Category Archives: Writing

12×12 Challenge 2017

Posted in 12x12, Thewritersmatch, Writing by

 

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I never win anything…well, almost never. Once, when I was still working as a school librarian, I put in for a raffle for an autographed hockey puck. The puck was signed by Colin White who just happened to be the ONLY NJ Devil player whose autograph I hadn’t gotten that year. I crossed my fingers and waited for the raffle to be called. And wouldn’t you know it….I won! I was so excited to finally have that last autograph for my collection BUT, then I saw one of my second grade students in full-on ugly cry because he hadn’t won. I had to make a split-second decision: pretend I didn’t notice, keep the puck and hope he got over it or hand him over the puck. I chose to give him the puck. And while it made me feel good, I still don’t have Colin White’s autograph and I wonder what that kid has done with that puck 8 years later.

So what does that have to do with writing? Well, nothing, really, but it was my only good story about winning something. Now I have another good story about winning! At the end of last year, I saw a post for a scholarship contest for the annual 12×12 Challenge. For those who are not familiar with the challenge, go here. I decided, “Why not!?” and went for it. I was shocked when I received an email back so quickly from them but that shock wore off when they explained that I had forgotten to attach my manuscript. OOPS! Once I resent it, I figured I was as good as done but, lo and behold, I got an email saying that I was a winner. Check out the announcement here. There was no way I was giving this up to any sobbing person this time!

And, WOW, 12×12 has been great so far! Lots of wonderful people, advice, webinars, and chances to submit to agents. I’ve officially written 5 or 6 drafts so far (I lost count) but I am trying to write one exclusively each month. My February draft is so unique and exciting that I’ve already submitted it out. Fingers crossed! Maybe this will be my year to get back all of that good karma I put out into the world by giving away that puck (or maybe not, since I haven’t had anything go my way since I’ve won the scholarship). Perhaps I should give away a lot more stuff!

 

P.S. If you haven’t already signed up for thewritersmatch.com, the site is really moving along and there are lots of writers there swapping stories as we speak. Check it out and maybe you’ll find yourself a critique partner!

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P.P.S Here’s a picture of Colin White at the White House with George W. Bush. I bet he got an autograph!

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The Writers Match

Posted in Critique, Thewritersmatch, Writing by

I used to think that finding a good critique partner was akin to finding a unicorn. (and look at this adorable little chubby buddy)

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dorkydino.com

Well, it doesn’t have to feel that way anymore! I’m so excited to announce my brand new project:

The Writers Match is dedicated to helping you find that perfect critique partner so you can take your writing to the next level. So, if you are searching for a critique partner or just want some feedback on your work, www.thewritermatch.com is here to help. The best part is that it’s all free! Just sign up, create your profile and start searching for other writers. You may just find your unicorn!

Wild One

Posted in books, Owen, Wild One, Writing by

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I’m so happy to share that Wild One has finally come in. Wild One is a board book story that I had written about my late son, Owen. I had a friend and talented artist, Karen Gilmour, create the illustrations and then I gifted the book to my husband for Christmas. Let’s just say that I won Christmas this year. Can’t top this sweet book!

My goal for this book is for it to be used as a fundraiser for the wonderful foundation who built my son’s memorial playground: Where Angels Play. They are an amazing organization that brings so much joy to those who most need it. Soon I will partner with them to offer Wild One as well as another board book for sale. Please stay tuned for information on how you can purchase one for yourself. Also make sure you check out all of the great work Where Angels Play has done and continues to do.

These pictures though!:

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Looks so much like our Owen:

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Crossing the Finish Line

Posted in books, PiBoIdMo, Writing by

“The best kind of happiness is a habit you’re passionate about.”
― Shannon L. Alder

PiBoIdMo Winner!

PiBoIdMo is not just about coming up with 30 ideas, although that does help!, it’s about creating a habit. I’ve heard it said that it takes about 21 days to form a new habit. PiBoIdMo has helped me cultivate the habit of seeking out ideas and writing every idea, no matter how obscure, down.

 

I finished with 34 ideas and while many may never see the light of day, just the act of writing those sparks has created a life-long habit for me. That’s the key. I look forward to developing some of my PiBoIdMo ideas into drafts and continuing to look for inspiration everywhere.

 

Many thanks to Tara Lazar and all of the people who helped us along with their inspirational blog posts. Looking forward to making every month PiBoIdMo- that will be the best kind of happiness!

NJ SCBWI & PiBoIdMo

Posted in books, PiBoIdMo, SCBWI, Writing by

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Had a wonderful day yesterday at the NJ SCBWI Fall Craft Weekend. I wish I could have gone both days but I still learned so much from just attending Sunday. I was feeling run down and woefully unprepared but managed to soak in as much as possible and meet lots of people. I had lots of positive feedback for my manuscript and I am so grateful for the opinions and insights from the editors and agents I worked with.

PiBoIdMo 2015

I’ve also been participating in this year’s PiBoIdMo with the wonderful Tara Lazar. Please check out her site here for more information. While it’s too late to sign up officially, you can still decide to come up with an idea each day for the rest of the month for your own benefit. It’s been wonderful and challenging and I can’t urge you enough to try it for yourself.

Off to write idea #9!

Plot-asaurus Rex

Posted in books, WorkInProgress, Writing by

I don’t plot the books out ahead of time, I don’t plan them. I don’t begin at the beginning and end at the end. I don’t work with an outline and I don’t work in a straight line.

~Diana Gabaldon

 

As a writer, I can completely relate to Diana Gabaldon’s quote. Sometimes it’s just a nugget of an idea and I build around that. Other times it’s a character that comes to life and I write about what they are doing. Anyway it happens, I love when I get a spark of a story.

This year’s KidLit Summer School is focused on plot and I’ve been trying to soak it all in while working on my W-I-Ps and balancing summer life with the kids. It’s not easy, to say the least. There is so much good advice happening that if you haven’t checked out Nerdychickswrite.com yet, you’re seriously missing out.

Today, writer Lee Harper talked about plotting with post-it notes which is something I’ve done myself. It works for me because I’m a visual learner and I need to see things in their place. This is helpful when plotting a book with post-its and not so helpful when rearranging furniture in your house.

Me: “Maybe you can just move it there so I can see what it looks like.”

Husband: “It won’t fit there.”

Me: “Just try.”

Husband tries. *grunts* *curses*

Me: “Yeah, you’re right it doesn’t fit there. Oh! How about over here?!”

(This conversation may or may not have happened MANY times)

If you just need to see something in it’s space, then plotting with post-its is for you. Check out this link to see Lee explain it much better than I can.

The Voice. Like a Prayer.

Posted in Writing by

 

I hear your voice, it’s like an angel sighing
I have no choice, I hear your voice
Feels like flying

~Madonna

While I’m sure the Material Girl was not singing about voice in writing, I still feel like this applies. When you read your favorite author and mentally hear the words they have written, you connect to their voice and that’s what speaks to you. It’s the particular words that they choose, they way they turn a phrase or their cutting dialogue. It feels like flying.

So how do you get that writing voice? According to Kelly Delaney and that really cool webinar I took recently, there are four ways to work on finding your voice:

1. Practice. (I think this is sometimes the hardest)

  • Write every day (super hard for me!)
  • Don’t focus on finishing projects to share (not as hard for me)
  • Experiment with different styles and genres ( I haven’t tried this yet)

2. Talk to yourself (You mean, do what I’ve already been doing my whole life anyway? Check!)

  • Tell your story out loud (This makes a huge difference! Especially in my picture book manuscripts)
  • Pay attention to differences between spoken and written stories (Hmm, I will.)

3. Don’t force it (But I’m desperately trying to find my VOICE!)

  • Forcing strains voice (Oh…gotcha)
  • Don’t mimic other voices (Mimic not, I will.)
  • Rhyming makes things harder (But I got more rhymes than a Bible’s got Psalms! See it even worked for House of Pain)

4. Retelling (as I explained in my last post)

  • Take another piece of short text and tell that story in your own words (You can use my post and retell it in your words or go back to retelling obituaries, you weirdo, you.)

There you have it. Four practical ways to find your writing voice. Just like a prayer, I’ll take you there!

 

 

Double Vision

Posted in Writing by

You remember the Foreigner song, Double Vision? Let’s just take a moment to sing it a together:

Fill my eyes with that double vision
No disguise for that double vision
Ooh, when it gets through to me, it’s always new to me
My double vision gets the best of me

I have no idea what it means. The late 70’s were a weird time. What does this have to do about writing? Well, I’m glad you asked!

This past Friday I participated in a great webinar put out by Dr. Mira Reisberg and Kelly Delaney, Assistant Editor at Alfred A. Knopf. The main reasons why I signed up for this webinar was:

1. It was free

2. I need all the help I can get

3. Did I mention it was free?!

I wasn’t expecting too much from the webinar. I thought they would gloss over some things I already knew but I thought, “Eh, why not (and free!)” Boy, was I wrong! The webinar was all about voice-not The Voice with that guy from Maroon 5 who sings like he’s sucking helium-YOUR voice. Your writing voice, the one that distinguishes your work from everyone else’s.

I thought I knew my voice. I mean it’s only constantly rambling all day in my head and it comes out of my mouth saying things like, “Put that down! Don’t eat that! Please eat this! No we can’t have macaroni and cheese for breakfast. Don’t sit on your sister.” But that is not my writing voice (though I could probably write a book about all of the weird things I say to kids). Turns out that I wasn’t really in touch with my voice and the manuscript that I had worked on and polished and had professionally edited was not, in fact, reflecting my voice. Total. Bummer.

I spent the weekend alternating between sulking and muttering to myself (in search of my voice) and furiously revising and rewriting (and more muttering) to get my voice onto the page. It was a long weekend to say the least.

I learned a lot from the webinar which I will cover in other posts but today I just want to touch on a suggestion from Kelly about how to find your voice. She mentioned that you should take small written pieces that you come across (think newspaper articles, blurbs about tv shows, obituaries if your particularly morbid) and rewrite them in your voice. I thought it was such a fun suggestion and one way to be creative everyday. What a great way to stay in-tune with your voice.

If you are interested in more with Mira, she does a Children’s Book Academy which looks great. I hope to take it in the future. If you’ve taken it before or are signing up this year, let me know! In the meantime, go out and find your voice! (Not you, Adam Levine, I’m done with your voice)

Focused Imagination

Posted in Writing by

“You can’t depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus.”
― Mark Twain, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court

 

That quote really hits home for me. While running through the daily grind, I find that my imagination is often out of focus. It takes work for me to think creatively. Between the daily tasks of raising two children, I find it hard to allow my mind to wander in that necessary way in order for the thoughts to flow. I try to drift off to sleep daydreaming but I’m often so exhausted that I can’t think of much else other than sleep. My other creative place is the shower-so many good ideas I get while shaving my legs!

I happened upon this article from Reading Rainbow. Can we just stop one moment to sing the Reading Rainbow theme song….”Butterfly in the sky, I can fly twice as high!” Don’t worry, I sang the whole thing to myself out loud.  Jenni Buchanan, the author and “Reading Rainbow Mom” (I love that!), came up with 3 solutions to ramping-up your creative mojo. I’m happy to say I’ve done all three this week!

I know for myself, I need daydreaming time to get more creative. Sometimes I need to just sit and not think about what I am doing or what I need to be doing that I’m not getting done (I’m looking at you, housecleaning). Kids have a wonderful way of keeping you in the present but it stifles my creative thoughts. Although I do play with my kids actively, I think I need to introduce more imaginative play. That will be my plan to get creatively focused.

How about you? What is your plan? How to you stay creatively focused?

A Clumsy Balance

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A career path is rarely a path at all. A more interesting life is usual a more crooked, winding path of missteps, luck and vigorous work. It is almost always a clumsy balance between the things you try to make happen and the things that happen to you.

~Tom Freston

My last post focused on being a writer mama and how difficult it is to write while being a full time stay at home mom. I am happy to report, though, that Stephen King did not find my little blog and get offended so that was a good thing.

After receiving a comment from the OG Writer Mama, Christina Katz, I realized that I should explain further where I find the time to write and create. Where do I find my clumsy balance? I’ll give you an example:

On Mondays and Wednesdays, my older daughter, My Chickadee, goes to nursery school. It’s a “Mommy and Me” so my mom takes her and I stay home with my younger daughter, The Big Booper. If everything works out right and the planets align, Booper, will be napping for part of school time. I quickly use that  time to write or read or do whatever I need to in order to catch up on work. Sometimes catching up on work means watching the previous night’s Game of Thrones or Walking Dead but I try to watch those when Booper isn’t sleeping. If I’m lucky, I’ll get 30 minutes of work time. It’s usually less.

Another example is when Booper goes down for her afternoon nap. I try to employ quiet time during the afternoon nap but I’ve gotten lax on that lately. I have quiet baskets/boxes filled with goodies that Chickadee can do by herself. I’ll put on the kids station on Pandora for her, give her the basket in the playroom and I’ll work in the living room. (If you Pinterest “quiet boxes” there is a plethora of stuff there-I think I pinned for days) If we aren’t doing quiet baskets, I will put on a movie or let her play the Kindle. Again, if I’m really lucky, I’ll get 30 minutes but I usually don’t. There’s a lot of, ” Mommy, can you help me? Mommy, I’m hungry. Mommy, can you play with me? Mommy…Mommy…MOOOOMMMYYYY!?!” You get the idea.

When Booper gets up in the afternoon, it’s a mad dash till bed time. We do our afternoon walk with the dog, play in the yard, eat dinner, bath time, clean up after someone poops in the tub, story time and bed routines. By the time they are in bed, I’m beat and don’t get much else in. I spend the time vegging out. But keep in mind that throughout the day if I get an idea I write it down on my phone using the Evernote App. I have a folder filled with story ideas and general writing thoughts. I can’t live without it.

Overall, you can see that my writing time is limited. When The Big Booper was a newborn, I worked out story ideas during night time feeding which was surprisingly productive. I squeeze in moments when I can and that’s the best I can do.

So those are some examples of how I get it done. Where do you find the time? I’d love to hear how you find your clumsy (or maybe not so clumsy) balance!