yo

I know that many of you will be busy tomorrow so I just wanted to say:


This was a good year for me. I am thankful for many things:

1. My family is healthy
2. I found a school that can realy help Carlos with his TDA and now he is learning!
3. A happy marriage year ( Not all the years are perfect in it)
4. A year were I found and accept that I do many things as my mother and grand mother even when I hate it. I know i have to change it and I moving forward to be a better me.
5. I wrote my first book in 1 month , 6 months later I ended revising it. And thanks to all your good advices I am revising it again adn translating it by myself!!
6. I found great friends like you all, that support me and give me advice in live and writing.

I hope in the year 2011 I can become a better me( better person, mother, wife, friend and writer).

As I said in my Christmas Card I hope in this 2011 all your dreams become true!

Happy new Year!!

Ps: I didn't made the image above i found it in the internet.

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yo

México is a country full of superstitions and rites for whatever you like so over here we have a lot of rites that people make at the moment of the arriving of the new year.

I will list the ones I know. But many of them I never tried. I warn you in case you try them and didn't work!

1. Wear red underware if you want love and passion in your life. I remember a friend of my mother always giving us in christmas red underware for new year...

2. Wear yellow underware if you want money. Ok I want both but I think it will not be easy to find unde-rware with the two colors. I have to go shopping...

3. Sweep the entrance of your home to take out the bad energy. You have to this in the very moment of the entrance of the new year.

4. If you want to travel in the next year you have to take a suitcase in each hand and walk around your block. This also has to be at the very moment the year is entering.Now I am thinking how can you sweep the entrance while you walk around the block with two suitcases if you want both?

5. You have to put a gold ring in yor champagne cup, if you have a platinum ring or a diamond ring the more money you will get. If I have a diamond ring why would I want more money? I guess we never have enough money. Take care not to swallow it!!

6. Last but not least the 12 grapes. You have to take one with each chime of the clock indicating 12 o'clock. With each grape you have to think a wish you want to become true in the new year. This is the most traditional and the one we make every year. I don't really know if it works or it's luck but we are also spanish and in Spain is very traditional to eat the grapes with the chimes of the clock of La Puerta del Sol of Madrid. I you are going to try this buy small grapes, believe me you will end the chimes with your cheeks full of grapes while you kiss and hug your family.

I once did the rite of the red underware ( i didn't had boyfriend that year) and every year we take the 12 grapes at 12 o'clock.

But if you want to make the six of them is going to be hard. You got to wear an red and yellow underware. Sweep the entrance of your home, walk around your block with two suitcases, put a gold ring in your cup and eat the 12 grapes at the same time. If someone can achieve this I really admire him!!

What rites and traditions you have for the entrance of the new year?

PS: I don't know if the word for the sound the clock does when indicating an hour is ring. Over here we use the word "campanada" because it were Church bells the ones that indicated with their sound the hour.

**Update: Thank to  know I know the word is chime. I already edited the post. Thank you Robin!
*** Update two: thank to   now I know underware is spelled without - in the middle. Thank you!!
With friends like you all I am going to improve a lot!

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yo

I wasn't sure if I would post anything before new year. Right now I'm mad with life but most of all with my mother. But what can I do she is my mother and I love her even when she says things that hurt without even noticing it. I will never be the perfect daughter in her eyes no matter how much effort  I put. But as I said I will always love her so I must calm down and go on. I will not pay attention to her words anymore (or so I hope)

I haven't translated anything but I do revised. I didn't have time because I am the cook for the holidays so with the kitchen and the kids on vacation I don't have free time.

I hope your holidays aren't as painful as mine!

By the way the tarta de santiago (cake) was perfect I will post the recipe in January.

I  hope I can come back with a happy post to wish you a wonderful new year.

PS: Sorry for talking about the things that got me angry but I had to write of it to take it out of my yistem.

Have a great day!!

yo

I know that many of you will not be over here these days, some because of cooking, buying, etc and others because of traveling. So I wanted to post my Christmas card for you all today.

Thank you all for your friendship!

I'm not very good with photoshop but this is a card made by me:
Photobucket


yo

This weekend I was making a summary of all the tips Tracy gave me and all the ones I have read on internet for revisions. I thought I should share it here so anyone can print as I will do and have it near.

Also please if you know or think of another thing important when revising please comment and I will go adding to this post.

Things to look for or change when revising:

1. Show, don’t tell:

“Show, Don't Tell invites understanding; I cannot find a better way to say this”

“If you are as captivated by what you read the tenth time you read it as you were the first time, then the author has succeeded in Show, Don't Tell”.

“When "showing" would prove to be more information than anyone wants or needs, then telling is perfectly acceptable. A good rule to keep in mind is that if it isn't important to the story, it's okay to keep it to the realm of telling”.

"In the case of "acceptable tell" always keep in mind that IF you can change it without it becoming more than you want it to be, do so. This leaves room for those necessary tells. Too much tell, even if it seems acceptable, drags a story down."

            “In resume if you want to build a character, shape a mood, you must show. But I you want to move the story maybe tell is correct. I guess it is the balance of them what makes the prefect story.”

-          The words: I heard, I saw, I felt, I was, usually are signs of telling.

 

2. Try as must as you can to substitute adverbs for strong verbs.

3. Avoid using as much as possible “which” “who” and “ that”.

4. Describe, you want the reader to experience the story.

5. Always check grammar.

6. Very and so are filler words. Find other words.

7. If there’s no dialogue in a while we must evaluate our technique.

8. Characters have to be in movement, living, making things.

9. Little or no ambiance and presence. If we gloss over important events, giving the rundown on who said what, when, where and how, and then slip out of the event without so much as a drink, it may be time to ponder. Why did we feel the need to include this important event in the first place?

10. Give the reader a reason to care for the character

11. Use dialogue effectively. Let the character speak, make the reader eavesdrop the conversation, not only hear it from you.

12. Use gestures and movements. . Act out the scene, if necessary to capture details.

13. Make every word count. Make every word mean something, be important for the history.

 


**One of the Links were I found this, I don’t remember the other ones ( I had the tips in post its all around my desk) And   of course. I added the great advice of    also

yo

OH MY GOD!!!!!

I finally readed Finder by Terri-Lynne Defino( 
 ) this weekend.

It's great!! I devourded every word. I saw every place, smell every spice, live everything!

Now I now why
[info]tracy_d74 wanted to make Ethen real! I am going to also make real Nyael. I liked him a lot.

This is a great story, full of interesting subplots. I was intrigued from line one to the very end.

Terri you are great!!!!! You are mi idol!!

In case you haven't read it , here is the link to
amazon. (click there and buy it, you are going to love it)

Now for the sparkles author I have to give sparks:

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yo

It’s becoming a tradition to post my new words on Monday.

Today I have only four. I haven’t worked in the translation- revision this weekend. My brain was like in formalin. I wasn’t able to concentrate with this flu. I hope tomorrow I feel better.

Here are the words and how I used them, to see if they are used correctly and are still used:

Disquiet: cause worry, make uneasy, disturb. I used it in: I walked back home, disquieted not only by the noise, but also by a series of emotions that wrapped me.”

Intuit: sense intuitively, perceive through intuition. I used it here: Perhaps my mother intuited what had happened to me these days”

Divert: distract; entertain; turn in a different direction, deflect. I used it here: This caused him to laugh diverted, not upset at all by the sarcasm.

Sweep over: overcome, as with emotions or perceptual stimuli [syn: overwhelm, overpower, whelm, overcome, overtake]  I used it in: The people’s emotions were so strong – in particular depression- that sweep over me completely.”

 

Have an excellent Monday!!


yo

1. Yesterday my best friend and auntie by heart of my sons went to Carlos school to pick him up, because we can't. She does that many times but yesterday Carlos started to shout and cry in the middle of the school that he will not go with her. He shouted so much that the director nun came to see what happened and calmed him down. When they arrived home my best friend was crying, I felt so bad. She truly loves my sons, shes been there since minute one. I know how much it hurts when carlos does that because he makes it a lot with me, he always wants his dad. Anyway we had to punish him and make him talked with her. Now they are ok.

2. I got  a flu. I hate flu! My nose is red as rudolph , I can't speak ( well my husband will be happy for that) and I feel like crap. The worst is that the kids also have it.

3. I finished the translation of the first chapter of BTLAS and I hope to end this revision ( i know there will be many others) today or tomorrow. So I'm moving forward.

4. I hope this weekend I can sleep a lot!!

5. I am trying a new recipe for " tarta de santiago" is a very popular cake that is done in Galicia , Spain. And its made with almonds , sugar , etc. My father loves it so I'm trying recipes for this christmas dinner make it for him. When I get a good one I will post it here.

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!

yo

Today was a crazy day! But I already told you that in the title of this post.

Carlos had his christmas festival and as always I was afraid he will not want to appear in public. But he did and did it well. His group sang the posada song that is very traditional here. I don't have to say that my face was covered with tears...

Also today I was able to see Carlos interact with his teachers. He has two, half of the classes with the english teacher and the other half with the spanish teacher. I saw him with the english teacher and she was very close to him. Always touching his shoulder or his head, making him feel comfortable about perfoming. The spanish teacher is older but makes all she can to make him learn and he is one of the best students she has.

So as you can see I walked out of the school as if I were walking on clouds, so happy, so proud and so calm. My son is going to be fine, even with his TDA. It seems that finally we are finding a way to be better parents, and now he has caring and hard working teachers. This is so important for him and his selfsteam!!

Then I arrived home and sat to write, always when I write I have my msn open although as occupied. Why? well because while I write I often talk with my best friend. Actually it can't be named a talk, we sporadiccaly say to one another " how do you say this in english?" " Which word you will use on this email?" " are you ok?" I know it is strange but we don't see ach other very much and that keep us connected. It also keeps me connected with the rest of the world when I'm not writing. Know going to the problem, I sat to write and realized by a bunch of emails my msn account was hacked. Why in the world could someone want to hack my account? I don't know but apparently it occurs often. After a bunch of emails my account is back and I am happy again.

In my translation- revision I think I can finally finish translating the first chapter this friday. Revising it and making it perfect I guess will take me longer but I think I did the best I could for now. You don't know how thankful I am with tracy for coaching me and seeing what I don't!! Even if I make the most silly mistakes and the words I choose in english sometimes are strange and bad, she corrects me and teaches me. So again thank you
[info]tracy_d74 you are a great coach and I want to shout to the world how grate you are for doing this for a person you know for a few time!! You are a dear friend!

Also I want to thank you all for your support and help in this translation procces!

As you can see I am emotional today. But I have learned that I must always say what I feel and always say thank you.

Now I am going to bed, maybe I will sleep something this night!!

Have a perfect day!

yo

Here I’m again with my words post.

As I told you in the other post some of these words are new for me and other I don’t know if I used them correctly or are still used.

Toyed: meaning in the dictionary: was toying with the idea of writing a book: THINK ABOUT, consider, flirt with, entertain the possibility of; informal  kick around.

I used it like this: “I toyed with my dream for a long time, trying to make sense of it”

Creep in: enter surreptitiously; "he sneaked in under cover of darkness"; "in this essay, the author's personal feelings creep in" [syn: sneak in]
I used it here: “The sun began to creep in the room indicating that a new day had begun”

Endure: suffer without complaint, tolerate; continue on in spite of difficulty .

I used it here: “The noise in my head began again. It was terribly annoying, but I could endure it.”

Cease: stop, halt.

I used it here: The noise in my head ceased

 

Unknown : someone or something which is not known; someone or something that is unfamiliar; mathematical factor which is not known .

I used it like this: I had so many unknowns to answer”

 

Flit: fly; flutter; dart; move quickly; change location; escape in secret


I used it like this: “A smile of satisfaction flitted across my face”

Have a great Monday!!

 

PS: Carlos did his Tae kwon do exam and did it perfect. I’m very proud of him for being able to do it in front of people.


yo
As you can see I'm posting this still on Thursday. I don't know if I am going to be able to be in the computer tomorrow morning so I'm posting it right now.

1. Tomorrow we have the first Tae Kwan Do exam of Carlos. I hope he want to do it, because he hates to do things in public and all the parents are going to be there.

2. I finally found what to give to Carlos's teachers for christmas gift. Is a chocolate nativity scene!! I love it ( maybe because I love chocolate)

3. Yesterday my two kids spent a hole day without fighting , they even danced with me. When I had them like that --dancing, smiling, hugging-- I only thought " please Anabel don't forget this".

4. Finally I feel better, I really feel depression is behind me. Also I accept better all my crazy inheritance and try to control it. Its been hard but I'm almost on the other side. Someday I will explain you about it, believe me my family is crazy.

5. Have a wonderful weekend!! 

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yo

As you all know I am working in the revision and translation of my novel, something that needs a lot of work, so I need a lot of hours. And you may say yes, I know. What's the problem? The problem is to find the time to do this without feeling guilty.

I am a mom of a 5 year old and a 2 year old that need all my time. The 5 year old goes to preschool but the two year old stays in home all day and he will never let me concentrate. I write when he is taking a nap in the morning. But that isn't enough if I want to finish my revision - translation before the summer. So sometimes I take an hour at night when the kids go to sleep to write and I feel guilty because that's the time when my husband and I can be together and talk.

I think this time is important and I don't want a divorce. I love my husband, he supports me in my crazy life of writer but everything has a limit and I have to spend time with him.

The other problem is Holiday vacations begin next week and I am going to have Carlos also in the house so my time for writing will be null.

Well I guess I can write at  two in the morning when everybody is asleep and don't need anything from me. But I can't, the doctor told me to sleep every time I could because I started to faint with all the months I expent sleeping poorly with Alex ,my body needs sleep. So no, I can't.

What am I going to do?

I feel guilty for thinking of ways of expending less time with my family and more with my revision - translation.

Have you felt guilty for expending time writing?

yo

I am tired!!! I haven't slept in four days. Alex is feeling bad of his reflux so he is crying all night. The raccoon is back! I am avoiding seeing my face in the mirror!

My translation is going slower also because of my lack of sleep, I can't concentrate but I keep trying. I hope I can finish the first chapter this week.

This are the news from here. How are you?

Happy Wednesday!

yo


Finally I'm posting the new words I found in my translation. As you can see many of them may be common for you but I never heard of them.

What I need to know is if this words are still used and if they are correctly used.

Here are the words:

Grudging – as in: “Grudging I got out of bed.”

React- as respond, we use this word a lot but I don’t know if it is used in English. Like in “Making my mind react”

Faculty – We say that faculty is an area of a college specialized in something or were you learn something. Like the faculty of psychology or the economics faculty. Is faculty a word used in English?

Outskirts – as in: “The outskirts of the city” I’m using it as suburb.

Drifted – as in: “I drifted back to my memories of the other night.”

Keen – can you use this as an adjective for eyes?

Issuer – this is the meaning in the dictionary: person or thing that sends out.

Companion – “Compañero” in Spanish, it is used a lot in my language but I don’t know if you use it this way. I used it like this: “Tranquility was my companion on my way back”

Heinous- can I use this for fear? I am saying that I have heinous fear .As an atrocious fear.

Twist to understand – well as you can see this is not a word but I don’t know if in English someone can twist to understand something. In Spanish would be used as “ retorcerse” but I don’t know if it is correctly used like that.

Disrupting – as disturb. “He was disrupting me”.

Stubble – the meaning in the dictionary is: short rough growth of beard. Is it still used?

Stirred – can someone stir his hair?

Inspected – “Those eyes I couldn’t forget inspected me with such intensity that I felt as if they were touching me, making my skin burn.” Is correctly used there?

Cutting tone – can someone’s tone be cutting in English? Is like someone answering shortly and hard.

Interrogation- the dictionary says: act of questioning, investigation, inquiry, examination through questions. Is it still used like that?

Toured – As in: “I toured the legs with my eyes”

Lank – I’m using this for straight hair.

Ruffled – Can someone ruffle his hair?

“See you brother” – to use the term brother would be correct in Spanish between friends. Is it correct to use it in English or I should use another term?

Maybe some of this will not get to the final draft because I have to finally learn to SHOW and don't tell but I will really appreciate your help.

Now I will go to continue struggling with the show and tell...

Have a wonderful day!

 


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yo

I saw in your post the friday five so I decided is a great idea and I will do it also.

1. I already bought all the santa's presents for the kids. I feel relieved. Now I only have to buy the presents for Carlitos's teachers.

2.I love Christmas but I hate the chaos that comes with it. The streets are full of cars, the stores full of people. I hate multitudes!!!

3. Yesterday I advanced 2 and half pages more in an hour!!! I am very happy with the process, every day I learn more and go more quickly.

4. I want chocolate!!! I am a chocolate addict and I have been on a diet for a year now and I miss it a lot. Even more when Alex is leaving his pacifier and he doesn't like it because he is teething so I need chocolate to have all the tolerance he needs of me.

5. On Monday I m planning to post the new words I found and how I used them to see if they are still used. I hope you don't mind.

Have a great weekend!!  

yo

I'm having a great day!! Yesterday I talked with Carlos teacher and she told me that he was behaving better and his attention also was better. He already reads and writes in spanish and english ( he is 5 years old). I am so proud o f him ,even with his TDA he has the best grades!

In my revision- translating process I have done in this week 5 pages, yesterday I did 3 of them. I can't believe it! 3 pages in 3 hours is a lot for me. I also learned a few new words, I hope they are still used.

My best friend right now is babylon. A program were you can add dictionaries of any language. It is very handy I recommend it.

Finally I have to put this quote because it's great. I am very inspired by quotes.

"My task...is, by the power of the written word to make you hear, to make you feel - it is, before all, to make you see. That - and no more - and it is everything"
- Joseph Conrad

He is totally right if you can make the reader see then you did everything you can do with your writing.

So as you can see I'm very positive today. How are you? How are you going with your writing, family, work?

Have a nice day!


yo

"You sit down and you do it, and you do it, and you do it, until you have learned to do it."
Ursula K. LeGuin
...on writing


That's what I am doing sitting down and revising , revising again and then translating, correcting and searching words. Sometimes I think I will go crazy others I think I will reach the goal soon.

ufff it's hard but not as hard as i thought it would be.

So how are you?

I will now go, sit down and do it, and do it, until I learn to do it as Ursula says.

HAVE A GREAT WEDNESDAY!