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Out of Context

I know, right? So of course, I immediately assumed that this is a kindred spirit, a fellow writer, because that’s MY context.

MG = Middle Grade.

But then I realized . . . ummm . . . I could be wrong. Duh, duh, duh . . . [Those are the 3 notes of impending doom you hear after some nefarious revelation in a movie . . . just trying to create an atmosphere here.]

So first, I wanted to say something pithy about creating context for your characters, etc., etc. But it’s the end of a long weekend, and, well, you can guess what I’d say, right?

About the quarter?

And the chocolate cake?

And that other thing that I don’t even need to mention?

I thought so.

More importantly, I wanted you to fill in the blank for me. What does “MG” really stand for?

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Life of a Shiny New Idea (in pictures)

And to all my friends I was like, “Yeah, I got a shiny new idea.”:

But then I had to think a lot:

And I was like, “I thought shiny new ideas came all assembled!”:

But I wrote and I wrote until I was like:

And, “Squirrel!”:

And “Oooh! Housecleaning!”:

I was going to get back to it, but then I saw this book that looked MUCH more interesting than mine:

And wait, “Is that another squirrel?”:

And then Darling Husband asked how my book was coming, and I’m like, “GET OFF MY BACK, I’ll get to it!”:

“I just really like housecleaning.”:

And then I’m like, “What am I saying?”:

“There are way better ways to waste my time!”:

So how do ya’ll stay on task?

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Winner and Thoughts about “The Journey”

Finally! After all the debates and hullaballoo, we have a winner!! *throws confetti*

Amy gathered the names. Her daughter, very fairly, drew a name from a hat. And the winner is . . .

Congratulations!

You can email either me or Amy and let us know which prize you choose:

1) TWO 10-page critiques (1 from Amy & 1 from me)

OR

2) The SURPRISE package!!!

Thank you to everyone who entered our contest and passed along congratulations to our amazing friends. 🙂

So I’ve been thinking a lot about this whole writing journey lately. I remember when I first started writing with the idea of getting published. So much excitement! Every word on the page was magic, and everything I wrote was brilliant.

I didn’t stop to consider the reality of the publishing world and all the hurdles I’d have to overcome to get my book in print. I just wrote. And I loved every minute of it! I subjected my (then new) husband to first drafts and he laughed in all the right places and told me he just knew I’d be published some day. (See why he’s a keeper?!) 🙂

Good times, those.

But, of course, that doesn’t last forever. The rejections came. I still remember my very first conference critique by a real live editor. “It sounds like you haven’t found your voice,” he said.

Oh, but that hurt.

And then my first critique group. My perfected chapters came back covered in ink.

That first rejection from that first query. I think it took a little under an hour to receive it in all it’s “Dear Author” glory.

And the list goes on.

More often than I care to express, I wondered if all this effort was worth it? With all the rejection, why did I think I could ever reach that shiny goal of seeing my words in print, and my name on the cover?

Two things kept me going.

First, was remembering why I started writing in the first place. Remembering the sheer joy of bringing a world alive and watching others react to it. How could I give that up? WHY should I give that up just because I hadn’t been published yet?

Second, was this quote:

“Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising
every time we fall.”

 

Confucius

551 — 479 B.C

Success is not achieving something we can’t control. Success is moving forward in the face of difficulties. It’s not giving up just because something is hard.

And that my friends, is pretty awesome. Because we can control that.

I’d love to hear about your journey, and how you define success, too.

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Too Close to Call

We tried.

You tried.

But the consensus? It was just too close to call.

We can’t tell who ate more ice cream!

Besides, it’s like Theresa Milstein said in her comment, “How can anyone lose in a game of ice cream?”

Which is GREAT news because now everyone who voted for either person will be entered in the drawing! Hurray! *throws confetti*

We’ll announce the winner Monday, so be sure to come back to find out if it was you!

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In Which We Eat Ice Cream

We did it.

We came.

We saw.
We got on Skype at the same time (even though Amy’s mic was broken so I had to talk to her on the phone).

We even had the same kind of ice cream.

And our nine-year-old boys STUFFED OUR FACES. (Mine may have enjoyed it a little too much. If you listen closely, you can hear him cry with wicked glee, “This is the most amazing day of my life!” Uh huh.)

Here’s my video evidence of the grand competition.


But we have a little problem. Amy and I are in grave disagreement about who won. Amy says I ate the most ice cream. I say she ate the most ice cream. We need your help.

Who ate the most? Watch Amy’s video here to decide and leave a comment on one of our blogs. We’ll add up the votes and make our decision on Wednesday. Then we’ll announce the ULTIMATE WINNER of our blog competition next Monday (find out what the awesome prizes are here).

And one last congrats to all our friends! You KNOW we love you after seeing these videos, right? 😉

P.S. I sense questions coming over the little cutie trying to get in on the ice cream eating action. Her arm, you ask? Yup, it’s newly broken. But it’s just a hairline fracture, and she’s a trooper. She’s more upset by the splint than the break. She’ll be back to good health before you can blink. 🙂

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Ice-Cream Eating Celebration Contest!

Holy Cow, has it really been a MONTH since I posted?!
Unbelievable. So I stayed busy doing this:

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Tying Up Random Odds and Ends

First thing to tie up: Around mid-week I realized that I FORGOT to choose the winner of Leigh Moore’s THE TRUTH ABOUT LETTING GO. So I am rectifying that right now. Random.org has spoken and the winner is:

Hurray! *throws confetti* Congratulations! I have e-mailed you, so check your inbox. 🙂

Second, a few of you had some questions about last week’s blog hop. Did I end up with S or X? (If any of you wondered about M . . . he’s my brother, so ewww! Did NOT end up with him).

Darling Husband

The answer to that burning question is neither. I met darling husband a couple of months later, and I’d like to say the drama ended there. Since I can’t, I will say that I am ever so grateful I ended up with who I did. He’s a keeper!

Finally, the last loose end to tie up is my annual April blog break. What with A to Z going on, and some serious revisions on my plate, I am going to disappear for the month (or so). I wish you all happy April, and hope you all the best. I look forward to lots of good news when I return in May.

Happy Blogging!

P.S. Happy April Fool’s Day! May you play some fun jokes on people who appreciate your humor. 😉

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My So-called Teenage Life Blog Hop

Today I am joining this fabulous blog hop hosted by Andrea of Maybe It’s Just Me, Christa
Desir and Amy Sonnichsen.

We are supposed to post an old entry from our teenage journal, but alas, my old journals (which are embarrassingly hilarious) are all buried in a box in my parents home (a couple of states away). Yeah, I should probably finish moving my stuff out of my parents’ house now that I’ve been married over 11 years.(!!!)

But since I haven’t done that, I’m posting a journal entry from pre-married life. I read through these with hubby, and they are also quite embarrassingly hilarious. So sit back, enjoy, and maybe blush once or twice for my former self. 🙂 [Note: The ellipses are all in the original text. No skipping here. I just really liked ellipses.]

2/22/00 — I went skiing, for the first time this season, yesterday with M– (bro.). We went to Beaver Creek up in Logan. It was okay . . . except that it got really hot and the snow got kindof slushy. The first time down I did a major face plant. I still have a sore neck. 😡 Later in the day, M– took a bad fall and I think he got a mild concussion because he lost his short term memory. It was kindof scary. It started with: “Wow, I can’t remember how I crashed. Which lift did we go up last time?” How did I fall? . . . Oh, well which lift did we got up last time? . . . ” etc. I decided that we should go home.

You know, so much has happened yet I don’t want to go back and relive it all right now. . . . I got a guitar for Christmas.

 9/10/2000 – S– told me that on both Friday & Saturday he wanted to come over with his engagement ring and propose on the spot. He said he decided he could give up chocolate for me and that even the cooking thing wouldn’t bother him, but that he didn’t want to lose my friendship over chocolate (that had been one of his concerns). He did say, however, that he couldn’t give up hunting. 🙂 Funny boy. If only it were as simple as that. He invited me over and offered to come over, but I told him “no.”

I can’t tell you how tempting it is. First, I really do care about S– and I am really attracted to him. The thought of leaving the whole dating scene is very tempting, and then I wouldn’t end up as one of those old maids to whom everyone always gives those sympathetic looks. But, unfortunately, I just don’t feel good about it. I don’t know if it’s just silly fears or not, . . . Anyway, so I have to admit that my first proposal wasn’t at all like I imagined. It feels nice to know that someone cares about me that much, but it feels awful having to tell him that I don’t feel the same way.

4/23/01 — Oh! One thing I forgot to write is that X– told me that he had been interested in asking me out right when S– and I started dating. He told me that he was just getting ready to make his move when the whole S– thing started. He said he was really jealous and it was like an extra twist to the heart that S–‘s real name was [the same as his]. This might sound awful, but I was glad to know that it made him jealous. It’s always interesting to hear things from a different perspective.

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Okay, I’m sure that’s more than enough. Oh, the drama! I just want to smack myself sometimes. Ya think it was a concussion? Just because he lost his short term memory?!!! But hey, I got a guitar for Christmas. 🙂

And gosh, my view of “old maids.” I was how old? I think I read too much Anne of Green Gables growing up.

But oh the, “interesting to hear things from a different perspective” bit. Interesting indeed, My Former Self. Interesting indeed. *Shakes head*

Have a great day ya’ll!

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Interview with Leigh T. Moore and a Giveaway!

So Leigh T. Moore’s book, The Truth About Letting Go has been out
a couple of weeks and is doing awesome! Read all about it HERE.

So what else is there to do but have a
giveaway? Hurray! *throws confetti* One lucky commenter will win a copy of The Truth About Letting Go, just let me know in the comments you’re
interested, and leave me a way to contact you.

Last day to enter is March. 24, and
I’ll post the winner on Monday, March 25th. Best of luck!

In the mean time, since I already interviewed
Leigh HERE, I let my 3-year-old do the honors to give you a fresh perspective
on this amazing author. 🙂

Me: If I don’t hear from you in a while, I’ll confiscate Girlie’s wand. See if I can figure out the reverse spell! 😉

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We are Gladiators!

I got a little crazy this weekend and did a mud run with one of my CP’s—Tessa, from over at Ink & Angst.

We couldn’t help comparing the whole thing to writing. The obstacles you face that sometimes seem impossible. (Finding time. Filling plot holes. Revising. Revising again. Revising AGAIN).

But then you manage it, even though you were sure you couldn’t . . .

But sometimes you hit an obstacle that you just can’t overcome (totally did NOT make it up that rope) . . .

So you have to find a different way around. And it’s not what you planned, but it’s OKAY. It works. Until finally you come into that home stretch.

And you may be a little covered in mud, and different for your experience . . . wiser. But you did it! You wrote a book! And it’s doggone something to be proud of.

So what did ya’ll do this weekend? 😀

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