Okay--Surprises...Let's take a closer look...

The thing about suprises, is there are so many kinds. I use to be of the mind that you could prepare for the little besties. That was before I started feeling trapped by the need to keep on the lookout and ever vigilant. Which of course, I was doing to myself. So after much pointless knashing of teeth and wailing, I did the self-slapdown and knocked off.

Not that being prepared is a bad thing. Preparation is where living life and learning intersect. But prepare for what you want and what you need, I always say--not for how the world could take away what you want or what you need. Be positive in your learning and experiencing of things that will get you where you need to go and prepare you for getting there. Nix the negative, protective "I can't trust myself or anyone else" stuff. That's just bad ju ju, and we don't want to upset the spirit gods so early in the Year of the Rat ;o) We'll have to figure out what Year of the Rat bodes, but that's for another day.

Today, let's gander at the transitive verb "surprise:"
(note: nouns and synonyms await further scrutiny as well)

1) To encounter suddenly or unexpectedly; take or catch unawares.
2) To attack or capture suddenly and without warning.
3) To cause to feel wonder, astonishment, or amazement, as at something unanticipated.
4) To cause (someone) to do or say something unintended.
5) To elicit or detect through surprise.

Interesting. A passive verb (to encounter) in only half of one of the definitions. The rest are active. Dare I say it, intentional. We can take or catch, attack or capture, cause, elicit or detect surprise. More often than not, do the surprises turn out to be what you seek, and not so much what's being done to you???

I really like the "cause to feel wonder, astonishmnet or amazement" at the unanticipated one. How often do you embrace the scary, new, shocking stuff that hurtles your way?

And then there's "eliciting or detecting through surprise". That's the learing part I'm growing to appreciate. The letting the surprise teach you what you didn't know you needed to know part.

Kind of like being asked to write a lighter, funnier story for last year's Singles with Kids series--which not only showed me I could do lighter and funier and actually LIKE doing it, but that's the book that's the RT Award finalist. And my latest, "do you want to?" surprise--the "Hot Winter Read" novella I'm doing for Harlequin Single Title (HQN). The synopsis was due yesterday, and it was like nothing else I've ever written--a cross between Sex and The City and My Best Friend's Wedding is all I can come up with, of course with characters you'll love or I couldn't write it. But it was a blast to dream up, and I can't wait to be able to dream some more of the sexy, steamy stuff ;o). REALLLLY can't wait, since I'd always rather be writing the next book than the one currently due, lol!

But I digress. 2008 out here in Annaland is supposed to be about the publishing world as an anology for the world at large. Surprise is such a big part of what writers put up with. In fact, we have to plan for it, learn to sniff it out, and pretend it's no big deal when we get smacked silly by it...wait a minute, that IS just like the world at large. You know what I mean, right???

Right???