Speech @ MindSay 
school
I am actually pretty excited about tonight. After my long tiring weekend with friends over till late Sunday afternoon, I vegitated all day yesterday. I didn't do shit! I even took the fajitas I made Saturday and reheated the meat and veggies for last nights dinner! I should have used that for tonights dinner but that is okay! I busted out the patato soup I made a few weeks back and froze the left overs!
I need some help with two subjects for my next paper. We are doing a compare and contrast paper. I want subjects/topics that are orginal. DeLaney suggested Dogs and Cats. Coltin sugested marital arts (any two), Randy has made no suggestions. My girl Teri suggested Paganism vs Christanity (to indepth of topics I think) and my girl Bree suggested long hair vs short hair. The only thing I have come up with is washing the dishes by hand or by dishwasher!
I want topics that that is orginal but not a lot of research. I have to have all my homework done by Friday afternoon before I pick the kdis up from school. We are leaving for Sioux Falls for the weekend right after I pick them on Friday. We are going to our Regional TKD tourny. I can get the majority of my homework done today but I need my subjects for my next paper to do a compare/contrast chart for one of the assignments! Please help!
Anyway I have an IEP meeting today at 2:30 with DeLaney's speech teacher, then we have to blaze to TKD, after TKD we blaze home, I'll get the kids feed, Randy can get their homework and baths done and at 7, I'll blaze to the Pub. Our pool league starts tonight. Yay! I have decieded I am treating myself with a few drinky drinks tonight! I need them! :D
I can't wait! Tuesdays are definatally going to be my night!
I read something on another blog that was simply unbelievable. It was a quote from Bill Clinton's speech last night. I didn't trust the person who posted it so I went to look at the transcript for myself. Well, it's true!
Bill Clinton said, "Barack Obama is ready to honor the oath, to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."
Really, Bill? He didn't do it as a senator, so why should I believe he'll do it as president?
Ladies and gentlemen, I have received my first rejection notice.
Actually, my first three. Apparently when agents don’t like you, they act fast.
Observe Exhibit A:
At least this is nice and polite. I mean, they do wish me the best of luck with my work. Although they also explain that based on the current market, no publisher would possibly want my book. So, in other words, they tell me to give up because no one is going to buy my book. But hey, at least they admit to being afraid to give me this news, which just proves how very intimidating I am.
But here’s my question, if the volume of queries they receive obliges them to respond in a form letter, how were they able to get it out to me so fast?
Oh well, at least I have this one to make me feel better:
These wonderful people don’t even know whom they are rejecting. I’m pretty sure my name is Matt, not Tony, although I guess I could be wrong. I’ve only been living with the same name for more than twenty years.
And I love the fact that they just crossed off “author,” not even trying to make it seem like it was a personal letter. And meanwhile, they rejected me, no relationship is going to be formed, so they didn't need to be personal in the first place. But if you are going to be personal, don’t cross off “author” so that we see it was a form letter, and don’t replace the crossed off "author" with the wrong name.
Despite that minor (okay, major) screw up, however, these people are very nice about their rejecting. They claim to have really appreciated the opportunity to review my work, and they assure me that it was definitely read and thoroughly evaluated. Not thoroughly enough to know what my name is, but whatever, there’s different definitions of thorough.
And finally, they left me with a little optimism. As opposed to saying, “No agent would want this damn book in a time like this, moron,” as the first agency did, these people say, “This is a subjective business and another agency may feel quite differently.” Hey, you’re right! Maybe someone else would be interested. Thank you for supplying me with some semblance of hope.
And finally, we have this gal:
Wow, wordy enough? No wonder you’ve had an impossible time trying to keep up with your correspondence, you don’t stop talking…or writing. Plus, save your troubles for your shrink, girlfriend. I don't need to know how stressful your job is and how hard of a time you're having trying to keep up with everything. I can't believe how many submissions you've recently recently as well. I also can't believe you're making me read through this crap just to get to the backhanded way that you reject me.
But to be fair, she was really nice about it. She knew my book wasn’t for her and she didn’t want me to wait around to hear that bad news. She got it out as soon as she could, which was incredibly soon. So I like this girl, even if she rejected me. Although she does kind of subliminally reference that she doesn't think my book can sell, which hurts. But still, I like her. Good luck, Sheree. Good luck with all your troubles.
I don’t mean to make light of the situation or sound too bitter. I expected to get rejected. I am just showing you these now to increase the drama of this blog, which is becoming more and more like Breaking Bonaduce every week. Just wait until next week when my wife leaves me [Note to self: Get married and then make your new bride hate her life before next week's post].
But besides adding to the real-life drama of this little reality show blog that could, these horribly painful rejection letters are a great segue into a discussion about dialogue. All three agents had a different way of writing, which is most likely based on their different ways of speaking.
So too should a writer have a unique interpretation of dialogue, which may be based on his or her personality or how that author sees the world.
Dialogue is often cited as the hardest part of writing a book. I feel bad for screenwriters, since they’re entire project is dialogue.
But dialogue is so important. Sure, Charlie Chaplin never had dialogue. And The New World is sparser with dialogue than a desert with water. But Charlie Chaplin made silent films, and The New Worlds sucks. The fact is, dialogue is vital to a good book. It can really enhance or ruin a story.
A friend of my parents has had a few books published by a really small company, and everyone who has read them has said the same thing: “The books are really good, but every time someone speaks the story just dies. It’s so hard to get through the dialogue.”
I think one of the major problems is that people write dialogue too stilted. In real life, no one says, “We are out of milk,” or “I am going to the store.” That’s just not how people speak. Therefore, that's not how dialogue should be written.
Some authors don’t like using conjunctions in their books, but you have to consider them when writing dialogue. “I am going to the store,” should be “I’m going to the store,” or even, “I’m goin’ to the store.” You could also try, “I’ll be at the store.” Either way, write it as someone would speak it.
The key is to speak it aloud. Have a friend of yours read a scene with you, as if two actors reading lines, and see if the wording works. When you get to:
”Hey, we are out of milk.”
“Well then take a trip to the store.”
You will realize that it doesn’t sound right. Your prose might move along at a quick pace or have an eloquent flow, but as soon as a reader hits dialogue like that, the faucet will shut off and the steady flow will cease. Stilted dialogue actually makes the reader stop to reread the words in order to absorb the whole thing. It shouldn't be like that. It should zip right through. I'm a big fan of fast, zippy, witty dialogue that just keeps moving, maybe even quickening the pace of the prose instead of slowing it down.
And hey, I don't want this post to slow down because I rambled on for too long, and I don't want to pull a Sheree, so I'll stop here. But this topic is too broad to end at this point, especially since I didn’t go into very good detail, so I’ll be back next week to discuss using adverbs in dialogue (i.e. “He said angrily”) as well as coming up with other adjectives for “said,” and how you shouldn’t even need to write “said” in the first place.
Meanwhile, why don’t you tell me some of your favorite bits of dialogue from books, movies, TV shows, or plays? And there better not be any Danny Bonaduce quoting.
Nice try Michelle... the speech worked for people with short memories... us "bitter Americans" don't forget what you and your husband has said about this country. This is such a downright mean country, and its good you finally have something to be proud about America for. But those are your words, not mine. You can try to portray yourself as middle class all you want... but I cant say its going to work, at least not on me.
Matt
Be Excellent
Autism has always been a primary concern of mine after experiencing what Autism can do to people of all ages during my previous law enforcement career. This is also a very important medical condition that needs immediate attention, exposure and more support from everybody in the world. Autism is a complex developmental disability that typically appears during the first three years of life and is the result of a neurological disorder that affects the normal functioning of the brain, impacting development in the areas of social interaction and communication skills. Both children and adults with autism typically show difficulties in verbal and non-verbal communication, social interactions, and leisure or to play during activities.
One should keep in mind however, that autism is a spectrum disorder and it affects each individual differently and at varying degrees - this is why early diagnosis is so crucial. By learning the signs, a child can begin benefiting from one of the many specialized intervention programs.
Autism is one of five disorders that falls under the umbrella of Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDD), a category of neurological disorders characterized by "severe and pervasive impairment in several areas of development."
The five disorders under PDD are:
- Autistic Disorder
- Asperger's Disorder
- Childhood Disintegrative Disorder (CDD)
- Rett's Disorder
- PDD-Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS)
Each of these disorders has specific diagnostic criteria which been outlined in the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR).
Prevalence of Autism
Autism is the most common of the Pervasive Developmental Disorders, affecting an estimated 1 in 150 births (Centers for Disease Control Prevention, 2007). Roughly translated, this means as many as 1.5 million Americans today are believed to have some form of autism. And this number is on the rise.
Based on statistics from the U.S. Department of Education and other governmental agencies, autism is growing at a startling rate of 10-17 percent per year. At this rate, the ASA estimates that the prevalence of autism could reach 4 million Americans in the next decade.
Autism knows no racial, ethnic, social boundaries, family income, lifestyle, or educational levels and can affect any family, and any child. A child or adult will generally act out emotionally when attempting to speak or in watching TV or video programs. Presently there is a world of programs actively working on Autism treatments and cures.
And although the overall incidence of autism is consistent around the globe, it is four times more prevalent in boys than in girls.
What Parents of Children with Autism have to say ...
http://www.babybumblebee.com/autism.htm?gclid=CLidk-m4xJACFQSOFQoddl0UWQ
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