Aasiyah Qamar & Nolwynn Ardennes

Hey everyone

Gads, seems like everything's been acting up lately! Last week, I couldn't post coz there were upgrades on the site server being done, and in the meantime, the temps are playing roller coaster, the kids are getting cheekier by the day, the stress of just being alive is threatening to kill every remaining functioning neuron, and even better, you find your WIP acting up on you too!

*Stop. Sit. Breathe in. And Scream!!*

Oh that was good! I feel much better. Back to what we were talking about - yes, a dilemma in the writing.

I am personally acquainted with every member of the tribe of dust bunnies who live in my home. So how then did I think I could write about a heroine who's so much a domestic goddess she makes Bree Van de Kamp look like a slob?

Good question here - am I polarizing her too much? Could be. So I toned her down, and she is still light years away from the make-believe domestic non-goddess I am!

So what to do? How to get myself into her shoes, as I'd explained last week on my other promo/craft blog with the posse of the Royal Blush Authors (http://royalblushauthors.blogspot.com/)?

Research? I throw myself into every online edition of Good Housekeeping I can find, as well as scout the e-zines of iVillage Home and Better Homes and Gardens. Did you know they have tricks to halve housekeeping duty time? And best, did you know those very tips take ages to do???

I then resort to information osmosis by observation, by watching the domestic goddesses I know in my entourage. After a couple of hours, I'm about ready to take a double dose of Prozac on their behalf. Come on, women, slow down! Do you even remember to breathe, or don't you do it unless you have a clean mask on your nose for fear of inhaling the toxic fumes of those same products you're using to clean?

I'm still none the wiser when I stumble back still reeling in front of my laptop. Damn it, why did my heroine have to be so manic? And that's when the lightbulb moment came along! She can be all the domestic goddess she wants to be, everything that needs to be highlighted in the story takes place through her thoughts and mind and - thank goodness! - not through how to combine white vinegar with water to get a miracle solution for cleaning everything!

So tell me, has anything ever acted up in your work or writing process? Has anything ever happened to make you change your stand and position where a story or a character was concerned? And oh yeah, what's your thought on the need to be a domestic goddess? (come on, ease my mind that I don't need to turn out the dust bunnies. Poor lovelies will be homeless...)

From now till later, cheers!

P.S. If like me your world is very grey at the moment, take a little boost of diet-improving sugar here in my post for the Pop Culture Divas. Yummy pics of scrumptious men, guaranteed 0 calorie, 0% fat-free!

http://popculturedivas.blogspot.com/2009/06/sports-candy.html