WAHOO!!!

Yesterday was the first notification in the Amazon/Penguin novel contest. I made it through the first round. I can't begin to tell you how stoked I am! After I read my name I immediately emailed my critique group to let them know. Their support is wonderful. I got replies from everyone wishing me well and rooting for me to go the distance. I smiled and yelled so much I got a headache and my face hurt. But it was a good ache.

I went to the gym as usual. The excitement pushed me to workout really hard. Between the exercise and the thrill of getting to the next round wore me out. By 9 pm my eyes were seriously at half mast. I forced myself to stay awake a little longer, but not much.

I didn't get much rest, though. I went to sleep, but I dreamed about it the whole night. I woke up this morning with my face aching from all that smiling. I can't wait for the next round of the contest. I so hope I'm still in it.

WAHOO!!!

Action!

Today I'm sitting in front of my computer deciding how to write a particular action sequence. It's a part of my stories that I love the most. I like the pace of it. I like orchestrating the fight, battle, or attack. It gives me a thrill that nothing else seems to. My critique members enjoy those parts of my manuscripts, but I'm often asked why I have a flair for action rather than romance.

I'm not really sure. It's the same with what I enjoy reading or the movies I prefer. I'm pretty sure it's not the blood or gore. I don't care that much for slasher movies or horror. I'd have to say it's the pace and power of the scene.

When I'm writing, I see every blow delivered and received. I hear the scuffle and struggle of clothing, bodies hitting the ground, the grunts and groans of the combatants. I watch the placement of the characters' bodies and feet. I experience the aftermath of both sides. This a part of the book that comes alive for me. Not that I don't enjoy the other bits, like scene or character building, because I love those too. I just get really involved in the sequence and effect of the action. All of that movement going on in my head is invigorating.

What's your favorite part?

What's Hiding in My Mind?

Here's what's hiding in my mind, lots of books waiting to be written. They're rolling around in there, rattling against each other. The better question is, how do I get all of them out without my fingers falling off from the mad tap-tapping of the keyboard? I guess I'll just have to rely on God's superglue. Here's hoping it lasts a few more years, better make that decades.

I have so many ideas bouncing around in my brain, sometimes it's hard to keep them all straight. I write them down so that I don't lose them, but the stack of paper that they're written on is almost to manuscript length! No matter, I am determined to get them done.

A lot of the ideas sound good at first. When I start fleshing one out into a story it becomes apparent that the idea needs a lot more work, more time to 'cook'. There is no way that thing is ready to meet the public.

I got this idea about one story that had a being from another world that wanted to live on Earth. That part isn't so bad. Watching this being experience our planet's lower gravity, teens with extreme fashion, and junk food were a little trite, and that's being kind. I still think it's a decent idea, it just needs more time in the imagination oven.

I would like to think that I'm not the only one who experiences this, but I could be wrong. Does you brain burst with ideas? Do you ever have ideas that just don't hold up under the scrutiny of being put on paper?

Exhausted

I am completely exhausted. I have decided to enter a YA manuscript contest. Reading all of the rules (every word), making sure I understand each guideline, and putting together the submission packet has left me completely wrung out. And I still have the pitch and the author's bio to do. Who would have thought that this would be such hard work? Certainly not me.

I remember what it was like preparing, every night, for my comprehensive exams to proceed from master's level to doctoral. I feel exactly like that! Like then, the information is not new, nor is it anything I haven't done before. It's the emotional impact. Hooley-looley, this is draining.

My brain is numb. I can't think clearly enough to put together decent sentences, hence, the run-ons that are written here. I have decided to give myself a break from it all. I'm going to play solitaire until my mind has detangled enough to follow one thought to the next.

Another Day in the Neighborhood

I was thinking yesterday about what direction I want my life to take. It seems I often come back to this question. I guess it's because writing is so up in the air for me. I have no idea when someone will like what I write enough to publish it. I have no idea if when I get published what sort of following I'll have. And, at this moment, I'm still learning about connecting and networking in the writing neighborhood.

I read several blogs and I comment on them. Several people read mine and comment there. I'm on facebook and have 'friended' several writers, some published in my genre and some not. I guess what I'm trying to figure out is developing relationships with some of them. I have the members of my critique groups, but I would like more. I'd like to be a part of a social/professional network of writers, especially those who write for children.

Attending conferences and workshops has been a source of connection, but somehow we drop the ball in maintaining that. I have created great connections in the world of psychologists, but I haven't quite figured it out in the writing arena. So I will keep at it until I find the neighborhood and move in.

New Routine

Okay, so here I go. I've put together a new writing routine and hopefully I will get much more done. The old one was not challenging enough and left too many gaps for me to slip through. Now let's see how much this one helps.

I have neglected to do this for myself in the past because with my work schedule I had to squeeze it in whereever I could. It was not only a time factor, but one of energy and space in my brain. Being a psychologist I would often come home with so much buzzing around in my head ,I just needed to do something that would numb it. Now that I've retired, that is no longer the case. These days I have to remind myself that I have the energy and space to get it done, and tell mysel to go to it.

It's amazing to me that since I enjoy writing so much I would have to remind myself to get more done. I really do love writing. My brain feels differently when I'm doing it, literally. I think it has something to do with right brain vs left brain and may involve some level of endorphins. I wonder if this happens for others, too.

Do you notice a difference between writing and doing some other task? Let me know.

Cruises

Wouldn't it be fun to take a week-long cruise that was specifically for writers? I have this fantasy that all of my favorite authors and editors would be there.Then they would agree to facilitate writing workshops offering their expertise. Of course the editors would tell us what they are looking for and invite us to submit our work.

What a wonderful dream. I love getting professional feedback and direction. I wonder if a cruise like that could really happen? If there were, I would be among the first to book that trip. I get so much out of attending conferences that offer professional critiques. It gives me an idea of what I need to focus on.

I remember the first time I submitted something for critique. I was so nervous I took a digital recorder with me because I knew I would never be able to remember what was said. Their feedback was extremely helpful. It gave me a different perspective in the direction of the WIP.

This year I'm putting together a list of conferences and workshops to make sure I don't miss the ones I'm really interested in. To date, my favorite conference has be the SCBWI Summer Conference and the Agents' Day workshop put on by my regional chapter of the same organization. These two events have given me help, direction, and encouragement.

What are your favorites?

A great and Wonderful Year!

Happy New Year!

I'm really excited about this year--2010! I expect it to be a great one. I get a chance to do things I didn't get to do last year. Things like finishing the projects I'm working on, learning new writing skills, and meeting new writing friends. I hope you are one of them

This year I plan to write new stories and challenge myself to write that mystery I've always wanted to. I am so excited! Just think of all the things I can do with 365 days. I can't wait to get started.

I won't keep you long, I'm sure you have things you're dying to get back to. But I want to say one more thing. Keep up the good work, my writing friends and should we meet, let's share a story or two.

Holidays and Me

I was sitting and thinking about writing and all of the holiday frenzy. How am I going to squeeze it all in? Then it occurred to me that maybe my focus was a little off. Instead of concentrating on what there is to do I need to put my efforts and energy into who I'm doing it with and  why I'm doing it. I'm doing this because of the relationships that surround me.

These people keep me going. When it feels like I'll never reach my goal, whatever it happens to be, they are the ones who cheer me on. Without them, all of them, I would very likely give up because at times it feels too hard, out of my reach.

They are also the ones that keep me honest, espceially with myself. When I come up against the wall, they are the ones that ask me if the task is too hard, is it that I don't want it that much, or am I just being a bit lazy. I could not be who I am without them.

I have a never-ending love for my family and friends and a consuming love for the One I call God. They keep me going, help me to grow, and it is because of them I strive to be a better person, that includes becoming a better writer. They are the true gift to me, not just for this season, but for my life.

As this year comes to a close, I look behind and see what a blessing each has been to me. I look forward to a better year. A year that includes enjoying my time with all of them, and maybe a little more with my wonderful grandchildren. It has been agreat year!

My Critique Genies

Last time I told you about the amazing people who help me in my quest to become a better writer. Here they are.

This is our most junior member, Lola. She looks like she's sleeping, but don't let that fool you. Lola lets me know when something isn't working. That lady next to her is her mom, Sarah. She

keeps me on target with age appropriate voice.

This is our senior member, Marian. She makes sure my timelines are accurate. Without her, who knows where I'd place the important things.


And here are all the others in between. My wonderful genies of truth.

I can count on these two, Carol (left) and Lynn, for help with grammar and humor. Carol reminds me when I've put in too many eating scenes.She also shares my love for science fiction.

This is Steve, our lonely male. We have another male member, but he wasn't there the day I took pictures. Steve makes sure I trim the fat in my writing. He's another one that's into sci-fi like me.

These two are Maria (left) and Leah. Maria put our group together and for that I will always be grateful. She keeps my writing smoothe. Leah keeps my humor spot-on. She's also the G-Mama to our junior memeber.

And these are Kathy (left) and Julie. Kathy helps me with fluidity and action. Julie keeps me on target with age of audience, checks my action, and straightens out the strange way I like to phrase things.

These are my wonderful Writing Genies. Without their help my writing would well and truly suck. They are all wonderful writers. Maybe not Lola, yet. But stay on the lookout for her. Anyone who starts this young is going to be awesome. By the way, Kathy, Maria, and Lynn, have just released their newest middle grade book, Monster Moon: Curse at Zala Manor. Be sure and get a copy. It's great.

The Blessngs of a Great Critique Group

Being a part of a critique group is a wonderful thing. Without them my writing would flounder, but with them it has grown. I have been a part of a group that is specific to children's literature. I can't even begin to tell you how helpful it has been.

Do they always say what I want to hear? Absolutely not. If they did, how would I grow? They say things that are very helpful. For example, when I think I have written a scene that I think is clear. They tell me when it isn't. And not only that it isn't clear, they tell me why. Often I think the scene is all in place because it's so clear in my ehad. The problem is that the reader doesn't have the benefit of my mind to look into. They can only see what's on the page. Imagine that.

Most surprising is when something I've done is spot-on. They laugh in the right places, gasp when the main character is in danger, or cry when a favorite lesser character dies. That puts me into orbit.

The best thing is that they are people who will tell me the truth. As a writer I can fall into the trap of believing that my work does what I want it to do. Sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn't. I can always count on this group of writers to tell me what really is. That is worth more than I could ever say. And it is because of that truth that my writing grows.

Christmas. Really?

How on earth did Christmas sneak up on me? I can't believe the year has slipped by. I drive through the neighborhood and see everyone's lights and decorations. So I guess it's official. We're in the Christmas season.

Last year I thought about writing a piece with the holiday specifically in mind. I guess that won't be happening this year. There's no way I'm going to add another project right now. Once I get the others finished I'll work on that one. I have this crazy idea about writing a series of whacky short stories aimed at the holidays. I think it would be fun.

How many holidays are there? Do I include presidents' days? How about the ones that we don't really celebrate, like May Day? I'll bet I can come up with a lot of different days.

Let's see, there are the usual ones like Christmas and Thanksgiving. Then there are the one that don't get a lot of attention like Grandparents Day or the first day of spring.

How many 'minor' holidays can you name?

Writing and Blogging

Wow! I'm having one heck of a time keeping this blog current. It's definitely not that I don't enjoy it. It's that I am working on three projects at a time. I get sucked into whichever project I'm working on. Now, I'm doing that times three.

Sometimes I think maybe I should put a couple of them on hold until I get one finished. But I can't decide which ones to put away. I really love them all. Since I'm not under a deadline for any of them, I guess it doesn't matter. I just need to figure out where to get this blog into my schedule.

I've thought about working ahead and scheduling them to post at regular intervals, but that feels a little impersonal. I wonder why that it? Do any of you use this feature?

Well, that's that, then. I've fought it as long as I could. I need to commit to a particular schedule to get it all done. No more free floating.

Back to the Beginning

Lately I've been thinking about my writing, particularly its growth or lack of. I pulled out a couple of my early manuscripts...oh, my. It's funny how when I started writing I thought I was really good. NOT! I can't believe all of the 'writing crimes' I committed.

I started with picture books. I wrotes stories that really were only interesting to adults. They had an adult voice. And the worst was that they went on and on and on. The word counts were rediculous. It didn't take too long before I realized that picture books were not my forte.

Then I wrote a chapter book. It was better than the PB but not by much. I had animal characters that talked like wooden statues and the storyline left something to be desired. So I moved on to Middle Grade.

I had greater success there. By now I was actually reading books on writing and read through some MG. The storyline was age appropriate and could possibly interest my target group. But...and there really is a but, the execution was horrendous. Then I made a wonderful move, I joined a critique group.

I can't tell you the improvement in my work, though it didn't happen overnight. What I learned was that I have a decent voice for MG, but when I tried my had at Young Adult, I found myself.

Here are the things that I learned I am pretty good at and still perfecting. My voice for YA works. My imagination is perfect for science fiction. No surprise there since that's what I love to read. The surprise was that I found that I'm really good at writing action sequences!

I shouldn't have been surprised about that since I love books and movies that are fairly fast-paced. I prefer a lifestyle with exciting things happening in it. And I married a man who plays football and is a firefighter by profession. That right there should have told me something.

Then I discovered conferences and workshops. What a find! There is so much to learn and it's all right there waiting for me. I even found the courage to submit to the critiques. The feedback is invaluable! I've even had a few of the top editors enjoy my writing.

Now I'm closer than ever to reaching my goal. And what is that? My goal is beyond publication. What I am striving for is to become such a good writer that when one of my readers sets my book down, they are  shocked at being some place other than the scene they just read. That is my goal and I plan to get there!

To Web or Not to Web

I've been thinking and wondering about creating a website. My author friends say that it is a must even though I'm not published yet.

Okay, so lets say I put one up. Now what the heck do I put on it? Some say I should put up excerpts from any of my WIPs. Others tell me to create new stories just for the website. How on earth do I figure out what to do? Shoot I'm still trying to figure out the whole blog thing.

So today I go to one of my critique groups. After going through everyones' work we sat around chatting. About what? You know it was the website issue. We went on line and looked at each of theirs. They were beautiful and full of things they have published, fiction and non-fiction. One of the members has over sixty books out there and working on more.

Me? I'm chugging along, writing and querying, looking for my first contract. The only thing that I have published is my doctoral thesis. I don't think there are that many people out there interested in the statistics of child sexual abuse. While there might be a few, it doesn't make for happy reading. And since I write YA, the number of interested people decreases exponentially.

Which brings me back to my original question, should I have a website and if I did, what would I put on it? I'm not even sure how to begin thinking about the process and deciding what it should be or how it should look.

I would love to hear about someone's process. How they decided to create a website or what made them decide not to do it.

No NaNo

This is the month that billions of writers (it could happen) are busily banging out those new manuscripts for the National Novel Writing Month. Just not me. I've tried it before and it's more than a can do. Not that I can't write that many words, or that I can't sit at the computer that long, it's that my brain doesn't work like that. In my process I have to day-dream each scene and write it out several times until it fits. Then there's that O/C side of me that needs to perfect each paragraph before I can let it stand. I go through this process for each draft. Completing NaNo does not allow time for this, at least not for me.

So, this month, I'll just be chugging along at my usual rate. Writing through my WIP until that draft is done and then work on another. I take my hat off to those who complete NaNo. It's definitely an interesting challenge with some side benefits.

This morning I'm chugging in contemporary America, but tonight I'll be in another galaxy. I do get around.

The Truth and Nothing but the Truth

Okay, here's the truth. I've been busy working on a short story. It's been a bear keeping the story tight, concise, and flowing. I've been so buried in that and rewriting other works that I haven't taken the time to blog. I know, I know...bad blogger, bad blogger. I considered putting myself in time out, but that would just keep me away longer.

Several people I know are gearing up for Nano. How can I write fifty thousand words when I'm trying to get these five thousand words to work and flow? Who would have thought it would be this hard. Well, actally I did. I went into this thinking that it would make  my writing tighter, and it is. But figuring out changing scenes with a smooth transition and very few words has got me stumped.

So if anyone has an idea or suggestion, I would gladly hear it.

Okay, So I'm a Little Slow

Yep, it took me this long to think about writing something other than novel length pieces. Today I've been online finding a list of publications that work exclusively with flash fiction. I have a new inspiration!

Imagine, writing something that could get published that doesn't have the length of commitment of a novel. But there's a caveat, there's always a caveat. Writing shorter pieces means that my writing has to be tighter than tight and come up with a beginning, middle, and end in a very few pages.

Actually, come to think of it, doing this will, more than likely, improve my writing. What an idea. Doing something that will make me a better writer! Okay, I'm being sarastic, but I'm really jazzed. Now I have all kinds of ideas buzzing around in my head. I can't wait to get started.

Have you ever thought about writing short stories, short-shorts, or flash fiction?

We Know What We Want

How often have we been told by editors and agents in conferences,  workshops, and seminars "We know what we're looking for but it's not something we can easily tell you. We can only say that we will know it when we see it"? Too often, but I get it.

No one knows what will sell or what will take off and be the next big hit. How do you gauge what the market will do? There are ways to estimate, extrapolate, or guess what people are looking for, but it's all a crapshoot. In addition to that, the unpredictability of adolescence blows it all out of the water. So I get it when they give the non-answer. It just makes things a little more difficult.

So what started this whole rant of mine? I was playing with my grandson. We were listening to one of his CD's and a song by the Backyardigans struck me as the perfect description of this process. The song comes form The Legend of the Volcano Sisters. The first lines are: We know what we want. We know what we don't want, so give us what we want. Then the Luau Brothers ask the Volcano Sisters what they want, to which they respond, We Won't tell. The song continues with the same questions and the same response.

I had to laugh, it was the perfect depiction of the process. I don't know how many of you have small children or are familiar with this program, but I suggest that you  give it a listen. Great fun!

Submitting

Yesterday I mailed two manuscripts to two of the invitations I got this summer. I have no idea how they will be received, but they are out there. There are times that I procrastinate sending out my work because I don't always know if it is the right person to send it to.

I do the research before hand or like in this case someone asks for that piece. You would think that that might give me an edge. Not. By the time the work gets read, the company could have decided that they already have enough of this type. Or, their focus has changed and they are no longer looking for that kind of story. It is such a crap-shoot.

Well it really doesn't matter because I'm bitten by the writing bug and I will never stop. One day I will land the right piece with the right person. I hope the day that happens I'm in a well carpeted area because I'm sure I'll faint and fall flat on my face. But it's worth the risk.

So now I work on the next thing. Gotta keep that writing fix going.