Do You Live in Fear Or Hope?

That's Maine by the way. Isn't it gorgeous? I just got a file full of pics that my husband took on our visit back there in October 2006.

The weather was amazing for early October; warm enough for two outdoor weddings, and because I'd never been to New England, I soaked it up!

I chose this picture because it reminds me to go forward with hope today. I'm a little stressed out. Too much to do, too many things to think about, too many people trying to get my attention. Too much of that, and your friendly blogger turns into something else.

But, I've been talking about approaching life with fear or hope with a good friend this week. Actually, she's one of my best friends. True, we don't talk everyday, but we've been friends for our entire lives! Since childhood, and that ain't no small feat. She has a fantastic view of life, always upbeat (we were raised by mothers who were best friends), and our families just relate on that level. There is no reason to sit and whine about this or that. There's always more to do! Onward, onward. That's the sense I get whenever we are all together. Sure we enjoy just goofing off togther, but we're all so full of plans and dreams that we inspire each other most of the time.

Gee, now most people reading this think I had a perfect childhood, so thus, I'm upbeat and happy.

Nah. Not perfect, but I got handed hope, not fear.

My parents were often fearful, but it never lasted too long. They always tried to hand me hope, even during the ten years that our lives got very dark in a religious order. Now that we're out, they look for ways to encourage me and they always are ready and willing to be hopeful for things in my life that I'm just not sure about. (I'm also trying to return the favor now that I'm an adult.)

But what if your parents don't do that? Is there hope for you?

Of course. Especially then. My parents didn't have perfect childhoods. Actually, they had tough childhoods, both growing up in single-parent homes, experiencing a lot of rejection during their pivotal years, but look how they have encouraged me.

I say the worst sort of life you've had, all the more reason to be hopeful. It can only get better.

Is there one thing you fear today that you are allowing to control you?

Name it, face it, and do one action to take it down a notch.

Whether that be typing a title of a book you want to write, studying for 15 minutes for that test you have to take, or answering the phone when you're expecting a terrible call. But do it with hope that things will work out. Things will be okay.

It's not a life change, it's a mindset change.

Keep Moving Forward.

How to Have a Good Day

So, people ask me all the time: why the heck are you so upbeat and cheerful?

There's only one reason. Why not?

Sure, there are days that just get to me, but from a very young age, I have always enjoyed the little things: a good lunch, a sunny day, fresh drinking water, even that I get to stay home without going anywhere makes me delirious with joy.

Not delirious, but I do enjoy a day at home.

My glass is half full. That's just the way I am. And it does drive some friends and colleagues out of their minds, especially when they don't ever see me complaining or whining or making mountains out of molehills. One thing they still don't understand is that I don't get angry, I get motivated. I make mountains out of every single molehill in my life, but I just have decided to work double hard to get past 'em. I don't get depressed, I crank up my adrenaline, thus frequently you'll find me levitating a few feet above the ground on a perfectly normal Wednesday morning, my adrenaline flying because of small things that mean a lot.

Like today.

Hubby's at the job fair, wearing a tie!; I edited his resume and he printed out neat copies on linen paper last night. He went to work and his boss edited it too and I think he's going to rework it yet again. Oh well. I don't feel so hot today, but instead of spending the day on the couch after I call the nurse for some meds (it's a chronic issue that shows up every six months or so), I'm going to see how much of my to-do list I can get done before those same meds put me into a couch potato stupor (they always make me sleepy).

It's a waste of my time and precious energy to complain or be depressed because of how I feel or how nervous I am for my hubby today. (He'll do fine.) I just have to quit cranking up the pressure (the reason I don't feel well) and calm down. I need to take some adrenal support medications, and relax, and breathe, and not try and add much more to the schedule.

I think that's as normal as anyone else. I just don't feel like whining about it.

In Curio news, wow, it is really coming together. One of the things I aim to work on today is pacing how much information I tell about the major hurt in my characters' lives. Slow, slow, slow peeling of the layers to show their secret hurt. I may not even tell all of the secret hurt, but I want the audience perplexed as to why this character acts like she does.

How is your day going?

Keep Moving Forward.

Lost in Another World

Do you ever get to writing on a WIP (especially fiction) and forget about reality?

I sure did yesterday. I expanded my Curio project space for Cake quite a bit and literally am juggling two completely different people who are at extreme odds with each other and their surroundings. I need to create a space for the hero (shapeshifter character) and then start writing. It was an amazing transformation to watch a one-dimensional character space suddenly come alive with energy and I swear I could hear the two characters arguing already.

Cool.

In other news, I'm swamped today with projects and plans. My phone is ringing off the hook with jobs and I'm really happy and really blessed to be able to choose the client that fits me the best. It's becoming more and more regular in my business and that's exactly what it needed to be for 2007. I spent most of 2005 and 2006 working on what OTHER people thought I should be doing. No more of that.

Also, I'm currently watching (for the tenth time) The Power of Myth with Bill Moyers and Joseph Campbell. It includes an interview with Stephen Spielberg and because I am so not a Stars Wars fan, I usually skip it. Well, not this time. I'm watching it and enjoying the example of the Hero's Journey archetype explained to me in this way. I love learning the rules, just so I can break them.

And, I was once again reminded of how well I stayed true to my calling last year while purchasing references and software and tools to expand my business. I expanded too quickly, took a giant risk, and it didn't work in 2006, but I'm back on track for it to work in 2007. After listening last evening to Alice Seba and Kelly McCausey from WAHM Radio talk about taking these kind of risks for your business, I'm so glad I did it!

How's your day going? Are you pushing the limits, taking risks, and trying new things? How about just one thing?

Keep Moving Forward.

A bit o' wisdom for Monday.

I had to just cool it this weekend. I was so tired I coudn't keep my eyes open on Saturday, and yesterday, I felt terrible and just had to read and not try and think too much (which wasn't bad punishment and I still got through several chapters of the book edit on international relations, which by the way is totally fascinating and well-written).

Todd suggested we go see "Meet the Robinsons" in 3D. It seemed silly and totally juvenile, but what the heck? Why not. So we did. Wow. What a great movie. I don't usually wax poetic over animated movies, but wow. A great personal lesson for the both of us, as we move on from disappointments (things that looked incredible and were unreal opps that just fell through recently). The theme of the movie was Keep Moving Forward, a quote from Walt Disney himself. Again, wow.

It shows me again how easy it is for Resistance to come in and steal your energy. I could have stressed yesterday that I didn't get farther in that book edit, but the editor is a reasonable person and I'm on schedule for the amended deadline. I could have spent the day being reminded again and again of how my disappointment has set me back (in truth it set me on another better pathway), but the reminder to keep moving forward kept me doing just that.

Sometimes it only takes a animated movie to show us the truth.


We can do it.

Keep Moving Forward.

Quiet contemplation.

With most of my Christian colleagues still silent because of Lent (which I don't observe literally), I've kept talking on this blog, but decided to go contemplative today. Why Good Friday?

Gratefulness.

I'm not a peer-focused Christian (I could care less what man says is the right thing to do) because I focus on following God. (And I love saying it again, because it freaks out some Christians I still know.) Also, Christianity/religion doesn't hold a monopoly on rigid, legalistic Bible-thumpers who only know how to say "no"; I know a ton of those same kind of people who don't celebrate any religion at all.

My point is that I celebrate Good Friday and Easter not because everyone else expects me to, but because I yearn to. My relationship is a personal one with God. I don't talk about it much with others and I don't even attend church on a regular basis (for reasons that are beyond this conversation). My life is still healing from some big betrayals by religion. I still get angry, I still cry, and I still don't want to see certain people ever again in my lifetime.

But all that must never get in the way of gratefulness to Jesus Christ for what happened in Israel a long time ago--the reason I observe these holy days.

Even if one doesn't believe, one can still admire Jesus for the things he did while on this earth. And I do. I'm in awe of him.

But I'm also so very grateful for what I believe he did to save my life. He showed by his actions on a cross and rising from the dead out of a dark tomb that I could have hope in this world that makes no sense at all, and that things like a child needing surgery before the age of one year because of a cephalohematoma incurred by a traumatic birth are just as important to him as peace in Iraq, help for Darfur, or the lives of 15 British sailors.

You don't have to look too closely today, but is there something you're grateful for? Is there something that is weighing on your heart that you are so afraid of?

Christians observe Good Friday and Easter because of the fact that our Lord Jesus Christ, by his action and example and self-sacrifice, took responsibility for exactly those things.

Everything Has a Purpose

After reviewing receipts for 2006 yesterday and discussing taxes with my CPA, I realized that I really am focused. I buy books, reference materials, and supplies to truly support my writing and editing habits.

That sounds straightforward enough. I'm sure you're thinking, "how hard is that?"

Let me explain.

A year ago, I attended a seminar about using the Internet to sell books effectively (self-publishing, infoproduct marketing, list building, blogging, etc.) and some of the stuff was pretty new. I mean a year ago, podcasting was new, blogging was relatively new, and self-publishing still had that tarnished "are you sure about that?" look. After Pete Bowerman's latest book, and twelve months later, self-pubbing and infoproduct launches are so common that entire neighborhoods on the Internet are devoted to them. And people are making fortunes.

But a year ago, when I first heard it all, it blew my mind. I had no idea Web 2.0 was going to be so . . . intriguing. But I was afraid. The dot-bombing of the late 1990s and early 2000s did leave me holding the bag, especially because as a writer, I provided content for many of those sites.

Thus, my brain was so not wired to keep up with these "info-preneurs," so I began buying reference materials and books and listening to tapes and cds and dvds to try and figure it out. I got so many emails launching this product or another that I spent one entire Saturday unsubscribing from all those email lists. It was like the waterfall above--masses of information continually streaming into my computer--and I got overwhelmed. I got pulled in multiple directions. I launched an infoproduct section of my corp (it's doing quite well, thanks), started blogging more regularly, and began to draw up plans for more Web 2.0 expansion. I was trying to stay one step ahead of all that information.

Then about last August, I got really tired. I was going in too many directions. I was confused. I left my office and went camping over Labor Day weekend (all those pictures of my beloved House Rock are more than just pretty views) and without Internet and phone, I read David Allen's Getting Things Done. It wasn't really Allen's book that got me back to reality, it was just the fact that I sat that week, in the sunshine, on vacation, smelling the late summer breezes wafting over me, and I was able to put things into perspective. I knew where I wanted to go and how I would end 2006 and begin 2007. I put together a plan.

The plan completely changed course a few more times (what's new) and I had to respond quickly and with decisiveness.

And when 2007 began, I found myself back again at pretty much the same spot an entire year later, wiser, slower to respond to the "infopreneurs," but with a greater understanding of my goals with this business.

And my receipts prove that I kept the course and only bought what I really needed. And I'm really glad. And grateful. There were a few opportunities that came up last year that would have been utter disasters, not because of anyone else involved, but because of me. I had to spend 2006 processing and figuring out what I wanted my business to be. And it paid off. True, 2006 doesn't look very impressive on paper and 2007 and 2008 will be spent expanding and making that year worthwhile, but it was worth it. It really was.

Sometimes to take risks, you have to walk the edge, and that's really scary. I know. But how else are we going to know what we're made of? We owe it to ourselves to step out and try.

Fighting Off Resistance

Yes, still here and still battling the Resistance.I even had to dig out my copy (well-worn by now) of War of Art to remind myself (for the thousandth time) that all this (making wide circle motions with my arms and hands) is normal. And probably just how it's supposed to be.

Get used to it.

Remember Laura Bennett of Project Runway Season 3 fame?



She started this intense fashion design contest only to find out in the first two weeks that she was expecting a baby. And not just her first baby, her SIXTH! Yup, she had a grown daughter at school and four boys at home with her husband and she was expected to compete against other designers and also get through her first trimester.

To me, that's Resistance. It happens, constantly, even when you think you've done everything under the sun to make sure it did NOT happen.

Get used to it.

Learn to write, create, design, and walk through it. Learn to be resilient no matter what is happening in your life at the time. Learn to fight it off and win anyway.

It all comes back to Tiger Woods and his 25-second decision to forget about the camera-wielding interruption (stupid, stupid golf fan) and to hit that ball straight down the line.

Get used to Resistance. It's here to stay.

So what are you going to do today?

Computer anxiety.

The computer (Word more specifically) decided to throw us for a loop.

It's all about the macros. If you haven't ever taken a look at Editorium, you're in for a treat. Jack Lyon has created a handful of excellent macros for editors, writers, and publishers to help conquer Word's exceptional ability to format everything in sight. (You know, when you try to create your own numbered list and Word automatically types the next number or you apply formatting, but whoever had the document before you chose to use another font and another color and another size somewhere in the middle of that paragraph and as soon as you click in to begin typing you see that your text is baby blue, Courier New, size ten, not Times New Roman, black, size 12.)

Jack's macros save my bacon and actually help me make a living. No longer am I doing things by hand, I'm pressing a few keyboard keys and voila, I can pull all formatting out of the file, or specific formatting out of the file.

Well, last night at about 9 pm, my stripper quit. LOL. (I've been dying to say that for YEARS! Trust me.)

Actually my macro called NoteStripper, (available at Editorium) just conked out. It started messing up my files, made my computer crash, crashed Word, you name it. I called my techie hubby in to check and we uninstalled and reinstalled the macro, then Word, then decided this morning to reformat my hard drive. (Which we are still doing, because it needs it anyway.) But I came downstairs and turned on the computer (and installed all the Office updates) and decided to disable a macro set (at hubby's recommendation) that also runs at Word startup. It's named differently than the Editorium macros and I think it's from another project. As soon as I did that, I ran NoteStripper on both the files that needed it and boom, it worked.

My Stripper quit because other macros were in its way! Just shows you can get too many tools and end up ruining your productivity in the process.

It's so similar with writing. New writers anxiously ask me all the time, "What kind of computer do I need to write? Who do I need to meet in order to get published? What kind of books are agents and editors buying? Is it double space or single space for fiction?"

My reply is frequently, who cares. Write by hand, on a typewriter, or your neighbor's rusty Apple Macintosh or PC. Don't meet anybody yet, just write. Write the kind of book you believe in and love with all your heart. Double space, please, from an editor's perspective.

If you don't believe my answer on the "what kind of books are agents and editors buying?" question, check Kristin Nelson's posts from last week. She covers it better than I ever could.

And in writing news: I'm making progress on my Curio project space for Let Them Eat Cake. Lenora is not the star of this book, but she impacts her daughter Cassie's life and goals very much. My goal is for my readers to yearn for Cassie to get free from her mother's sad shadow of a life without me overtly telling them to. We'll see if I can pull that off.

Off and running.

Happy Monday! I love the sun on the water in this picture. I am so wishing I could go camping (thus why the theme of the camping scenery pictures lately).

I want to draw everyone's attention to the addition of the First Offenders blog to my blog roll on the right. These four authors have a neat little blog where they dish about their writing, publishing, and day-to-day happenings. If you want an incredible few mystery series to read, check out their books. I have never been as freaked as the night I read Alison's Hide Your Eyes while hubby was out playing soccer. Really a great book. I've got J. Carson Black's Darkness on the Edge of Town to read next and after reading the back cover, I think I may be in for another scary thrill!

I hope everyone got rested and did something fun to recharge your creative juices. As for me, I shopped and laughed and talked with my sister, who came up to Seattle for a visit. It was really relaxing.

I'm tired today because of stress, but wanted to get everyone thinking about their Creative DNA. If you've read Twyla Tharp's book The Creative Habit, then you'll already be aware of this great quiz she gives her readers. I won't spoil the fun for those who need to buy the book, but a few questions got me thinking today.

What is the first creative moment you remember?
I was at House Rock (see picture above) camping during the summer break and I was probably 8 or 9 years old. The camp ground boasts considerable rocks the size of houses (thus the name!) and these were automatic creative prompts for me.

I'm inspired by rocks. I have jars of them that I've collected throughout my life and I inherited rocks and shells from my great-grandmother, because she collected them also. I have shells and rocks from around the world sent to her by missionaries in Africa, Asia, Europe, South America, and North America.

So big rocks like those found at House Rock are really special!

What are your habits? What patterns do you repeat?

I have very specific habits. I read constantly or listen constantly. I write in between in little notebooks all over my house. I record what I read and hear and jot notes about how I interpret it. I still think I can't write if I'm not in the mood, although in truth, I write best during those times.

I am glass half full all the time. No matter how bad or dark life gets, there is always something good that will come out of it.

I tend to lessen the time I spend with friends that don't give energy. I limit my time with groups of people who just want to sit around and whine all the time. I increase my time with groups of people who spur me on, who are accomplishing huge things (which inspires me always), and who have dreams that will not be put aside. I tend to seek out like-minded people on a professional level and clear away from me colleagues who don't want to move forward in their careers or professional accomplishments.

I move very quickly through my to-do list. I have a huge to-do list and huge expectations for myself.

I batch the same kind of things together and do them all at once.

I slow down by habit on Fridays at about 2 pm. I speed up by habit on Sunday afternoons at about the same time.
*****

So, what kind of creative DNA do you have?

And, what are you going to do today to further your creative habit?

I plan to finish up a few short assignments and then spend the day working in Curio.

I heart Fridays!

It's always a giant sigh of relief when I get to this day. Especially lately, when my office is trashed and my schedule is full and I know I have to pay attention to things like taxes and bills and I'd rather just go camping!

Happy 31st birthday to my Michelle (my sis!). She doesn't like the pomp and circumstance for birthdays, but she gets it on this blog. I love you so much!

I should confess. The office got to me yesterday, so I cleaned it. Then had to stay up late and finish a pile of stuff for India because I spent time sorting papers and didn't spend time editing files. It's such a good stress-killer to sort stuff and put things back in order. I needed it and I will be caught back up for India today.

No Curio today. I have oodles of Curio project spaces to post, but I don't want to fill up my blog with unrelated images. (I'm aesthetic that way; I want things to make sense and to complement each other). Thus, you'll have to wait until I have more Curio done for my WIP, Let Them Eat Cake. It will be worth the wait.

Doing research on structure and conflict for the WIP. Really loved Heidi's Curio project space for her WIP character, Evie. (I hope she doesn't mind me talking about it on my blog. Let me know, H.) It's really a tight circle of events that's she formulated and it really inspired me. I tend to look at novel plotting as a timeline--this must happen before this, etc.--but her tight circle helped me to see that if I get all my characters moving in their own directions, conflict will spew out of that and a story must appear. So, thanks, Heidi, you've helped me so much!

We're looking at job possibilities for hubby here. Thinking about and working toward Colorado. We both love the idea of mountains and forests and fresh air (much more than the other area we have as an option (ahem, Plano), plus we know quite a few people there already--C and L and their kids, the F family, with all their extended families, as well as L and R and K.

So we're working on a resume. DH has a meeting with headhunters next week and a job fair on the 11th, so here we go! Good vibes appreciated muchly.

Happy Friday and take time to work on a Fun Project this weekend, okay? It'll do your heart good.

More Curio.

This is the Curio for Let Them Eat Cake's theme, halfway put together and just starting the organization.

I'm following the worthy example of Heidi over at CherryForums.com and going to post more of my Curio stuff as I get settled into a routine. At first, it will be just the first massive gathering of images. I'm working on organizing these images into an overarching theme, first of the book itself, and then for each character. I'd also like to create a Curio project space for each chapter's theme and events. Curio has changed my life! So worth the price and the effort to move to Mac.

My first WIP that needs attention is Cake, because the first draft and outline is already finished and I need to learn to finish what I start. :)

How is my writing going? Very well. I'm finally working solely off my Macbook, instead of juggling the other iMac, papers, my PC desktop, and scribbled notes. This way, I keep the story contained.

I really need the added pressure to concentrate on my WIP, because I'm so unsure about our immediate future. I have peace about it; totally cool with whatever happens for my husband's career, but that doesn't change the fact that I may or may not have to pack up either in April or in October. Plus, my workload is really filling up and I have to stay on task and make progress.

It's a rush for me to finish a project and do it well. I am a GTD next action girl all the way. When I complete character sketches on a project, I experience such gratification that I immediately cross it off the list and conquer the next thing.

Plus, I've realized this past year that writing on a fiction project is really relaxing and therapeutic for me. There is nothing I love better (well, spending time with Daphne, my niece, shopping, and buying and reading books come to mind), but this year, I'm moving forward again. After a great 2006 of writing, but realizing that my genre is shifting, 2007 is about making the jump to a new genre and getting a novel out there. The first one is the most difficult (thanks Cameron Foote) and things will get easier as it goes along.

Hope your writing projects are moving along as well! Enjoy! And stay tuned for more Curio in the days to come.

My first Curio project space.

This is the Curio collage I created for my book I'm writing called Everywhen. I told ya the program was amazing!

I picked out the preliminary pictures that really spoke to me about this project. It's taking shape in my mind! What a program! I'm so impressed, I bought it! Yes. I. Did. (thanks, Michael!)

In other news, yes, hubby's contract has been lost, but we're not lost; in fact, we feel pretty blessed. We have no idea if we'll stay in Seattle or move elsewhere (and no idea where we're going if we move), but we know this is happening for a reason and I'm excited. It is time for my hubby to polish off some of his dreams and now we get to.

Of course, it means packing all this up eventually (nothing may happen for six months or we may move next week!), but I've started to sell books online. I may end up selling every book I own, which is both hard for me and liberating. I'm finding that the less I "grasp" these things that I thought were of utmost importance to me, the less they matter in the long run.

My friend, Amy, a personal organizer in Oceanside, California inspires me each time I talk to her. She doesn't hoard ANYTHING, and makes me feel foolish about what I hang onto so tightly. I'm channeling her this week and selling the books. Even if I sell one that I regret later, I can always buy it again.

Heck, I gave my treasured copy of Stephen King's On Writing to a guy selling magazine subscriptions a few months ago when he found out I was a writer and asked me how to get published. I easily replaced my copy. The books will always be there, but right now, they need to fly away to other homes.

Happy Wednesday!

Tackling a Large Writing Project

How does a writer write a book? And keep all the characters straight and the storyline and find out if the conflict is steady throughout the book and make sure each character gets enough time on "stage" and that one character doesn't steal the entire book?

Read on.

I've been thinking about this too and I read on 43 Folders last week that Merlin has tested Scrivener for large writing projects. Scivener comes with a 30-day fully functional trial, so I downloaded it. Last night, I started playing.

But yesterday, before I was fully engaged in the program's explanatory tour, I was surfing on He Wrote, She Wrote, which led me to Argh Ink (Jenny's blog) and I read Jenny's post about Scrivener from February 16, where she raves about it. Of course, she also uses Curio, which now I'm dying to get as well (only a 15-day free trial).

But still, I can see how both these programs would really help my book writing to prosper.

And it's nice to have Jenny's blog to cruise when I'm feeling rather panicky about our future. I think today is d-day (decision day). There's a staff-wide 9:30 am PST meeting.

So, I'm writing.

Onward!

Bright-Eyed and Bushy-Tailed

This is my cat (she has passed on to the great cat heaven), true, but it's the only picture I have (without buying one) of a cat and they are on my mind.

Did you watch PLANET EARTH on Discovery channel last night? I loved the cats: snow leopard, puma, spotted leopard. Fantastic show. I highly recommend. It's on again next Sunday and you've got to see it. Next up, I've got to find a blue whale picture. There would be no room for words if I did, however.

We had a semi-relaxing weekend. I worked more than I should have and I feel it today. Very weary, but that's okay. I'll take it easy after some of this stuff gets done. I hope that attitude does me good when I head back to school next year.

I am rereading Twyla Tharp's The Creative Habit and slowly beginning the process of teaching myself to study again. After 15 years, this will be interesting.

I really appreciate her point about habit, but more importantly, I sat and thought about her example of Mozart. Leopold Mozart was accomplished, not only in music, but in religion and politics and philosophy. He saw that his son Wolfgang was drawn to music (uh, if a 3-year-old begins to play his sister's harpsichord, I would say so!), and made sure that his son was taught and learned from the best musicians he could find. Really, Mozart's genius was because his father helped him, but after that, when Mozart was in his teens and twenties and wrote 27 symphonies that flopped, it was creative habit that gave him the 28th.

Tharp also includes example of Beethoven on his morning walks, a master chef who goes out to his herb garden and enjoys the varying scents and then in a rush of inspiration flies to his restaurant to create a dish, or a writer who gets up, ignores email (me!), and writes for an hour or two, no matter the quality. It's habit.

What's a habit you need to develop this week for your creative pursuits? It does not have to be big, or cost any money. Whether it be drawing a sketch, practicing one piece on an instrument, or digging up one flowerbed and planting seeds, it is within your grasp.

Go to it!

Have a good week.

Whew, It's Friday

Truthfully, I never thought it would get here. This week has been pretty intense in terms of emotional rollercoasters concerning my husband's job, masses of deadlines, and then me attempting to write through all that. I admit it, I'm weak. So TGIF!

We still don't know what's going to happen with Todd's job, but he did get a raise again, which may only last for the next eight days and however long it takes the company to replace 700 people (six months, a year?). It was welcome to us though, and then Todd started his new semester of class and saw that he had gotten an A on last semester's writing paper, and a 95% in his writing class! Wow! He had a great night.

I babysat my neighbor's two kids the other day (their mom is working 80-hour weeks juggling two jobs, because the old job can't find a good replacement yet) and it was interesting to realize how many families are getting squeezed right now. Everyone is in transition it seems, which is a good thing. I mean, I realize how often in my life I've just sat and let life go by. Now that we're in transition, I see how I am taking life by the horns and going for it.

And that's probably why I'm so exhausted today. Looking forward to tomorrow when I do laundry, clean the house, work on writing projects, and generally slow down a bit. We also have some Netflix movies to watch, which I've been dying to see. Lots of BBC mysteries (Inspector Lynley) and I think Todd has Casino Royale, which we are looking forward to.

So, we can prosper through the fiercest of Resistance, even though we're wiped out both physically and emotionally. If you're feeling the Resistance pain today, hang on, be glad it's Friday, and for goodness sake, take some time OFF this weekend and relax. You'll be glad you did.

Theoretical Thursday

I'm full of theoretical ideas today. The first is that Resistance appears in greater concentration when things are going well and the path is lit to your better self (for those who are still catching up, try reading Steven Pressfield's The War of Art and then you will know all wisdom).

That last statement sounded a little woo-woo, but bear with me here. One can imagine a person who is a telemarketer thinking to herself, "I'm going to help the suffering" and flying to Darfur, and doing good things (something I wish for myself many times each day). The movies make it seem as if the pathway clears for everyone when they decide this. But sometimes, more often than not, things are not clear, disillusionment sets in and the person who had such pure strivings is left feeling wrung out. That's Resistance.

Now, imagine a person who has helped for months in Darfur deciding that she is done and deciding to go home to be a telemarketer. I would say the path home is much less "resisted" than the path to her incredible act of self-sacrifice (oh, that we all would pray for Darfur today). So here's my theory, and yes, I stole it from Pressfield, and it's that as you clean up your life (not that I or you have to head to a war zone or a refugee camp), don't be surprised if things don't go your way. They might, but also, you're going to get people around you who just cannot handle that you're going, or they cannot fathom going themselves and so they take it out on you.

For example, my brother traveled to Israel last year, he also was able to visit Jordan to see Petra (yes, Indiana Jones's Petra), and he loved his time in the Middle East. He's planning to return in 2008 for another trip and hopefully to get to Egypt to see the Valley of the Kings and the pyramids. He called me last week to tell me about the Resistance he's getting from people about his return trip. Heck, my brother would live in Israel or Egypt quite happily and never think he was missing out on much back here in the old US of A. He was astounded to find out how many people were so afraid of the very mention of the Middle East that they begged him, warned him, threatened him, and cried when they found out he might go back. It's not that they will stop him from going, but that they thought he would die, just by going over there. It's true, it is a possibility, but my brother said he felt completely safe in Israel and for much of Jordan (up until the end when they were threatening to close the borders on his travel group and he faced spending the night there without knowing where he could stay.) He was dumbfounded and had to realize that he might be going where, literally, people fear to tread. It's Resistance, because in our society, doing anything different, whether you write, teach, sing, work like Dilbert, or freelance, is looked upon fearfully by many of our peers.

Don't be discourage today if you are attempting something no one thinks you can (or should) do. If at the least, know that this blog, and myself, are rooting you on.

Middle of the week again.

Yesterday was one of those days when I couldn't see the forest for the trees. Not a bad place to be, but frustrating, because I thought I needed to see more.

E. L. Doctorow once said that "writing a novel is like driving a car at night. You can see only as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way."

I tend to forget this advice and want to gallop on ahead. Every time, I have to fall back to the last place I was, because that's the only thing I can see.

It's another form of Resistance as well. Resistance would do anything to keep you snarled up in confusion instead of moving forward with your plans.

So, last night, I fought back. With American Idol on in the background, I sat down and wrote a piece that needed to be finished. Proofed it, tested it, and then broadcast blasted it out to my email list. Resistance had to back down long enough for me to get it done. And now I've checked it off my to-do list and am on to the next thing. What a great feeling!

I encourage you to do that thing today that needs to be done with your writing, whether small or unimportant. It clears the path, and shines the light on even the next action to take.

Getting Things Done

It's spring here, but friends told me that they are getting snow this week, so in preparation for spring!

Most of you know about David Allen's Getting Things Done, the book that has taken on a rather cult-like following, with fans gathering at 43 Folders and elsewhere to dig deep into the book's principles in order to gain control over their lives.

I admit it, I'm a huge fan (although very averse to cults!) and yesterday, was delighted to see an interview with David himself over at my friends' (Linda and Diana) blog, Renegade Writers Talk to David Allen. What fun! To have David Allen talk about GTD as a freelancer. It's just very inspiring. I mean, I use Kinkless and Quicksilver and Devon Technologies, but each time I read anything David Allen says, I'm inspired all over again.

In writing news, I am continuing to outline the novels this week. I'm going to miss my March 21st deadlines for American Masquerade, but there's a good reason for that. It's okay.

Finished three assignments yesterday, including a copy assignment that has been dragging out for a week. Nice feeling. Today is two more assignments, a copyediting test, and lots and lots of first-pass page reading.

Luckily Gilmore Girls in on rerun for a few more weeks.

Book deal news for Monday.

I did sell a book this month and after posting my news on the writer forums and discussion boards, I remembered my own blog! So March 2007 is the month that renews my kid's book writing career.

The book will be published this fall by Tormont in Montreal and it's called "A Princess's Crown." It's a short sticker story book, and it's about a princess, Gwendolyn, who wants a crown just like her mother's (the queen), but can't wear it because it's too heavy. It's based on an Aesop fable about a peacock who wants beautiful wings, but then can't fly because of them. In the story, Gwendolyn tries on all the royal jewels, but can't wear any of them. She receives a special crown, just like her mother's, but smaller and more suitable for her head and as a result, has a wonderful time at the ball.

The book will have full-color illustrations, a sheet of stickers for readers to try different dresses and shoes and jewels on the princesses, and a fold-out ball room where they can use the stickers to create their own stories. I publish as Trish Lawrence, but I'll try to post if and when the book makes it to the United States. I wrote it specifically for the U.S. market (American English), so it should get here.

In other news, I outlined fastidiously all weekend and took copious notes from my daydreaming (and pre-sleep) brain for upcoming kid's book ideas (I admit, I was inspired!). I plan to submit a manuscript to the Random House middle-grade novel contest that starts this spring. I have to submit by June 1 and I may not make it, but I am writing toward it. Thus, this weekend was spent brainstorming and outlining Everywhen (which is not eligible for the contest because it's not set in the United States) and another idea I had, which works for the contest, but that is still untitled and the main character unnamed. But this week should bring more progress on that if my schedule holds!

I rested and relaxed this weekend, watching kid's movies by the hour and just letting my brain roam free. It was great. Also, enjoyed the freshly mowed lawns and kids playing until late last night because of impending spring and the light that lingers longer. It is a wonderful magical time just before dark during spring and summer, isn't it?

Onward!

Finally Friday.

So how do you deal with Resistance? Read on.

So DH (dear husband) comes home last night with news of the impending contract negotiations at work (no, he's not union, but his company has contracts for their work) and it still could go either way, but he was a little worried. This means we'll a) be finding a job at another company here in the Seattle area to try and stay here, b) be moving farther north, or c) moving out of state.

Of course, we want the contract to be renewed for another however long span of time, because we want to stay here. But as we sat on our couch and talked about it, I realized something else about Resistance and its cure.

DH has to turn pro. Right now! No waiting for his company or the hiring company to tell us of their decision. They don't decide our fate, do they?

That's the main antidote to Resistance: turning pro.

You know, Tiger Woods wins lots of golf tournaments. So back in the day a few years ago, he was competing at the Masters (this story told in War of Art by Steven Pressfield) and he was set to tee off and a fan flashed his camera right in Tiger's line of sight (from behind the spectator's rope, obviously, but still!) and Tiger had to stop mid-swing. He gave the guy a look (of death, I would think) and stepped back to gather his concentration. Then, 25 seconds after being interrupted by the fan, Tiger tees off and hits the ball 310 yard down the line. (Nate, did I get all that golf lingo right? Hope so.)

Anyway, how did Tiger put his head back in that game in 25 seconds? (I would take me much longer, I know that for sure.)

By being a pro at his game. It didn't matter what anyone did, said, or though about him. He was going forward (with his face set like flint) with his plan, his goals, and his mindset firmly in stone in his mind's eye.

And so I told DH, "We're so foolish! All this time we've been concentrating on me going pro and all my plans and we forgot that you need to do it too!"

And then we came up with a next-action plan to put into place immediately. Resumes that have been requested from other top companies in the area that we haven't sent, a request from his boss's boss to reimburse his school expense (up through his master's) that needs to be sent in (even though it's moot if the contract negotiation fails), and finding out who are the "head hunters" in the area for his specialty and who's hiring right now. And then posting his resume on job boards and getting in touch with every company within commuting distance to find out what's available. That's pro. That's PRO-active. That's what Monster.com means when it says "never settle."

And so, dear reader, this week has brought an epiphany of sorts into my life. When I get people bugging the heck out of me, even well-meaning friends and colleagues who do not have my best interests at heart and want me to stay "just like them" so they are comfortable, I go pro. It does not matter if your boss refuses to support you or there are no people who "understand" you, it only matters that you do your thing. You go Pro. You aim for the stars anyway.

Next week will be interesting. I'll make sure and post how things come down.

Happy St. Patrick's day tomorrow!

Onward.

The Ides of March

Lots going on in the office. I'm excited as the Ides of March are passing. A lot coming down today: friends finding out where they placed for residency, a PhD student defends her thesis, an event this evening places old friends together after many years, and the trees are blooming in Seattle. An interesting time. It's definitely pre-spring.

I reread Steven Pressfield's War of Art last night and am amazed how his book rings true in my life. I am moving up to another level of professionalism and aspiration and the Resistance this week has been pretty incredible.

I didn't know the universe, (the devil) had so many ways to try and snatch progress out of your hands. It has ranged from potential clients upset at me because I won't get them a job with another client I already have and have had for five years, colleagues who disparage my progress and talk about the good old days when no one accomplished anything and we were all the same, and clients who cross their wires and ask me to re-copyedit a learning guide for fifth graders because they realized the writer sent them the wrong version to begin with. By yesterday, it was humorous and I was laughing.

Because, in place of the Resistance, I choose to focus on my query challenge team who have encouraged me (thanks again, Leah Ingram and team one!) to dig deep and keep at it, the clients who work with me to solve an email communication problem and offer me more work, which I had to turn down to my dismay, and the colleague who writes me emails to tell me to keep at it to beat the other query team! Who cares about that! Howeber, I realized I have a lot to resist the Resistance with in my hands already. Not even mentioning my amazing sister and mom, who both talked me out of my Resistance pothole on Tuesday night and thus, helped me do my work yesterday with aplomb.

If you're getting Resistance to a dream you're trying to reach, don't forget Gratitude. Gratitude is more from The Secret than War of Art; I'm mixing metaphors again, so I'll talk tomorrow about the main contraindication for Resistance. It's amazing and will blow your mind. Tiger Woods uses it and it works! He wins the Masters using this tactic.

Happy writing!

Wrap It Up Wednesday

We've got stuff to finish up today and I'm ready to get it done. Headed for a weekend away from the office and the work load and the sunshine is peeking out today, which makes me yearn for bigger spaces and a few hours of dreaming.

But first, we've got to wrap it up.

What's on your to-do list that's been sitting there for days, weeks, months even?

Get a timer and set it for 15 minutes. And concentrate on that task. And if after 15 minutes, you've lost interest, do something else. But if you're into it, keep going for another 15 minutes, and another. If you need breaks between, that's fine too.

People ask me all the time, "how do you do all that you do?"
There's my answer. A stupid kitchen timer and a really manipulative rewards system (M&Ms, Coke, episode of Scrubs, listen to Les Miserables while I work if I do some work first, that sort of thing).

As for me and my writing and editing projects, I'm doing great. Finished up stuff for two clients yesterday, and will finish up stuff for two more clients today, which leaves a full schedule for tomorrow and Friday, but very doable, I think.

But the best news is that I again utilized the muse through all the work yesterday and the plotting of Everywhen has begun in earnest. It's good. It takes elements from so many stories I've read and enjoyed, but with a very new, very fresh spin that I think 9-12 year olds will love. I told my husband last night and he was very intrigued, which is a good sign. My hubby reads everything: kid's books and comics and cartoons in between all his history and economics classes and his management training and hefty job responsibilities managing 20 other people.

Now to outline it, write it, get a few readers' opinions, and get an agent. I've already started writing the query letter for my agent search. It's that good!

Happy Wednesday!

A good day.

Today's fantastic. I keep getting calls from clients I love and I get to stay home and work (so thankful for this) and I just saved the first part of our heat pump/air conditioning fund, because I have this feeling that Seattle is going to get a hot streak again this summer (probably worse than last summer as a result of our very early spring this year). Whee!

But in writing news, yesterday was a great inspirational day. I am working most of the time on other projects, but in those spare moments, inspiration strikes!

In other news, fellow Backspacer Jon Clinch's first novel, Finn
is out and he's headed to Seattle this week. Wednesday, March 14 at Third Place Books in Lakewood. I am hoping to get there, but stuff is holding me back, so we'll see. However, this is a great novel (on the violent side, so not for young readers) that Huck Finn readers will just treasure. An incredible view into the world of Huck and his father and mother. Kudos, Jon!

Plus, Jodi Picoult is headed to town next month and then my other Backspacer and FLX buddy, Allison Winn Scotch will hopefully be out from NYC in May for her new novel. Keep your eyes here.

Happy writing!

How to Create Story

So I spent most of the weekend thinking about the book project I'm starting on March 22. Yes, I'm still writing my first draft of the WIP due March 21, but I like to keep my brain busy.

I find inspiration in the oddest places. For instance, this weekend I read a compendium of children's literature (starting back when kid's books were just readers used by the churches to instill the fear of God into youngsters; the children's book movement is definitely more modernized and secularized now). Yes, I am writing a kid's book next.

I'm shocked to discover that I've missed a whole heck of a lot of British books for kids that never got into my hands as a child.

My mom made sure I read everything when I was a kid. I remember cleaning off entire shelves at the library each week, much to the consternation of the librarians, and reading them all within a few days. Our family were voracious readers and we still are. However, I missed a few gems.

I read the Borrowers, but missed Joan Aiken's The Wolves of Willoughby Chase and Rosemary Harris' The Moon in the Cloud (Ancient Egypt) series. I missed Helen Cresswell's The Piemakers. Also a whole pile of Diana Wynne Jones was missed. I also missed Lionel Davidson's Under Plum Lake.

And there's a whole chapter on British historical fiction for kids that I know I never read. It's disheartening, but almost makes me giddy that I have an entire reading future ahead of me.

But as for my writing, I'm concocting a middle-grade reader series that will be big. This is not a popular or modern take on a fairytale, or a series of high school chick lit soap operas that will fade within a month's time. My story must be historic, an epic, biographical, romantic, and timeless. Other authors have poohed poohed my goal, but alas, Tolkien mocked C.S. Lewis' attempt at Narnia, "bothered" according to his biographer, that Lewis attempted his own project with help from Tolkien.

I want this book to be big, so it is taking a lot of planning and plotting. I am stealing a page from R.L. Stine, Tess Geritsen, Elizabeth George, and Janet Evanovich and I'm outlining fastidiously. I'm reading books on archetypes and mythology and legend. I'm researching to make sure the idea is saleable, but enough of a twist that it excites publishing committees and editorial boards. Let's just say, I'm pinning my hopes on this one.

How's your writing going?

Oops.

Bad news for author Jeanette Winterson whose new book due out in the fall got left at Balham station in south London.

Winterson novel found in London station

Winterson is an award-winning author and although this is not like Harry Potter 7 got left out for someone to find, it's still not cool.

Friday Fun Post

So, it's time to show you my office. It's a wonderful picture of my brain.
My office shows what kind of week I've had and what kind of weekend I will continue to have. Too much to do to wind down today. I'll be working over the weekend!


The piles are because I'm behind working on my 2007 filing system. I am using David Allen's Getting Things Done, so am still looking at a lot of paper. And I've emptied filing cabinets in order to review the contents.


You'll see my busy week sustenance here--in the form of M&Ms (Costco bag).


I'm actually piling projects on the floor right now until I get some filing done. No worries, I can find my way around this office blindfolded . . . and find exactly what I need!

This is my reading corner, surrounded by bookshelves and down behind the chair is my YA, middle readers, and kid's books, well some of them.

I'm continually sorting and decluttering my work areas and shifting priorities, but I do get quite a bit of work done in this office. If it were all clean and tidy, I'd be too intimidated to work in here. The clutter calms me down and reminds me that I can dream whatever I want to accomplish.

Does my office look like anyone else's? Cluttered, or am I the only one who thrives in this?

Being an Intermediate Writer

Ever notice that most writing books are geared to new writers? And the really good classic reference books are geared to advanced writers? I've been looking for intermediate books for years, until suddenly, I realized something last night while reading William J. Blundell's The Art and Craft of Feature Writing.

What a book! If you have ever been curious how the Wall Street Journal writes such intriguing (at least I think so) business stories and how they come up with that imitable nut graf, Blundell's the one to tell you.

But, his range and scope of feature writing is so beyond mine, well, let's just say he's got a trick or two up his sleeve. Nowhere before have I seen insights like these. And I'm so intrigued, I stay up and read until past my bedtime. There are other books on writing that are advanced, as well, but I'd like to point out one thing about how an intermediate writer such as myself can utilize these advanced tomes to our advantage.

1. I don't have to use all of the advice right now. Later, as I write the five stories that have been assigned, I'll reread and pick up more.
2. I can just use one good thing (I call it the one true thing) that I've learned to good effect. That WSJ nut graph rocks MY world.
3. The thing with advanced writing books is that they make you feel inadequate. That's the wrong mindset, people. You must reach higher and farther than you've reached before if you're going to improve. You can't have things handed to you on a platter.

Thus, intermediate books should not exist, in my opinion, because what pulls a writer from new to intermediate is the realization that one must think for themselves. And that's writing.

Working on a ton of writing projects today. Hope you're writing too!

Keep at it!

Writing Wednesday!

Yeah, so yesterday, I totally slacked off on this blog thing. Why?

Well, I nabbed a couple more writing assignments and then had a brainstorm for today. Of course, a client calamity is preventing me from writing right this minute, but if I can work enough ahead (client is in India) today, I can write later. Whee!

Work on American Masquerade is moving along great. I should finish on time on March 21. I finally finished reading Jane Smiley's Thirteen Ways of Looking At the Novel, what a great book. I haven't plugged it on this blog much, but wow, if you want a rich journey through 100 novels, read this. I am reading her list of 100 novels, and the first book is The Tale of Genji, which was written 1000 years ago. Incredible book, especially the translation I highlighted here.

And if that doesn't provide me enough inspiration for my own writing, I've got the new Jodi Picoult on its way! I can't wait.

Have a great writing day. It's raining in Seattle; what a perfect day to stay home!

Happy Monday!

A very busy weekend working on my WIP, American Masquerade. My hope is to finish the first draft by March 21st. I should make it.

I'm also chock full with copyediting work and working to get booked up with writing assignments (five so far!).
Also, I am writing one essay draft per day. I have this insane list of over 100 essay topics that I've brainstormed over time and writing on one idea each day keeps me from getting jaded. Plus, I then have tons of material to send out or to use in my book writing projects.

I've been thinking a lot about Resistance (if you yet haven't read the War of Art by Steven Pressfield, you should!) and how it affects my writing. I've been writing my entire life. Each time I get back into it, there are things that I enjoy and things that I don't enjoy. I now see that the things I don't enjoy are acting as an active Resistance to my writing. I'm using them as a crutch to not write more. How sad.

Why would I let myself be held down by stupid, silly little things?

It makes no sense to me either, but it was not until I read "The War of Art" that I realized, and my husband realized, how we were letting our stupid fears ruin our life goals.

Yet there is hope.

Steven Pressfield insists that if you fear it, you're to DO it. Hate is not the opposite of love; indifference is. If I did not care so much about these things, they would not cause me pain and I would not fear them.

Now there's something to get the writing engines going today.

TGIF

Busy day, but so good.

Spent some time with a writer friend at one of our town's 17 Starbucks. We talked writing and marketing and mindset. She gave me great ideas; I gave her great ideas. It was really encouraging. I should do more of that! Hey!

Not much this weekend (dying to drive down the freeway to see my new niece, but I should stay home for three weeks in a row):

revisions on my kid's book due Monday
finish latest marketing article
work on pitches for regional lifestyle and women's mags (just got a great list of these)
write an essay each day
work on my catalog copy assignment (so much fun!)

And that is all. Happy Friday, everyone!

Happy March!

Spring is around the corner!

I'm so ready! Yesterday finished up a kid's book draft to send to the publisher, shipped a short monograph back to the publisher, and started writing another essay. This essay thing is really fun. I've done it for years without really knowing it. I've always written in journals and have notebooks full of jottings and thoughts. That's essay writing! Yippee!

New client opp emailed to me today and I'm psyched. Must keep at the to-do list for this week/weekend, so I'm getting ahead, not farther behind.

Working on AM and Everywhen and the non-fiction book. If you have not picked up Eric Maisel's book proposal book, well, you're just missing out, folks.

Reading Michael Port's Book Yourself Solid. Excellent book, his first chapter is exactly what I covered in this blog yesterday. I'll have some more thoughts on clients and branding tomorrow.

Keep writing!

Trust Your Gut

If you're about to take on a writing or editing assignment today, and something about that person just gives you a bad vibe, skip it. You must pick your clients just as they pick you.

So a client gives me a bad review and says "no, we're not a good fit." I am relieved, but ticked, because I was giving that client three strikes. She definitely struck out the first time and looking back I knew she would from the first time we spoke on the phone. How?

She's negative about freelancers in general. Usually, that's the first clue. Second, she thinks she's a good client (and makes up all these requirements for her projects that make me laugh to myself "I think we've got a loser"), and third, she's completely unstable emotionally. I end up being her therapist on the phone when we're supposed to be talking about work. I end up bailing her out of her own messes and I bear the brunt of her blame game when she screws up royally and wants to save face.

So good riddance, weirdo client woman. This post to you is the equivalent of a "you're fired" letter.

I feel great. Free at last! Now to get paid from this client's client. Thank goodness, she doesn't have accounting privileges. Gah!

Tired today.

It must be Wednesday. Happy hump day! I can tell I worked too hard and long yesterday, but I'll get cooking here.

I'd like to talk about rejection. It's the name of the game in this business. You'll get it 70% of the time (most people would say more). From tire kickers if you offer creative services, to no thanks from publishers, to your own brain refusing to do what is obviously a good move in the right direction (but that's for another post).

Rejection is not about you. The situation just doesn't fit is all. For instance, I hand sold my first book proposal to a large publisher back in the 1990s at age 23. I wrote up a proposal, walked it to the editor, sat down in her office (at her invitation), and told her why she should publish it. And she said, "yeah, I think this is good. I'd like to present this to the editorial board."

Fast forward a few months and the editorial board (after haggling and more discussion) turned it down. The editor was crushed. I was crushed. Rejection. Suddenly, the feeling that "I'm not good enough" reared its ugly head.

Fast forward to a few months later and one of their star authors writes a book on my same subject, the house publishes it, and the book flops, I mean, flops. At the time, I was just mad, then became disinterested, and finally moved on.

Now that I think back on it, I really don't want that publisher near any of my future books or near me for that matter. I had the original idea (and true, ideas aren't copyrightable, but still! A bit too close for coincidence, if you ask me) and it was a good idea! But this publisher couldn't make it fly, and neither could their star author. I think that if I'd done the book, with my enthusiasm and passion for the project, it would have done better and yes, I tried to sell it elsewhere and I still may sell it elsewhere in the future, but the point is that rejection was part of the learning process and the growing process.

That long story aside, it seems narcissistic to continue to send out our work just to be rejected, but that's how we learn what we want and what we are capable of. If I had taken that one rejection too much to heart, I never would have written nine other books, and whipped up a new book proposal, which did get agent attention and still has agent attention. And I wouldn't even be trying to write more book proposals or asking people to co-author even other book ideas in order to self-pub. Sometimes the yucky stuff pushes you into something better.

Think about it. How are you handling rejection? Are you letting it stop you or push you forward?

The Best of Intentions

I sometimes can't get past just having good intentions. Most times, best of intentions are my best fricking attribute! The lists, the goals, the breakdown of next actions (thanks, David Allen of Getting Things Done), the Kinkless lists and due dates and project spans. Yup, my brain implodes.

But yesterday, although being Monday should have sunk it right there, was a great day. I started the week off right, but dealing with the most important issues FIRST. What a lightbulb moment. I do that often, but yesterday it seemed to manifest into good vibes all day long. Plus, I was praying, praying, praying for my husband and some big things he has coming down at work right now. (Yes, I believe in God.) There's nothing like best intentions actually creating best results. It really fires you up.

Writing on American Masquerade continues; going very well. Everywhen is formulating nicely as well, but the new idea, Newsgirl, is just really gripping me. I dreamed about my heroine last night and well, she may be taking over Everywhen's spot in the line-up, so we may do some switcharoo.

Am hard at work on nf proposals. Chunking takes a lot of energy, but I have changed up my project and will post a opening chunk of the new version. It's good. Lest anyone think that Al Gore is the only one who cares about the environment; my book comes at it from a spiritual approach. Stay tuned.

Book of the week (I read it in an hour yesterday): The War of Art by Steven Pressfield (the guy who wrote Legend of Bagger Vance). Now that book will change your life. What a great gem. If it doesn't get your fire started on doing something with your life, I don't know what will.

Keep writing!

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Chunking Progress!

Okay, folks, I worked on my nf book proposal(s) all weekend long. The reason proposal is plural is that there is definitely more than one book in all this information I've amassed on my subject. Coolio!
I used Eric Maisel's book and Susan Rabiner's book and between the two of them, I came up with 25 titles, 25 subtitles, five alternate versions of this book, four more alternate versions (from most secular to existential) for this book (thus the realization that I have more books in this than just the initial idea), plus am preparing to pitch articles on the topics to magazines to build my platform before I even pitch the book to agents.

It was a great weekend. I'm still really pumped.

This week is looking good for my schedule.

I have to finish a princess book manuscript (very short for a Canadian publisher)
I have a few editorial tests to finish
I have an association article to finish (waiting to here if there's room in the March/April issue)
I have more work on the book proposals
I also have to start pitching the topic around
I also have a to-do list on my current novel WIP (American Masquerade)
Another series idea hit me square in the forehead last night; I'm super excited.

Here we go! Happy Monday!

Grey's Anatomy is crap.

Okay, so I gave up watching this show over a year ago, but was sucked in last night, because my brain was shot and well, everyone was talking about it.


Saw the first part of the Meredith "death" and knew someone had been watching too much Heroes on NBC, or mooching off your fellow ABC hit, LOST. What's with the spooky child staring with death eyes and pointing at Elliott Bay? Yikes. But really, ABC, you've officially killed the show. The whole "hovering in between" with Denny and company? Come on. She and her mother hugging goodbye? Please. Meredith opening her eyes and talking coherently to Cristina within minutes?

Oh, go jump a shark.

GA, for me, is finally dead. Oh that Meredith would have died too. Because really people, this is all about Shonda Rimes. The woman's ego is fully inflated. Perhaps we should have thrown her into the water as a life raft and skipped the whole frantic "save Meredith" frenzy.

In other news, the writing is moving forward. I swear, bit by bit, the story takes shape and has now taken on a life of its own. The protagonist is downright scary, his smooth charm and how he sweeps my heroine off her feet. This is not just a "romance" people, but a romance biography travel tale (that's four different points from Jane Smiley's thirteen ways of a novel). The more of those thirteen ways I can utilize, the better the novel.

Keep on writing!

Back in the saddle again.

Whew, February was a blur. My new niece was born, my marketing efforts have totally taken over my office, and my writing on novels and articles and essays has picked up nicely. Excitement!

Seriously, though, what a great feeling to have things balancd. I will start changing up my writing o'meters to show off my latest progress. I'm in the middle of my new first draft of American Masquerade, which is kinda spooky, but it's so good. I really, really, really like it. Let Them Eat Cake is done, done, done, well first draft at least and I'm actually super excited to get back to it after the AM first draft is down. I also have multiple ideas spouting from my research and reading for these two projects. Yikes. I need to write more and more! What a great job!

I have had multiple offers to blog for others and although the idea is really cool, I'm only looking for paying gigs (and that pay a reasonable rate!). What is a reasonable rate? Well, a freelance professional rate. I charge going rates that may seem exorbitant to you, but are so cheap compared to trying to write yourself (not everyone is a writer, contrary to popular opinion), so please don't ask me to work for nothing or for pennies.

The blogging I do is quality. It's not just blah-blah text loaded with keywords, and it's not run of the mouth chatter that means nothing. I write for a specific audience and if you hire me to write for your audience, well, you'll be happy with the end result. Very happy.

Off to finish an article for an association newsletter, work on some pitches, and I get to have lunch with a teacher friend who's off for winter break.

Keep writing!

February already?

Where did January go? I blinked and it was gone. So now we're on to February and I'm just stopping by to mention that J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter #7 will be out July 21. That is all.

Grammar Rant: Since/Because

It's Grammar Rant Friday! (By the way, how's your chunking going?) I'm chunking as fast as I can!

The Difference Between Since and Because

Since has two meanings: it can refer to some point of time in the past, or it can mean “because.”
Since [from the time that] we last talked, I've found a much better job at another company.
Since [because] I will be traveling for the next two months, please hold my mail until I return.
Ordinarily, the context makes it clear which meaning is intended, but reword in cases where the use of since could cause confusion.

Confusing
I've not talked with Rob since he got the job that I had hoped to snare for myself. (It is not clear why the writer has not talked to Rob. Is it because the writer is suffering from a bad case of envy, or is it simply because Rob is no longer easy to stay in touch with?)

Clear
I've not talked with Rob since he left the company for another job. As it happens, he got the job that I had hoped to snare for myself.

Clear
I've not talked with Rob since he left the company, because he got the job that I had hoped to snare for myself.

Got it? Good. Talk to ya Monday!

So You Want To Write A Book? Lesson 6

Yesterday we started the New Year off on the right foot with a few truths about the writing process.

And since we've already chosen working titles and themes, we're going to pick an obvious path and . . . we're going to start writing!

We'll be writing portions of your book that Maisel calls "chunking."

"A chunk is a piece of writing about the length of a newspaper column that, like a newspaper column, treats a single subject in an anecdote, a vignette, an exercise, a complete thought, a description of a place or an event."

Maisel also adds, "As you get practiced at writing nonfiction you will acquire an increasingly fine sense of what chunks feels like and what they can accomplish. Chunks are the building blocks of nonfiction books."

We'll start by writing five chunks of your book this week. These are not complete pieces of thought, these are doodling vignettes that you've either been collecting or thinking about, and these don't have to be perfect. Just start "chunking."

A sample mini-chunk from me:

A writer's bootcamp is a simple title for an organized approach to writing for magazines. This approach came to me in a brainstorm after I spent too many hours writing a query to one magazine, including meticulous research, and after I sold the piece, I knew that all that research (I am an over-researcher) would go to waste.

Now, I work to maximize the research I put in to try and sell at least five pieces instead of just one.

See?

That's not too hard. And remember, Maisel says that "the first step in deciding which chunks to write is an emotional one: to make a commitment to one version of your book. It is actually a tentative commitment, which sounds like an oxymoron because it is shorthand for the following idea. You are to make a full commitment to one version of your book, while reserving the right to change your mind after you've done some writing."

So, our goal for this week is to write five chunks!

Tomorrow is Grammar Rant Friday! (I know, you cannot wait.)

So You Want To Write A Book? Lesson 5

Happy 2007! I hope you had a wonderful holiday break and are ready to go on your book project.
By now, you've either figured out that I'm a big proponent of Eric Maisel's The Art of the Book Proposal: From Finished Idea to Finished Proposal. If you've read any of Maisel's book, you know that the biggest step toward writing a book proposal that sells is your thought process.

Many writers believe that they should just write and not really think about what they're writing and that's the best way to begin. Maisel begs to differ. He believes that thinking carefully about what you’re attempting to write is the best approach.

Today, we're going dispel some false notions we writers have about the fear of thinking (which most people call the fear of writing or writer’s block) that will hopefully start the new year off right.

Maisel writes in his book that "the first days and weeks of the process may make you feel very uncomfortable as, instead of writing your nonfiction book, you force yourself to think about your book." Writing is hard enough; thinking about what you're writing is even harder.

And often, if you read interviews of other published writers, you hear of so many writers who simply say that they sit down and start writing, with no mention of their intricate thought processes at all.

Maisel replies that "writers who are in the habit of thinking about their books do not notice that they are thinking about their books, in part because much of that thinking goes on when they are sleeping or resting or doing other things. They attack the problems their book presents them with, they think hard and long about those problems (sometimes for years), and then when they finally solve those problems they arrive at the experience that is often presented as 'taking dictation.' But they don't report the thinking part, maybe because it sounds unseemly to have sweated, maybe because they have forgotten or never consciously realized that they were doing it, or maybe because they just feel liking pulling your leg about the writing process."

Nice, eh?

Maisel goes on, "There is another reason why some writers fail to report the thinking part. It is that they don't want to examine their own process that closely. If they did, they would recognize some hard truths about the books they attempted that didn't work. They would have to confront the fact that some of the books that they began, often the ones closest to their hearts, did not receive enough of their best thinking attention and consequently sputtered and failed. I have enough of these books in my own life to know exactly what I am talking about. I can think of two recent books that went all the way to a completed draft stage, and several more that peeked into the world as book proposals, that I refused to think hard enough about and that consequently weren't good enough.”

So, what's stopping you? Start those thought engines! Tomorrow we'll work forward from our work on titles.