1) Read some really bad literature and ponder how THAT book got published and yours didn't.
2) Record a reading of your rejection letters and play them back to yourself while you sleep.
3) Give up caffeine.
4) Start an strict exercise routine so your muscles all hurt.
5) Call upon memories of a cheating ex.
6) Think of a time YOU got in trouble for something someone else did.
7) Play some computer or video games and find out how much fun it is to blow stuff up.
8) Write a SIDE STORY where you torture a character you really hate from one of those bad books in step one and realize if you are truly ROTTEN, it is actually fun to READ.
9) Think about your cantankerous partner getting rid of something you love because it was 'in his way'.
10) Make yourself wear pants. Pants make EVERYONE mean.
While I am too nice, I am NOT a happily ever after gal. Endings that are too tidy or where 'love' is the solution to everybody's problem are a little too saccharine for me, but there is one thing I really am a stickler for in my endings. I want to experience some sense of JUSTICE. I want the downtrodden to get a little triumph. I want the arrogant jerks to get their comeuppance. I want the sweet, innocent people to have gotten a little dose of reality *shifty* (maybe that last one is just me). I can live with good stuff for the bad guy if he or she has gotten a really hard lesson.
Jaded
You know what I really can't tolerate. Beautiful people. I mean I can if they are a side character, and their behavior is either stereotypically bitchy or disarmingly NICE. But beautiful people as MCs who seem oblivious and have no CLUE they are beautiful? Not buying it. Characters everybody wants to date? Then they darned well better either be a jerk because of it, or embarrassed by it. They certainly are AWARE or they are NOT realistic. For some people, beauty is a tool, and they use it. For OTHERS it is a burden and they hate that they can never tell whether others are genuine or not.
I also hate the 'romance formula'. I can get along with OTHER BOOKS that include romance... romantic suspense or chick lit with some side romance to go with a nice dose of personal growth. But a man being the answer to a woman's problems is never going to ring true.
One year ago today I added my stat counter, and I am thrilled that in that time, I've had 55,000+ blog hits, and according to the counter, that is by almost 19,000 individuals (though I am skeptical of that). I also had my 116th country yesterday and LOOK how darned cool that flag is! (Martinique)