Sunday, March 04, 2012

Winners and Awards

I didn't plan on posting this weekend, but I got some more blog-love and thought I'd spread it around!  Also, I'm thinking I'm not going to be posting on my own blog this week, since I possibly (not yet sure for Tuesday's post) have two guest posters lined up.  More about that later...

First, I'd like to announce the 100 Followers Party winners.  I used a random number generator on the Psychic Science website to pick two of the twenty-six commenters.

The lucky bloggers are...

Nicole Pyles and Hope Roberson!


If you both would e-mail what kind of gift card you would like, and how you want me to get it to you, at laschiff@yahoo.com, I would really appreciate it!  Congratulations!

Now for the awards part!  Earlier this week Randy Lindsay from the Campaign tagged me, and then today, Hope Roberson bestowed on me two beautiful new awards.



and


I just love these awards!  They are so cool.

There are some questions involved with both the tagging and the awards, so I'll get right to it.  For the tagging, I took out some of the questions I've already answered, either here in earlier blog-games, or over at Leigh's.  

Tag, I'm it!

First story you remember writing:  My sister and I wrote an eighty-ish page story that centered around our Duran Duran obsession when I was in high school.  We also wrote a screenplay for an episode of the X-Files.  I wonder where those are?

First Car:  1981 Dodge Colt (in 1990.  It was free because my Dad repaired it back to life for me.  I have the best parents.)  The first car I bought was a 1994 Ford Aspire.

Guilty-Pleasure: I don't have much self-discipline, so every day I give in on something, usually food related.

Do you use foreshadowing to strengthen your plot-line:  Like with everything else writerly, I do try.  I find that I'll do things intuitively and hope they work, rather than have a lot of thought about it.  Since I'm into the editing stages now, that may change.  When I did the first read through, things like opportunities to foreshadow or deepen characterization were obvious, but while writing the first draft I didn't even think about it.

How often do you check stats:  I'm too embarrassed to tell the truth.

What influences what you write:  Injustices I see at work, or in the world.  I'm a big good versus evil kind of person.  I want the good guy to win, and for evil to get it's comeuppance.

Most important thing that happened to me this year:  I attended the Writing the Rockies Conference at Western University this summer.  I signed up for a critique of my first twenty pages, and was assigned Russell Davis to critique it. As a past president of the SFWA, I was really nervous to hear what he said, expecting him to tear it apart. He told me four things that have influenced my self-esteem as a writer, which is why it's the most important writerly thing to happen to me this year.  1) He said if you don't feel confident, act like you do, because you need a certain amount of arrogance to survive in this field 2) He told me I could write 3) He told me my story "kind of intrigued him" 4) He told me that he would have quit reading at any time if the story didn't intrigue him, and he read the whole thing.  It made me feel like I might have a chance. 

Author you most resemble in writing style: I can honestly say I don't know.  Anyone have any suggestions?

And for the awards:

Favorite color: Varies, but right now I'm partial to purple.
Favorite animal: My Viszla, Raymi
Favorite number:  I have never had a favorite number!
Favorite non-alcoholic drink: Diet soda or any kind. I need to quit.
Facebook or Twitter:  Twitter.  I do have a Facebook account, though.
My Passion:  Writing?  That's about all I have time for.  Otherwise, science and magical "stuff"
Getting or giving presents:  Since I'm older now, I'm more about giving, especially with my little boys.  I don't spoil them, but I do like making them happy. :)
Favorite pattern:  A-B-A-B-A-B?
Favorite day of the week:  Friday.  We kind of have a little celebration each night with pizza, pop, and video games.
Favorite flower:  Lately, Sunflowers and Zinnias.  They grow beautifully even in our semi-arid conditions.

Okay! I'm not going to tag anyone else, because I did that before and couldn't find hardly anyone, but thanks so much to Randy for letting me play again!  For passing on the awards, I am going to choose people who haven't gotten an award from me before. (I am having anxiety now because I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings!)  

And the awards go to:

So, I'm stopping there!  Thank you again to Randy and Hope!  This week I may have Eric from Eric Blues over for a techie-geeky guest post, since he is the techie-geeky-go-to-guy for me.  This Friday is a Life List Club Friday and I have the great pleasure of having Gary Gauthier from Literary Snippets come and visit. I will be over at Jess Witkins' Happiness Project, talking about something happy.  I haven't planned that far in advance yet!  Have a great week!


21 comments:

  1. Thank you so much, for the award and the tweet!! And please stop by any time (I welcome stalkers!! :) ) Thank you for providing such inspiration!!

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    1. Quite welcome! I love the last post, on the Sign of Can. I found it inspirational, too!

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  2. Thanks, Lara. Those really are beautiful awards. The flower one in particular has me wishing for spring already!

    And I think that's wonderful that you got such great feedback on your writing. I kind of agree that it takes a certain degree of arrogance to be a writer. I mean, you're basically saying that you have something important to say and everyone else needs to read it. At that point I guess you have to prove it. :)

    Congrats on your awards.

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    1. It was nice to get such feedback. I just wish I wasn't such a Rodney Dangerfield kind of person sometimes. I told my husband that I kept thinking "I bet you say that to all the writers". It just proves that it doesn't really matter what other people think of your writing, you have to believe in it yourself. :)

      You are welcome for the awards. I've really enjoyed your blog, and the thoughtful comments you leave over here, so thanks back!

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  3. Thank you so much for the awards!!! What a boost to my mood!! Thank you!!

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    1. You are welcome! I'm glad they came at a time you needed them to! :)

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  4. Thanks Lara! So exciting! And was the conference at WSC in Gunnison? I went to college there for two years:) I can see a writer's conference being held there because there aren't ANY distractions! It was a long two years :)

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    1. It was in Gunnison! What did you study? Writing? I met a girl there who had just graduated from the writing program, and she pretty much said the same thing. :) I did like the conference. It was small and personable. Kind of like a writing conference with training wheels, since it was the first one I'd ever gone to.

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  5. Hi, Lara! Congratulations on your two shiny new awards. I'm more partial to the Dream Launcher myself, but they're both great. And good job on your critique at the writers' conference. I would've been nervous too, but it sounds like yours went well.

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    1. Thanks, Mike! I was hoping someone might give them to me! I like the Dream Launcher one, too. I saw it, and went Ooooh, the space shuttle!

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  6. Congrats to the winners and the awards, Lara. You deserve them! :)

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  7. I love it! You are so awesome!!! Congrats on the awards! Whoot-whoot!

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  8. "How often do you check stats: I'm too embarrassed to tell the truth."

    LOL!! I don't have a problem answering this one. I have OCD, so it's not vanity! ^-^

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    1. I think I border on OCD, on many things! Thanks for stopping by ;)

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  9. Yay, congrats on your awards!! And congrats to Nicole and Hope for winning!

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  10. Congrats on the awards Lara!! A popular pattern is many of us loving diet coke! :) haha

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  11. I'm late to the party (and to say thank you). I have a few minutes before I turn into a pumpkin. I could have so written a Duran Duran story. Oh, how I loved them.

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