D - Drama

My D word for April is DRAMA!

.... Such a versatile word....

In this day and age drama has taken on a whole new meaning.  There's the famous label of DRAMA QUEEN.  And let's all admit this.... we can all be a drama queen sometimes!  We all tend to overact in situations that just seem soooo bad at the time and later we look back and think, huh! That wasn't nearly as harsh as I was making it out to be!

And then there's the drama we have where there's so much conflict and battle between us and others.  Family drama, friend drama, school drama... etc.  I don't like drama in my life so I won't really expand on that.

Then we have the drama subject that some people take in school.  It is also a writing genre and of course, my favorite genre to write for.  I love dramatic plays, dramatic movies, and most of all, dramatic books.  If there's not much drama in the book I feel that I'm not that deep into it.  I guess I'm overcompensating for the fact that I try to keep the drama out of my personal life. (And I might say, lately I've been failing miserably at that. That's a blog for another day.)

It's safe to say that I love drama when it's not pertaining to my own life.  Fill your books, movies, and plays with it all you want and I'll be in the front row as happy as a clam!  It makes for great entertainment.  Maybe that's why I love psychology so much.  I like hearing about other drama, as long as it's not mine! ;-)

C - Contractions

One question that has been tossed around among fellow writers is the use of contractions.  When is the right time to use them? Is there ever a right time to use them? How much is too much?  From what I have found, it seems like it's all in the opinion of who you are asking.

I've seen traditionally published authors like Nicholas Sparks, Diana Palmer, Lee Child, etc who do use contractions tastefully.  I feel that if a writer doesn't overdo it than it is definitely acceptable.  One area I find contractions especially okay in is dialogue, especially when you have a particular way a character speaks.  In my first book, Modern Day Drifter, the setting is Texas.  If I wrote the dialogue with no contractions whatsoever it would be very unrealistic.  Let's face it -- We Texans (me included) are extremely lazy talkers.  Contractions are spoken everyday in almost every conversation.  Even my book, Through Smoke, had contractions.  Everyone speaks them.

And as stated, if they are used in the rest of the story, I feel they are okay as long as they are used in moderation.  If there were no contractions the flow would be compromised and it would be a little too "professional", if that makes sense.  I guess it's a matter of writing opinions.  I dare you all to think about contractions the next time you are writing, whether it is your blog, your novel, or anything.  You'd be surprised at how much they are used without us knowing! ;-)

B - Baseball

Another thing that comes with April and springtime is BASEBALL!!!

If you can't tell, I'm a fan of the Rangers and of course, Josh Hamilton.  The last two pics are mine that I took last June when I got to see the Rangers play the Tampa Bay Rays. Opening day for 2011 was two days ago! The best 6 months of the year have begun.  I hope the Rangers have as much success as they had last year and can finally seal the deal on the World Series.  At least we got to the big show last year... the first time in franchise history!

Not only do I enjoy professional baseball, but it marks the beginning of little league.  My cousin Austin is playing in the Farm League for Cooper Little League here.  My uncle, his dad, is the head coach of the Muckdogs.  It's a strange name and different which is why I like it even more!  Most of the teams have the usual Yankees or Rangers and here we come with our unique name.

Ah, baseball. What an American past time. I love it!

A - April

I decided to go ahead and take part in the April A-Z challenge like last year.  My entries are on a different blog that I no longer have access to due to inactivity. LOL

Anyway, today I have to play catch up and post an A for yesterday and a B for today.  I decided to do something easy for A and go with April.  Probably my most favorite month out of the year.  May is a close second.  I love April for several reasons, one main one being that I was born in April. I'm a spring baby for sure! It's my favorite season.  I love how everything is beginning to blossom (achooo.. Excuse me while I sneeze.)  I can deal with the allergies.  It's a small price to pay in regards to everything finally turning green and getting pretty again.

Spring time in Texas is amazing.  The weather is absolutely gorgeous (with an occasional wind storm that is annoying).  It also marks the beginning of storm season and for those that know me, I'm a wild animal when it comes to dark clouds on the horizon.  I chase storms and tornadoes.  Three years ago I chased a storm system from Texas all the way up into Northern Kansas, near the Nebraska border. If we get any significant weather this year I'll be sure to post up some pictures.

I love the humid feel on my skin.  I love to be outside.  Around mid January I always get an intense bout of spring fever.  The study about how sunshine makes people happy is very true, at least for me.  I seem a lot more friendly and awake when the weather is warm.  I don't have as bad of a struggle to get out of bed in the morning either! ;-)

A is for April -- The best time of the year! :) Happy spring everyone!!