Just made the day’s to-do list. I put ‘make a to-do list’ at the top and checked it off.  Now I can say I accomplished half my list!  Reminder: pick up beer for tonight.

Note to self:  don’t joke to burly cable guy about needing your Desperate Housewives fix.  He might just be a fan.

What if you really do have two left feet? Maybe you got a foot transplant and the doctors screwed up. We must be careful with our insults.

Me: Happy Birthday, Kat! You’re six! You know what this means, don’t you? It means you have to get a job.
Kat: Oh.
Me: You have to start earning your keep. What are you going to do?
Kat: I guess . . . I guess I could have a lemonade stand.
Me: Good idea. You have to sell a lot of lemonade, though.
Kat: Or I could own a hotel.
Me: Hmm . . . How old are you again?

On a lazy Sunday afternoon, there’s not much better than hearing your five-year-old spontaneously tell you that she loves you. Of course, it could have been buying her an ice cream cone that prompted it, but I’ll take what I can get. It’s not buying someone’s affection if you didn’t plan on it, is it?

If a writer gives you a story and asks for your honest opinion, he doesn’t really want your honest opinion. Actually, he does want your honest opinion, but only if it begins with the words, “This is the best story I’ve read in my life . . .” Or, slightly more risky, the opinion could be modified with “one of the best stories,” which while not preferred is at least acceptable. Otherwise, no, he doesn’t want your honest opinion. If you have to lie, that’s all right. We lie to children about Santa Claus. Telling writers what you think of their work is sort of in the same category. You should be spreading hope and good cheer. You don’t want to take Santa Claus away from a writer, do you? That’s a very crummy thing to do.

Random musing: I was thinking of starting a new company. Fritter.com. Everybody would post to it whenever they ate an apple fritter. I haven’t figured out a way to make money off it yet, but that’s okay, either has Twitter.

Useful advice:  When requesting to delay your jury duty to a later date, it’s usually not a good idea to wait until AFTER you were supposed to show up in the first place.  Not that I’m speaking from experience or anything.

I had to remind myself today, as I sometimes do, that there are only three things as a writer I really should be focused on:

1. Writing
2. Getting better at writing
3. Giving my books the best shot at reaching the widest possible audience

I can’t control the state of the economy. I can’t control how editors respond to my work. All I can do is write and strive to become the best writer I can be — studying other storytellers, digging deeper into myself, reaching for it. And when that’s done, I can make sure the books and stories get on the desks of editors who can help me reach as many readers as possible.

Beyond that? Not much.

Worrying about things beyond those three areas is a lot of wasted energy. Of course, it’s easier said then done sometimes, but the more focused I am on what I can control, the happier and more productive I am.

The good news? If you’re in this for the long haul, as I am, everything you write is inventory — whether it sells now or later. That’s the great thing about writing fiction. With few exceptions, it’s not date sensitive. We’re not writing newspaper copy here. I’ve had short stories I’ve sold ten years after I wrote them, so I’ve already seen this proven in my own life.