When there isn't much to say:

So here I sit, trying to decide what to blog about.

There's the mini family reunion I just went to this weekend. (Fabulous, but uninteresting for those of you not acquainted with our ummm--quirky? family.) So, no.

There's the simmering rant about (certain) cops who persist in send half ass (ie: lets not bother to actually show that we meet the elements of the FELONY offense we're arresting folks for before we send it to the DA's office) reports that I've been wading through today. Seriously people, your reports have to meet the elements of the offense before we can/will indict.

But no, I don't think I want to blog about that. Talk about a foolproof way to get stopped and ticketed for every traffic violation I might commit in the next year.
(Not my photo--thanks to http://todaypictures.blogspot.com/ for the pic.)

But guys, seriously, if you're a cop who writes crappy reports--they're important. They reflect on you, your department and what we (prosecutors) think of you, your department, and most importantly, your case.


I know the chase is the fun stuff, but without a proper report, your prosecutors are going to drop your cases. And if they do take them to trial, they're gonna lose, because the defense is going to use your crappy report to make you look like an absolute idiot. No jury will convict on your say-so once that happens. So just write the damn report right.

And also, before the haters strike, I don't hate cops in general. My hubby's a cop--but he writes wonderful reports and puts the toilet seat back down so he escapes my wrath. SO there.

Kidding. Just kidding guys.

So, what about writing? Well--I haven't done much this week. I did do some structure evaluation on my manuscript that I have been trying to save from mediocrity. (Yes, much like Charlie Sheen, so far mediocrity is winning.)

It was helpful, until my four year old found the papers I was mapping said structure on and ripped them to shreds. I think he may have chewed on the shredded stuff, judging from the leftover mess. (I'll spare the blogosphere that picture. Yes, you may thank me for that.)

So I'll be re-mapping the structure this week. I hope to have it done before next Friday. Yes, that is an arbitrary deadline pulled stright out of the air. Still, a girl's gotta have deadlines...

I guess what I really want to say is: It's Monday folks. Hang in there--Friday will be here if we just hang on.
I hope.

I'm Back...

Hi guys! I'm back!
So if you look back at the various posts I made previously, you'll see that its been forever since I posted. I fell into the social media trap you see. I took on so much at once, on top of my demanding home life, and I burned out. Something had to go, so I stopped blogging and slowed way down on everything else, at least until I could get a handle on my life.

But now I'm back. And I'm excited to be back.
So, I guess an update is in order.

I closed my legal practice, and went back to being a prosecutor. Its far less lucrative, but so much more fulfilling. It was a good move for me.Speaking of moves--we moved our family to the Texas/Mexico border for said prosecution positions. Hubby and I are both prosecuting felony crimes on the border. It's good and important work, and we're happy to be able to do it.

The kiddos have settled, and are doing fabulously. My middle kid (who is now four) is on the autism spectrum--super smart, but with many of the behavioral, sensory and processing tics that come with being on the spectrum. For whatever reason, he has progressed amazingly since our move. It's been wonderful to watch him, and I've gone from being terrifed for his future to knowing he's going to be okay. I can't express the joy that brings to my life.

Writing wise, I have been working, but slowly, slowly, slowly. I've taken some wonderful classes (Larry Brooks Story Structure class is fabulous if anyone is looking for a class to take and can't decide.) I've been in the planning stage of a new urban fantasy series and am getting really excited about starting the actual writing soon.

My first few stories I was a pantser with, but I have had so much fixing to do by the end that I was desperate for a new way to do things. So the story structure class has been invaluable in helping me plan a lot more with this next set. I'm also in the process of going back to my previous efforts and looking at the structure and how I can use what I've learned to fix the deficiencies in those stories. So, I have a lot of work to do. I'm going to try to blog at least once a week, and will let you guys know how the restructuring of my already written manuscript goes.

Have any of you tries to completely restructure a  completed manuscript to fix structural issues? How did it go? How long did it take? And were you happy with the results?