Level Up Blogfest, Progressive Book Club, and Champion Blog Tour

I'm spending my time in three places today (not sure how it's possible but I'm trying). I'm gaming with Level Up Blogfest, reading with ML Swift's Book Club, and I'm touring at Laurel's Leaves for the Champion in the Darkness Book Tour. Oh, and I put my She Said What? Post yesterday. I think I'll have to more of a realist with my time one of these days, but it's Midwinter break, so it's all good, right? If you don't have time to read all the following, just scroll until you find what you're looking for:

 Brought to you by Allison at Geek Banter and Jamie from Mithril Wisdom, Level Up Blogfest gives us a chance to share our favorite games.

I had a tough time choose just one favorite. I love games. I'm not a huge video game player like my husband and kids, because if I got sucked into playing one of those ongoing games I would never come out. I stick with little ones like Fruit Ninja . . .only 60 seconds. (Then I make myself stop.)

As a kid I loved Monopoly, War, Rummy, Slapjack, and pretend Star Wars. My favorite video games as an early teen were Zaxxon, and Joust. (I'm old)

Then I learned to play Ditch'em, which is kind of like what my kids call Home Free. Two teams. One base. One team hides, and tries to run to the base, while the other team guards the base and tries to tag the runners/hiders. If a person doesn't get found or if a runner gets to the base, then the hiding/running team wins. However, if the base team finds all the hiders or tags all the runners, then the base team wins. I spent hours and hours playing Ditch'em during the summers with my neighborhood friends so in a nostalgic way I consider it my favorite game of all time.

For my 14 year old daughter's recent birthday, we played games for six hours in a ballroom sized dance studio with 21 kids. (Awesome fun for all of us) The games: Capture the Flag, Birdie on a Perch, Foot relay, Draw relay, Signs, Wink, Everybody's It Tag, Shuffling Bums/Chairs, Human Knot Race (two teams), I've Never Ever, Group Charades, 4 Corners, Tap, and Partner Everyone's It Tag. Later, the fun continued with Pass the Story, Mafia, and Pictionary.

If you haven't guessed yet, we are avid game players in our house, from Catan and Chess, to Pictionary and Nerts. If you meet us, and we have a deck of cards or an open space to play in, Game On!

What are your favorite games? Do you like video games, board games, card games, group/party games, or all of the above?

 The Progressive Book Club, brought to us by ML Swift is focused on books about the craft of writing, with a few fiction books thrown in for fun!

Our book this month is: Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott.

 

 

Ages ago, a college professor of mine recommended Bird by Bird to me, and I found it and read it right away, awed by the way that Lamott gets to the throat and heart of writing in this book on writing and life. Reading it this time brought back both memories, and some reminders that I truly enjoyed. As with the first time, the most memorable section of the book for me is the first on on writing. I love the chapters on short assignments, sh-y first drafts, and polaroids. They remind me to keep it simple, and not try to write an entire "perfect" novel in one sitting.

 

When overwhelmed by the big idea of writing a novel, Lamott says, "I remember to pick up the one-inch picture frame (that she keeps on her desk) and to figure out a one-inch piece of my story to tell, one small scene, one memory, one exchange."

 

Although I find many other parts of Bird by Bird to be compelling, hilarious, interesting, and helpful for writing, the image of the one-inch picture frame sticks with me. I even used to have a picture frame like that on my desk in college. The question is now, in the midst of messy, busy life, where did I put that thing? Now I look out the window and that window frame reminds me of the same idea - except the window frame is way too big.





Have you ever read Bird by Bird? Do you use a picture frame, or a window frame to help you focus your writing time?

Next Month for Progressive Book Club, we're reading Save the Cat! and I'm already one chapter in and taking notes.

Please, stop by Laurel's Leaves for the Champion in the Darkness book tour stop!