I’ve been writing a lot lately, and even better than simply writing, I feel like I’ve been writing well. Since having kids, I’ve let my writing skills languish. And writing is as much of a habit as it is a skill, so I was doubly behind when I began making an effort to write more often. But my efforts have been worthwhile. Not only am I physically writing more often, but my brain has switched back on to thinking like a writer. It is buzzing with thoughts and story ideas and characters. I’m still a long way from my creative peak, when I spent every spare moment scribbling in a notebook. Back then I churned out everything from stories and poems to essays and old-fashioned letters to mail to friends. For now I’m happy with a steady string of blog posts and random thoughts jotted in my notebook. It’s progress.

Sometime in the early 90s, one of the Chicago radio stations played a song featuring an angry female repeatedly saying, “I’m beautiful, dammit!” The song was memorable simply for that line, and my girlfriends and I would often repeat it as we firmly believed in the power of suggestion.

But the psychology of positive thinking only goes so far when we’re talking about appearances. And let’s be honest, ladies: if you reach for the mascara before you can even think about leaving the house, you are concerned with your appearance (Cue theme song:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

).

So in the spirit of New Year’s Resolutions, I am offering my tips on enhancing the natural beauty all women have.

1. Take care of your skin (daily cleansing, exfoliating, moisturizing). Retool your skin-care routine with the seasons.
2. Ditch the black mascara and go for brown if you are have blonde or light brown hair and it’s daylight.
3. Lay off the eyeliner. Nine times out of ten, eyeliner detracts from your eyes, which are, after all, the windows to your inner self.
4. Learn what colors look best on you and where to apply them.
5. Find a foundation that’s an exact match for your skin tone.
6. Don’t be afraid to ask a professional for guidance! (Ahem.)

Think beautiful thoughts and take care of yourself, dammit.

I don’t read Bodice Rippers. I don’t like them. But tonight I happened across an article on a plagiarism scandal ripping through the world of historical romance novels. Read about the whole scandal here. Basically the author (Cassie Edwards) lifted passages from reference books with minimal paraphrasing and no credit to the source, and both the author and her publisher deny any wrongdoing.

Making your research your own, weaving it into your story is time-consuming, often difficult, but it is a necessity. When done well, the reader should not be aware that you, the author, are providing researched information. It should be seamless with your character, your plot, your setting, whatever it was that needed that touch of authenticity that only research, or firsthand knowledge, can provide. When done poorly, the reader’s fictional dream is interrupted by an encyclopedia entry, such as this from Ms. Edwards’ Shadow Bear:

“While alone in my father’s study one day, after seeing a family of ferrets from afar in the nearby woods, I took one of my father’s books from his library and read up on them. They were an interesting study. I discovered they are related to minks and otters. It is said that their closest relations are European ferrets and Siberian polecats. Researchers theorize that polecats crossed the land bridge that once linked Siberia and Alaska, to establish the New World population.”

Suspicious? Bored? No wonder readers are turning their efforts toward finding the original source (which, in this case, is Defenders Magazine, according to the Associated Press).

Regardless of the legal and ethical implications of poorly incorporated research, this passage is simply bad writing. Oh, it’s fine for the reference section of the library, but it doesn’t belong in a book of fiction, even if it is just a Bodice Ripper.

I have worked hard at being an apolitical person (owing, I believe, to being forced to watch — and agree with — Rush Limbaugh during my formative years), but it’s time to at least dip a toe into the political waters and voice my opinion once before I slip back into my quiet obscurity of pencils and knitting needles and mounds of laundry.

Vote for Obama.

I’m tired of being governed by the Bush and Clinton families and their pals. I want real change. I want Obama for President.

That’s all I’m going to say on that. Now hand me a towel to dry my feet.

Over the past several months, my SPAM folder has been filling with messages from various beths at yahoo.com. I figured that many beths couldn’t possibly be spammers, and lo, it has been confirmed. My SPAM folder is now full of messages from my own yahoo.com account. Apparently I sell Rolexes.

It’s a frustrating and invasive species, this SPAM. I miss the Olden Days, when Spam was a rectangular can at the back of the pantry. At worst, it worked its way into the dinner lineup a couple times a year, but it was manageable. This beast is out of control. It’s bad enough that I’m bombarded daily with offers of Cialis and home equity loans and Christian Singles, but to have these messages appear to come from me or my domains is intolerable.

For the record, I do not sell Rolex watches, drugs (prescription or otherwise), or any other SPAM gimmick. I do peddle cosmetics and hope to sell some fiction, but more than likely it will never find its way into your Inbox. Can the SPAM!