New Beginnings

New Beginnings I'm at a new phase in life and feel a little lost. My kids are leaving the nest and I suddenly have a lot more time on my hands. I look ahead and wonder what to do with my life. I have causes I want to support, and pursuits I've never pursued at the level I want to. There's so many things I want to do. I already have a part-time job I love, working as a receptionist at my son's high school, but I definitely want to focus on writing, creating, personal growth and physical health with the rest of my time.

Writing has always been a passion of mine, but in the past I've worked on it in waves instead of keeping a consistent practice. I've always dreamed of writing books and I want to take that dream seriously. I have a need to express myself.  So my focus will be to simply practice the art of writing/documenting, send off articles and build my writing skills.

Creating art comes in at a close second to writing. I love so many forms of creativity: painting, hand-lettering, singing, doodling, drawing, acting, coloring, knitting, dancing, stamping, chalking, playing, embroidering, and on. Practicing this one comes easy for me, I find it easier to do everyday because it's easier to start and stop. I want to focus on drawing and doodling; I'd also like to continue learning ukulele.

Personal growth is an obsession with me. My personality leans towards analyzing, so it easily transfers to my own behavior. I enjoy the puzzle of learning how to live better, react better, work better and any other kind of improvement. I feel a bit smothered if I don't have something to work towards. I want to continue pursuing that, sharing the tips and resources I find helpful.

Health is a hard one for me. Of course I want to be healthy, but this has always eluded me. I've held the wrong belief that I'm not a "health nut". Somewhere I started believing that if you were a healthy person then you weren't fun. I know that's totally ridiculous, but deep down I believed it and I've worked to change that wrong belief. Over the past year I've been alternating between eating vegetarian and/or vegan and I feel better. But I think I've been a bit of a junk-food vegan and I'm trying to eat more whole foods now. I'd also love to be in better shape, so I need to incorporate an exercise program that I can make a habit of my daily routine.

Sharing I'll be sharing my journey here and on social media to have accountablity. Sharing online helps me stay focused.

How do you handle transition? Have you ever wondered what to be when you grew up ~ even at middle age?

Inspiration Friday: Wild Thing

Being outside daily in the frigid air has made me long for jungle temperatures which may have inspired this piece.

BUT...

She reminds me of the MC in my middle grade novel simmering in my desk drawer.  I miss her.  Is that weird?  Maybe you shouldn't answer that...

What are you working on?

The Danger of Writing...

About a week ago, I went to have my fingerprints taken for a new part-time job (it's the law). It sounded intriguing. The lady at the education center began dipping my fingers in ink and rolling them on little paper squares.

I watched mesmerized.  After about twenty failed papers, she exasperatedly told me I needed to go to the Sheriff's office so they could use the big scanner thingy and get a print.

Big scanner thingy?  I drove to the police station excited to see the machine. (Obviously, I don't get out much!)  The administrator worked fifteen minutes trying to get the scanner to read my fingers.  She brought in boss lady.

"Why is it so hard to scan my prints?" I asked.

"You've worn them off," boss lady replied with bored irritation.

Worn them off?  Thoughts of becoming a spy filled my head.  "How did I wear them off?"

She barely refrained from rolling her eyes.  "Lots of typing, washing your hands too much...that sort of thing."

Weirdly it made me feel special.  I mean, I'VE TYPED MY FINGERPRINTS OFF!!!

Is it just me, or is it thrilling that writers and nurses may be the least traceable people in the world?

Deadline November

Thirty picture book ideas?  Done!  :) :) :D  No one said they had to be brilliant, right?

How did your writing go this November?  Did you finish NaNoWriMo or PiBoIdMo or write more than a comma?

Closet of my Soul

"I knew I was supposed to be a writer; I had made that declaration in the closet of my soul." -- Padgett Powell

Some writers dream of writing stories from childhood (usually the ones with their noses in books).  And other writers catch the writing bug later in life.

When did you discover what you wanted to be when you grew up?  Years ago?  Months ago?  Yesterday?

For all you book lovers, check out Shannon O'Donnell's blog.  She's having an AWESOME giveaway.  You pick the books!

How Much Did You Write?

I participated in Patti Nielson's blogfest where we kept track of our writing times each day for a week.  I'll be honest--I wanted to have huge numbers. I hoped to find out that I write four hours a day (cuz let's be real, sometimes one hour feels like that!) but nope, I continued to clock out at one mere hour per day.

I am writing.  It may not be as much as I COULD or possibly SHOULD be, but I'm tinkering away at something and getting somewhere with it.  And I suppose after thirty days of thirty hours or after three hundred and sixty-five days of three hundred hours (not sixty-five because I'll be enjoying some of those driving-with-the-windows-down sort of days), I COULD have a sizable book finished.  Or several.

I know, it's no NaNo, but it's something.  Thanks Patti.

Coffee Break

Coffee Break

I've been looking for a non-busy coffee shop to write in during the morning hours (since I can't seem to get it done at home--the dishes call to me).  I finally found one that is busy in the evening but DEAD in the morning.  Can you imagine?

It's got comfy chairs.  Beautiful artwork.  Lots of tables to choose from.  Plus the coffee is wonderful!!  BIG plus.  I'm so excited.  Squeeee!!!

Where is your favorite place to write?

The Next Page

You know that part in writing when you have a plan mapped out but you're not sure HOW you're going to get there?  When you're partway in the story and writing is kind of like watching the next scene in a movie because you don't know what's going to happen?

That's where I'm at right now.  And it's fun.  Something I haven't felt in a while.  My actual writing feels pretty lame but the story is fun.  I'll have to go back and tinker with wordage later but I'm trying not to overthink it too much and keep myself focused on the story.

This is where I usually start to fade.  Halfway into the manuscript, I freeze.  I know, of course, that the middle is hard.  I've read plenty of blogs/books on that subject; but for me it's more about feeling like my words aren't pretty enough, or the story is not original enough.  I don't want to think that way this time.  I just want to enjoy the process of writing it.  And due to my new resolution, I'm making myself push through.

I seem to always assume others struggle where I do; but that's probably NOT an accurate assessment. ;)  So I'm curious, what's the hardest part of writing a story for you?

Dishwater Writing

"The best time for planning a book is while you're doing the dishes."  ~Agatha Christie

I've been doing lots of this kind of writing lately.  The "I'm-doing-a-boring-chore-and-thinking-through-the-next-scene" kind of writing.  But I've also been doing quite a bit of the "sit-at-the-computer-and-please-just-put-SOMETHING-down" kind of writing too.  I've been working on a story that I'm in love with.  Although...it's still in the early stages; I haven't made it to the editing/hating phase yet.


But to keep my sanity and help organize my home, I had to slow down my computer time and put in elbow grease into the bathrooms and laundry.  Somehow this quote has really helped me.  I don't begrudge the tasks now; they've become my friends.  A place to develop dialog, or add to a scene, or even consider how my character's house looks.


When I'm neck-deep in life I struggle to keep up with writing (including blogging).  Even though I know that living life helps my writing; I struggle with compartmentalizing my writing life and my real life.  I would like them to sit happily side by side but I haven't figured out the beautiful balance of that yet.


How do you couple real life with your writing life?

Polaroid Manuscript

"Writing a first draft is very much like watching a Polaroid develop.  You can't--and, in fact you're not supposed to--know exactly what the picture is going to look like until it has finished developing." --Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird

With my manuscript, I feel as if I'm driving down a winding road completely lost (I'm directionally-impaired so this happens often).  Or as if I'm whacking my way through the jungle.  In the beginning I thought I was headed to a river on other side; but now I'm not sure.  I might even find a gorgeous waterfall along the way and stop there.  Being a planner, this is odd for me; but not knowing where I'll end up is feeling manically free.

Do you know where you're headed with your manuscript?

Wing Tip #8: Dig in Deeper

"Some let the dream go gracefully.  Others do not go gently, attempting to write over the years, beginning journals only to let them lapse, showing up for writing workshop only to disappear after the first session.  If this describes you, it does not mean that you lack ability, though it may mean you lack ego.  But if you can't give it up, if hearing how impossible the odds are only makes you dig in deeper, it doesn't really matter if you've got natural talent.  Your job is to marshal the talent you do have and find people who believe in your vision.  What's important, finally, is that you create, and that those creations define for you what matters most, that which cannot be extinguished even in the face of silence, solitude, and rejection." --Besty Lerner, from The Forest for the Trees, An Editor's Advice to Writers

I start a lot of things.  I don't always finish.  That thought sometimes echoes around my head.  You'll never finish this novel.

A week ago, I pulled out a box full of old school papers.  As I thumbed through paper after paper I discovered writings from my younger self.  First grade, a story about my family in which I was the princess.  Third grade, a tale with more heart.  On and on, I found papers I'd written up through college.  Two diaries half-finished and scraps of stories everywhere.  All a peek into my young mind.  And there was something warm and reassuring in those papers.

I hadn't quit.  I'm still writing.  And if anything, seeing my young dreams made me more determined to continue. I'll dig in deeper.

What's something from your past (or present) that keeps you writing?

Wing Tip #6: Script Your Story

Today my tip comes from a thin but powerful little book called The Business of Writing for Children by Aaron Shepard.  It's a quick read but packed with information.  It walks you through formatting a manuscript, submitting, book publishers, words that make pictures, rhythm and much more.

Script Your Story
Mr. Shepard recommends trying your manuscript as a play. If acted out onstage would the characters be talking or doing something?  Scripting helps eliminate too much telling since you don't want a narrator drolling on.  It will bring out what readers want (action and dialogue), as well as reveal where the story drags.

While this idea might seem better suited for picture books; I think it could be done scene by scene in a novel.

Have you scripted or done something similar with one of your stories?

I can be a bit salesman-ish with my gushing over beloved How-To books so I wanted you to know no one's bribing me to do this.  All these reviews are from my own library.   Valerie at Something to Write About always puts a disclaimer and now I'm going to copy her (hope you don't mind Valerie).  Here it is:

(FTC disclaimer: Unless stated otherwise, the books reviewed have either been purchased from a bookstore or borrowed from the local library.)

Trouble Writing?

Every writer I know has trouble writing.  ~Joseph Heller

I might be morbid because this line gives me hope.  Is it wrong to be glad other writers have trouble writing?  Okay...maybe not glad, but relieved.  I feel a bit less alone.  Facing that blank paper waiting for words can be overwhelming.  And yet those stories inside my head beg to be written.


What makes it hard to write?  For me, it falls into three categories:


1.  Lack of sleep.  When my brain is groggy my stories are soggy.  Can I help it if your blogs are so compelling they keep me reading long after bedtime?  Stop writing such alluring posts! (no, don't)


2.  Perfectionism.  No, not the kind as in my house is spotless and I line up the ends of the rug with a broom.  But the kind that obsesses over whether my MC's favorite color is orange or yellow.  Is she tangy or sunny?  Then there's the psycho voice that interrupts me in the middle of a paragraph. "You're going to write that?  In your new journal?  You're marring the page with mistakes!"  If I don't shut the critic up, I'm tempted to close my book and lock the pencil away for good.


3.  Life.  You know, those little people needing to eat; friends wanting coffee; hubby wanting...snuggles.  Pfff.  Geez people.



Do you have trouble writing?  (If not, please share a different vice so as not to make me hate you.)  What keeps you from writing?

Wing Tip #4: Hook Your Reader

Update:  Les Edgerton commented on this!  Thank you Mr. Edgerton.

Want to grab your reader and keep them spellbound?  Here's what Les Edgerton says in Hooked:

...the single biggest reason manuscripts get rejected is because the writer begins in the wrong place.  What's ironic is that manuscripts don't get rejected because the majority of the story is good and only the beginning is flawed--they get rejected because the agent or editor never gets to the good part to begin with.  A story that begins in the wrong place won't be read much past that point.  If the good stuff occurs later on, in all likelihood it will never be reached by the agent or editor.  

Mr. Edgerton knows this because he's been an editor.

What most good hooks have in common is that they have strong inciting incidents that plunge the protagonist immediately into trouble--the trouble that's going to occupy the rest of the story.

The surest way to involve the reader is to begin with an opening scene that changes the protagonist's world profoundly and creates a story-worthy problem.

He goes on to warn against Five Red Flag openings:

Red Flag 1: Opening with a dream
Never, ever, ever begin a narrative with action and then reveal the character's merely dreaming it all.  Not unless you'd like your manuscript hurled across the room, accompanied by a series of curses.


Red Flag 2: Opening with an alarm clock buzzing
Don't open with your protagonist waking up to an alarm clock ringing, or to someone shaking her awake, or to a cute little birdie chirping from her bedroom window, or to a blazing sun shining through the window.


Red Flag 3:  Being unintentionally funny
Don't write sentences like: "Was she going to come in or stay out on the porch, he thought to himself."  It's been fairly well verified down through the annals of history that when a human being thinks, he almost always does so to himself.


Red Flag 4:  Too little dialogue
One of the primary red flags for many editors and agents is the absence of dialogue on the first few pages of a manuscript.  All editors--no matter what the material, screenplay or novel or short story--look for lots and lots of nice white space.


Red Flag 5:  Opening with dialogue
This kind of opening was popular at the turn of the last century; it looks musty now.  The problem with beginning a story with dialogue is that the reader knows absolutely nothing about the first character to appear in a story.


I love openings with the promise of great adventure and an underdog.  What hooks you?