Myers Briggs for Cats - Creating the Purr-sonality Profile

My brain is about to explode. I've spent this week devising a Myers-Briggs type "Purr-sonality Profile" for cats for A Cat's Little Book of Self-Help. Coming up with questions for the quiz was fun. Now I'm working on devising a semi-accurate point system that allows readers to take the quiz for their cats and gives them a "valid" profile reading. I've got papers scattered in front of me with scribbles all over them reading a=3, b=1, etc.

I started the quiz not realizing the magnitude of the task I'd set myself, then moved to thinking creating a valid quiz was impossible, then decided I was overthinking things and making it all harder than it needs to be, and now, after 5 hours of staring at the keyboard, I've decided to just assign everything the value of pie and move on with my life. (Well, not really, but that's what I want to do.)

I'm almost blind, so I think I'll call it a day. I've got to wrap this chapter up tomorrow, so I'll hit it early, before my brain has time to jump in and protest. I suspect when the books sells the editor will make changes to my format regardless, so it's probably not worth getting too hung up over.

Two more chapters to draft out after this. Getting close...

Kittens Adopted - Good News!

Remember this earlier post about kittens that needed adopting? I had a follow-up e-mail from the woman who was trying to find homes for all the cats. Here it is:

Hi Dena
All babies have homes. I have an open door policy so everyone knows if something does not work out to return them to me and me only. I think I made some good choices, one concerns me a little but overall i think everyone had good references and were very nice people. Thank you for your support and willingness to post this on your site.

You're a blessing,,
Carla

Carla is the blessing. Major kudos to her to for caring enough to make the time to find homes for all the cats. Not an easy thing to do, especially in this economy. I feel better knowing people like Carla are out there...

NOT A Good Writing Week

Let's call this week for what it is, pure CRAP in terms of writing accomplishment. Words are going on the page but I can almost guarantee 99.9% of them will be cut when I go back to edit. I'm recycling jokes and the chapter I'm working on right now, a parody, "How To Win Friends & Influence Dog People" is lacking form and sustanence. And humor. Seriously lacking in humor at this point.

A lot of what I'm writing is "cute," but cute won't cut it. I need funny, original, unexpected. It's depressing because I've felt good about what I've been writing and this week has just been one mental block after the next. I've got 2000 words left to write in the next two days and I have no idea how I'm going to fill the page. I'm skimming through cat books, surfing web sites, and staring at Lucy and Olivia, hoping for inspiration. So far... nuthin.

Oh well, tomorrow is another day, yes? What matters is getting something... anything... down on paper. It's much easier even to edit bad text than it is to come up with something off the cuff. So I'll put the bad stuff down and hope I can mold it into something better at a later date. 

Let's hope next week's cat chapter draws me out of this funk.

Paranormal Pets - Ghost Cat In My Bed

Hey everyone--here's a link to my interview on Pet Life Radio on their "Paranormal Pets" program. I spoke with host Dusty Rainbolt last week about the ghost cat that lives in our house. Laugh if you must, but ghost kitty exists. He/she makes sporadic appearances late at night, curling up at the end of our bed on my feet. You'll be able to learn all about it in the 5-minute interview.

FYI, Dusty's program is entertaining and I encourage you to listen to the entire show but if you're pressed for time and looking for my part, I come in around minute 9. 

Here's the MP3 of the interview: Ghost Cat In My Bed.