone and relaxing while I sort through email and snail mail and unpacking and laundry and writing.

Would you believe I read half a dozen books while I was gone? Thank goodness for the Kindle and for nine-hour flights both ways! Reading that much prepares me nicely for writing and I'm ready to go.

I start my new writing class in a week (Memorial Day proper) and am working on a book proposal and an essay. Plus, the novel work commences in earnest this week.

I relied so much on YouTube over the past ten days that I am going to take a break and not use one today.

Currently reading: Girl's Guide to Growing a Million-Dollar Business
Currently listening to: the Ellen Show

Homeward Bound

And we're flying home today. I'm ready, but so sorry to leave London. It is a wonderful home away from home and I really got comfortable on this trip. I found a hotel that I love in a location near my day job and near everything I want to see each time I visit. I'm anxious to get back and hopefully will in another 8-12 months or so. Or sooner. Who knows.

We have a lot of work to do in the next seven weeks until launch. So I go home knowing that I will be working hard before I can get on a plane to Boston for the U.S. employee meeting.

Plus, right before I flew over, I was admitted into Brenda's very hard-to-get-into writing class in West Seattle (I was writer #8) and she almost capped it at just seven people. I am so excited and grateful. Many of her students get book deals (and very lucrative book deals). It will be a great growing experience.

Coming home, I'm also beginning to drift into fiction writing mode. I have a lot of work to do--lots of writing to do--and I'm excited and a bit nervous.

Currently reading: back of my eyelids--sleep!
Currently listening to: Basshunter

Notting Hill

The Saturday market in Notting Hill on Portabello Road is something unto itself.

Of course, Notting Hill brings up memories of this movie:



But until you've actually been there on a bustling Saturday morning market day, well, you haven't really experienced Notting Hill.

Vendors selling everything you can imagine and people are jam-packed into a space that sometimes includes cars and march the long route through the market in a blizzard of language and chatter and noise. It's a cacophony of humanity. I go to Pike Place Market every so often in Seattle and Notting Hill is a completely different experience and quite wonderful.

Today is our last day to run around in London so we are out soaking it up. Home tomorrow.

Currently reading: The Host (Stephenie Meyer)
Currently listening to: Amy Winehouse

Friday Fabulous Fiver (London-Style)

1. Christopher Wren's architecture



(set to Handel, of course!)

2. Sparkling bottled water



Really, really good water (flat is good too!) provided to us free at the Hilton.

3. My job and colleagues at BMA House (and offsite around the world)

Fantastic! Brilliant and insightful and full of ideas and energy. I'm proud to be on such a team. What a great trip to finally get to meet everyone!

4. Burberry



Nuff said. It just rocks.

5. Marks & Spencer



Clothing, food, you name it. And these are everywhere.

Tomorrow we go to Notting Hill and the remains of Whitehall Palace (also Henry VIII's) and then it's time to pack it up and head for home.

Currently reading: CNN.com headlines on China and Burma
Currently listening to: Natasha Bedingfield

All This Christopher Wren Architecture

Yesterday we saw St. Paul's Cathedral and it was stunning.



As I walked in I thought of Prince Charles and Lady Di's wedding (watched it back when I was a girl) and once again marveled.

I have decided to learn more about the genius of Christopher Wren after visiting this cathedral. He was quite a guy!

We also visited Buckingham Palace and took a ride on the London Eye.

Today I am in meetings with my day job and Todd is off exploring war museums.

Currently reading: training class paperwork
Currently listening to: conference instructors

Technology Mishaps

So, I spoke too quickly yesterday. The sample of Elizabeth George's Careless in Red was good, but then I tried to read the Kindle version of the book itself and could not. Seems Amazon's Kindle version of the whole book had a corrupted file. I emailed Amazon all last evening and got my refund, but now I saw a review in London about the book and now I'm not sure I want to buy it again.

And my cell phone won't work this week (no service) and my webmail keeps crashing my laptop! Argh. Technology.

Otherwise, we've had a very full day today visiting Hampton Court Palace. We took a Thames boat upriver to Hampton Court and it took 3 hours (through a few locks), but just 35 minutes on the rail train home, which we were thrilled with. So we got a nice round trip view of the outerskirts of London.

The Palace was stunning (and Rick Steves termed it "not quite sparkling" in his guidebook) with the Tudor, Georgian, and Baroque sections all just amazing. The gardens were the highlight though. Stunning.



Currently reading: Rick Steves 2008 London (Kindle version)
Currently listening to: CNBC Europe on the telly

Elizabeth George Is Back (with Inspector Lynley!)

If you've wondered a bit about Elizabeth George's bestselling series (as I have) about Inspector Thomas Lynley and Barbara Havers after she allowed someone to kill Lynley's wife and unborn child, well, don't worry. The author has brought the magic back.



A delicious read (and I'm just a bit of the way through!) and I'm so excited to finally be reading an Elizabeth George novel while in England!

And Elizabeth George is a favorite of mine because she splits her time between her Seattle and London homes. Love that idea! Maybe someday.

Currently reading: Careless in Red (Kindle version)
Currently watching: People walking by on Upper Woburn Place

Having A Grand Time In London

Again, I love traveling around the city on the underground.



It is so easy to use and even if you get on the wrong train (which I have done), it's a very simple process to turn yourself back around and go the other way.

Today, we made it to the British Museum and the British Library . . . and Harrods! I love Harrods. Hubby couldn't believe how big it was. We had soup and sandwich at the food court and followed it with Charbonnel et Walker chocolates (2.50 USD) each! Best chocolate I've ever had hands down.

After we looked around at Harrods, we walked through Knightsbridge and then made our way to Hyde Park and then to Kensington Park. It was 8 pm, warm and breezy and almost idyllic, save the police sirens, as we walked past Albert's Memorial and Royal Albert Hall.

Tomorrow, we head to Hampton Court, the last Tudor palace in London (Henry VIII) and then to a pub to watch a UK football game and drink a pint (well, hubby).

Tonight, we are savoring fresh blackberries, blueberries, and raspberries from the Whole Foods on Kensington High Street.

Currently reading: Elizabeth George's Careless in Red (Kindle version)
Currently listening to: BBC on the telly

Sunday Video of the Day

And we're landing at Heathrow's Terminal 5 right now, so this will be another quick vid.

Saturday Video of the Day

We are on a plane to London!

Friday Fiver Favorite Things Vid-Style

1. Natasha Bedingfield's Pocketful of Sunshine



2. York Peppermint Patties



3. Vivaldi's Spring



4. The Clash (London Calling)



5. Harrods



Currently reading: The Host (Stephenie Meyer)
Currently listening to: Vivaldi

I Am Addicted to YouTube

Among other things.

Great vids today to share:




And Jodi Picoult (I'm reading this book right now):



Just two today, because I've got a lot more coming up!

I'm signing up for a weekly crit class with an amazing essayist here in Seattle. I'm talking to her via phone tonight to figure out how we'll begin. It's in a big group of writers! Spendy, but worthy it.

Keep writing!

Currently reading: Life insurance policy
Currently listening to: Cascada

Socializing While Overseas

This is much harder in reality than it seems. Especially when a dress code is required.

So yesterday I found out that we're attending a soiree while in London that requires formal dress. But this is England and formal to them is not the same as America. This does not mean a tux or tails for the guys and a ball gown for me, but it means a dress and a suit coat and tie at least. Which was not what we were planning on, so we're scrambling.

There's Loehmann's up here with Balenciaga cocktail dresses and then the Rack around the corner from my house with Trina Turk and Elie Tahari, so I'm going to be out and about for a bit making sure the simple sheath dress and kitten heels with a fabulous scarf (purchased while in London the last time) is just right.

So I'm flitting around today finishing up the last of the projects (including a Powerpoint presentation for AMWA) and cleaning at odd moments. Hey, inspiration to scrub the shower just happens, okay?

Great meeting last night with the writer's group at Elizabeth's house. It completely calmed me down (okay the champagne calmed me down) and I felt somewhat nonstressed and normal for the drive home from Redmond. Woohoo!

Off I go!

Currently reading: London schedule
Currentlying listening to: Basshunter

A Quick Writing Update

Well, things are progressing . . . slowly. Trying to get ready to get on a plane (this time for 8 days) is hard work!

Good progress on my essay work. I get myself into essay mode and then have to go put out client fires. I was hoping to have it ready in draft form by today, but other things have been given priority.

Novel is moving forward, very slowly. I will concentrate on it when I return from London.

Non-fiction work is moving along faster than anything. Working on a few book ideas and getting ready to pitch.

Currently reading: palliative care paper
Currently listening to: Natasha Bedingfield

How To Generate More Profit At Your Job

Are you in the position to generate profit? If so, what are you waiting for? Go do it!

If not, a few tips I learned this week from Michael Masterson's book Automatic Wealth.

1. Do some research and find out (if you don't know) how your company makes money and sales.

2. Talk to people who are profit generators and find out how they do it well and brainstorm with them on ways to do it better.

3. If you can, volunteer to help them somehow.

4. Do this while you are doing your own job above expectations.

5. Give your boss most of the credit, even though you do most of the work.


I am paraphrasing, but you need to read the book if you want to know more. It's very thought-provoking as I head across the pond to the home office (and to meetings with the sales team and the product development team). I am so glad I bought this book (on Kindle, no less) in preparation. Very good ideas.

Currently reading: blogroll
Currently listening to: baby Henry's Youtube vid (he's laughing at his dad, so cute)