When I'm Not Writing

Right now, my manuscript is out in the hands of some writer friends, where they are hopefully tearing it apart with helpful criticism. This means that I am spending the time researching agents and working on the 15th revision of my query letter.

So, I thought it best to tell you what I'm doing when I'm not writing.

Most of the time I can be found watching Guy's Big Bite:

Wait, why don't I own any squeeze bottles? :-( I think I need to change that.

But this week is going to be completely out of the ordinary. There are so many exciting things happening, I can barely contain myself:

1. First of all, and this is completely random, I will apparently be meeting Donnie Osmond at 1:30pm. I realize this makes absolutely no logical sense. Honestly, I'm not even sure why he's here in my office. But, for whatever reason, I will be meeting Donnie Osmond and I've declared this hilariously awesome, in a Tiger Beat magazine kind of way.

UPDATE: I did not meet Donnie Osmond! I signed up to meet him at 2:10pm. And there was apparently a change of plans and he only came from 1:20pm to 1:40pm. FAIL!

2. Tonight, for the 3rd year in a row, I will be attending the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. This quite possibly tops Christmas as THE BEST TIME OF THE YEAR. There is no other time when you can walk into a room with 1,000 immaculately groomed and perfectly behaved dogs, pet them until your hearts delight and squeal every time you see a dog you like (which, for me, is every .251 sec). Click to check out my experience from last year.

3. It's Toy Fair! For those of you who don't know, my day job involves writing and producing content for interactive toys and games. And Toy Fair is rather exciting. It doesn't top the Dog Show and it's a little in-your-face consumer-ific, but it is an exciting place for people to show-off the toys they've been hard at work on all year. I know you all think we're just elves living in the North Pole having a jolly old time, but making toys is actually hard work. I am incredibly inspired by the creative minds in this industry and, in addition to Toy Fair, this year I will be attending the Engage Conference and Expo. Obviously, I am most excited about the panel: Engaging Through Narration, Character Development, and Story. And, while it's a little out of the realm of novel-writing, I still hope to provide some take-aways and insights from Toy Fair and the Engage Expo that make sense for writers reading this blog :-)

4. Kathy Griffin is coming to town! On Friday, I will be attending her comedy show at Madison Square Garden. I think she is hysterical. Anyone who has the guts to come out with a book called 'Official Book Club Selection' is tops in my world. I can't wait to laugh and laugh and listen to her potty mouth.

So, this is a very exciting week for not writing. What about you guys? What events are you looking forward to in your downtime?