Hi, my name is Laci Maskell and I am an addict

     Hello blog world. Yes I am an addict. That being said, I'm not sure that my addiction is all that bad. I am addicted to pens. I love pens. Really cool pens, unique pens, ordinary pens. You name it, if it's a pen, I will more than likely love it. A little while ago I told one of my friends that I love pens and he said that I'm probably one of those people who uses a pen until it dies. Now, up until about 2 days ago, I would have said no. But then I used all the ink in one of my pens. I was so sad. Luckily this pen came in a set of two. So now, I can just use the other pen until I can go get more of that pen. But other than that, almost every time I go to a store, I buy a new pen or two, and I every time I buy new pens they are better and more my favorite then the last. I use about 3 different pens for every different note book I have, I use different notebooks for different stories and books.
     As with a lot of writers, I am also addicted to other office supplies. I have a list of office supplies I want to get. Now, do I need these office supplies, not really. Some of them yes, but most of them no. I love post its, notebooks, folders, binders, all kinds of different office supplies. But mostly, I love pens the most. I hate it when I lose a pen. I hate it when a pen runs out of ink. I especially hate it when I go to the store and they no longer carry my favorite pens. Who does this?  Why would you no longer stock a pen? What happens when my favorite pen runs out of ink and I can no longer buy that new pen? That means sad day in Laci Land.
     So what addictions do you have, weird or otherwise? What things can you not live without?

I can't believe the number of times I've used the phrase I can't believe

We all do it in our writing, we use the same words or phrases about a thousand times. In my first book I used the word seem and its variations about a thousand times or more I didn't count. In the writing of my current book, I find that I have been using the phrase 'I can't believe' about a zillion times. I keep catching myself writing it and then want to slap my hand. I think we as writers, though we have extensive vocabularies, get stuck in a rut or comfortable with certain things and want to use that certain thing zillions of times. But I am here to tell you, STOP IT! Something I have to remind myself every day. Every time I catch myself using the phrase 'I can't believe' I make myself think of a different phrase. This betters the writing and exercises your mind. So get out of your comfort zone and exercise your mind! Good luck and good writing!

Superstitions

A few months ago I was hanging out with friends, all writer/English major friends and my friend David wanted to tell us about a book he wants to write. Before he could get a word out, Kelly told us all that there is a superstition in writing that if you tell someone about something you want to write before you write it you won't be able to write it, that you will lose interest in it. At the time I didn't think twice about this superstition, I even went as far as thwarting it, telling them that David already told me about the project and that if he still wanted to write it the superstition must be false. Well, then I started to write my next book, a book that I had told about half a dozen people the plot and where the book was going. I got about twenty pages into writing it and then got stuck. I tried going at it from different angles, taking a break, but I still found myself stuck. So for now I put that book away and started on a new book. Now, this is a book I never thought I could write. I didn't think I knew enough about the subject matter, or that I could get it right. Then, I heard this line, just one line, on a TV show, and everything just clicked. I knew then that I had to write this book. I wrote down the idea for the book my idea notebook. Then, I started thinking more about this book, the characters, the plot, what was going to happen, everything and I just couldn't stop. Finally I started writing the book actually free handing it, then typing every chapter or so. It is going so well, I haven't been stuck once, I keep adding twists and turns in I didn't think I would, and such. I can't believe how well it is going. But back to the superstition, I haven't told a soul about the plot of this book or really talked about it to anyone. Now I don't know if it is all in my head and that I just really got stuck on the previous book or if the superstition is actually real. Tell me what you think.