Some days I don’t have anything worth saying that will take up an entire blog post, so instead I just share a bunch of little random bits of nothingness.  (Or awesomeness in bite-size pieces?  Depends on whether you view the glass as half-empty or half-full.  Or, as I prefer it, MINE.)

(This is what happens when I try to blog too soon after reading a Chuck Wendig post.)

Speaking of…Chuck Wendig occasionally does this fantastic thing where he takes some of the search terms that have led to his blog and he comments on them.  Absolutely hilarious.

Here’s today’s: Search Term Bingo Peed In Your Gas Tank

And here’s one from a while ago that I bookmarked, but never shared: Search Term Bingo: The Awakening

Now, I get some interesting search terms.  (Mostly, I just wonder how bad search engines are that certain search terms lead people here.)  But nothing like what he gets.  Top of that second post: “When a Satyr Fucks an Elf” and near the top of the first one: “When Writing a Zombie Novel How Long Should a Girl’s Hair Be.”

Now, seriously, that second question, if you’re asking things like that you need to get some confidence in yourself.  Granted, I don’t write zombie novels, so maybe it’s a particular genre and there’s some secret handshake that lets people know your not some zombie-bandwagon hack, but a true aficionado.  (Only books who have women with hair past their shoulders are legitimate zombie novels, all others are just wannabes.)

(And, wow, is aficionado a word I cannot spell correctly.  Thank you, spell check.)

Speaking of writing and rules.  One of my betas was recently trying to get me to add all sorts of exclamation points into my second novel.  (Um, no.)  Here’s a good post on it: Those Annoying Exclamation Points!!!

Admittedly, even without my beta’s edits, this second novel probably already has too many exclamation points, italics, and a little bit of all caps.  Not my usual approach, but it seemed to fit with the style in which I was writing.  But you don’t want to be too over the top with something like that, because there is this “professional” vs. “amateur hack” issue.

In my last novel I had “?!” once in the novel about two-thirds of the way through.  I’d missed removing it.  And the editor who reviewed it made some comment about that making me look like an amateur (or some such).  So, one little, itsy, bitsy slip like that and some people will judge you harshly.  Be aware.

(Of course, I have my own thoughts about people who will judge you for one little slip.  Which is interesting, because I can also be that person who judges based upon one error.  Hmm.  I am a hypocrite.  And I do have a love-hate relationship with myself….)

In other news.  Time really does fly by.  I had to update my bio for work and it turns out I’ve been working with my current employer/client/whatever for six years.  Holy hell!  When did that happen?

(I would also note that most of that happened after I supposedly quit that job forever.  I need to get better at letting go of things and moving on…)

Also, I’ve decided that as wonderful as personal rejections are (and I do far prefer those to form rejections), I’m kind of sick of them and just want a damned acceptance already.  As I’ve said before and I’ll say again, close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.

And, a great quote I saw today:

“If at first you don’t succeed, try to hide your astonishment.” – Harry Banks

And, just for kicks, the quote at the top of my 36-page long quotes document:

“We are to recognize that all that comes into being must be ready for a sorrowful end.” – Nietzsche

(I think it’s from The Birth of Tragedy.  Written down long ago when I was a pretentious ass who read and underlined Nietzsche.)

(Oh, wait…I still am a pretentious ass.  Oops.  Haha.)