Details

I was recently reading something that made me want to pull my hair out one strand at a time.

For the love of all that is sacred to the binding gods I beseech everyone to please not put in details that don't matter. If they don't contribute to the depth of the heroine or the hero or the progression of the plot or their arc then leave it out.

I don't need to see her go to the bathroom unless her hero is the Tidibowl man.

This is just my personal opinion as a reader and I'm sure people would disagree. Sprinkling in a few quirky characteristics and mannerisms is a great way to enhance a character. Everyone does it. Or at least the authors with memorable characters do.

OMG! One More Week

*Squee*

One more week and I'm off for San Francisco. Okay, it's really 8 days, but I still can't believe it's just around the corner. Today I need to make a list of all the things that I need to pack (because I will invariably forget something), and a list of things I still need to do.

It's the small things that will get me - like testing the batteries in my camera, and packing extras in the bag just in case. And what about that tiny little lithium battery buried in the back of the camera? You know, the one I shoved in there like two years ago when I got the camera as a gift and haven't replaced. Yeah, little things like that will creep up on me.

Then there are all those things not conference related that have to be done. At the top of that list is cleaning. *sigh* I so wish that wasn't necessary.