Writing is a very solitary business.
We are alone with the voices in our head making up impossible situations to try to connect with a reader.
That connection is the 'gold' this writer seeks.
Oh, we might show our family and friends our stories, but that doesn't fill the void of having other writers confirm that we are on the right writing track.
For years, I've judged various romance contests, and when I find the submission that has that reader connection, I'm on top of the world. And I hope the other judges with this same entry feel the same way that I do.
But it doesn't always happen.
Most of the time, those stories have other issues that need to be fixed, which drops their score leaving them out of the finalists arena.
Every now and then, a writer has both the ability to use the English language AND the talent to write a story that reels the reader in.
Recently, I judged a story like that. RWA's Mystery & Suspense chapter, which is a HUGE online chapter, holds a contest called the Daphne, yes, named after Daphne du Maurier. The story I judged was a historical novel, but not a time period that I usually read. It was truly a wonderful story that I would love to read when it is published.
When I signed up to judge this contest, I had a vague thought about entering one of my elemental stories.
And in an almost final minutes of the contest being open, I decided to throw two of my elemental WIP's (Works in Progress) into the fray. The competition would be fierce and the entries in my category (paranormal) were capped at at 50.
Other than being one of the most prestigious contests, other than RWA's Golden Heart, this contest is big. One of the incentives in entering this contest, and category, was the final judge--editor Brenda Chin.
Now, I've entered contests over the years with different projects, and with one exception about ten years ago, I can never find three first round judges who feel the same way about my stories to score them high enough to final. This time I had to find FOUR first round judges.
The odds were against me.
Imagine my surprise when I received a phone call on Friday informing me that my contest entry, AIR BENEATH A DRAGON'S WINGS finaled in the Daphne.
Yay!
No, there was no screaming and hollering. Just a 'Yay"! from me.
I'm sure the contest coordinator wondered why I wasn't more excited . . . I left that for my wonderful friend and CP who has been there for me for many years--Meg Reid.
Yes, she did scream and holler!
And I doubt if I would have had a coherent synopsis without the eleventh hour input from my friend, Cynthia D'Alba.
Thank you both!
And now to buckle down and finish writing this story.
Though I have a few months, since the winners won't be announced until RWA's National Conference at the end of July, I want to finish this story.
I'm still very excited that this story--the first in a series of four--has gotten the recognition it deserves.
Later, Peeps!
4/23/14
Weighty Wednesday -- Ennui Sets In
Yesterday was my regular Weight Watcher day. My weight was up, but I wasn't surprised considering I hadn't done anything other than eat Easter candy for the previous two days.
I haven't been posting regularly about weight loss, partially because I've not as enthusiastic about how they have designed their program for this year.
Don't get me wrong. I'm a fan of the program, but instead focusing on something new each week, they repeat the same routine for an entire month.
It's right up there with beating a dead horse.
Supposedly Weight Watcher researchers have figured out that if you are presented with the same information for an entire month, you retain it and utilize it.
It might work for some people, but not for me. . ..
Repetition might be the key to remembering things, but repetition can also lead to boredom, careless behavior, and mistakes.
Four weeks (even five in some months) is too long to spend on a topic. April's topic is "Is it worth it?" Which is all about choice, and deciding if you want to spend your points on that Dove chocolate bunny . . .
Sometimes it's worth it, sometimes it isn't.
The problem for me is that I don't actually care any more about this topic. With technology already posting the next new thing only days after the last next new thing, WW is trying to slow the world down. But I think they've taken it too far in the wrong direction.
I think I could have handled two weeks on the same routine, but four weeks is too long.
My goal for this week is to wrangle ennui back into its little hole in my brain and duct tape it inside.
Not exactly the goal I was shooting for, but this one is a little more fun than, "Is it worth it?"
Later, Peeps!
I haven't been posting regularly about weight loss, partially because I've not as enthusiastic about how they have designed their program for this year.
And enthusiasm goes a long way toward reaching your goal weight.
Don't get me wrong. I'm a fan of the program, but instead focusing on something new each week, they repeat the same routine for an entire month.
Boooorrrrrrriiiiinnnnnngggggg. *boring*
It's right up there with beating a dead horse.
Supposedly Weight Watcher researchers have figured out that if you are presented with the same information for an entire month, you retain it and utilize it.
It might work for some people, but not for me. . ..
"Look, shiny." *gets sidetracked*
"Squirrel!"
Four weeks (even five in some months) is too long to spend on a topic. April's topic is "Is it worth it?" Which is all about choice, and deciding if you want to spend your points on that Dove chocolate bunny . . .
Sometimes it's worth it, sometimes it isn't.
The problem for me is that I don't actually care any more about this topic. With technology already posting the next new thing only days after the last next new thing, WW is trying to slow the world down. But I think they've taken it too far in the wrong direction.
I think I could have handled two weeks on the same routine, but four weeks is too long.
Ennui has set in.
My goal for this week is to wrangle ennui back into its little hole in my brain and duct tape it inside.
Not exactly the goal I was shooting for, but this one is a little more fun than, "Is it worth it?"
Later, Peeps!
4/22/14
Brenda Novak's For the Cure Auction
Brenda Novak's 2014 For the Cure Auction opens May 1!
My donations made $621 out of the $358,315 raised in 2013!!!
Let's see how much money my three afghans can raise this year!
This year I'm donating under For Everyone tab:
My donations made $621 out of the $358,315 raised in 2013!!!
Let's see how much money my three afghans can raise this year!
This year I'm donating under For Everyone tab:
ANGELS ALL AROUND AFGHAN
Finished size 46" X 61"
Finished size 46" X 61"
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| Angels All Around afghan |
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| Close up of angels
If you want a color other than ivory, you will have to choose it from a list of possible colors and give me 4-6 weeks to make it.
Finished size 50" X 62"
 
close up of flower
finished size 46" X 53"
 
close up of square
border color is dark green
I am not donating candy this year (2014). :-(
|
4/21/14
Time for a little Bubbler
Another week has come and gone with barely a blog in betwixt.
Last week we finally had the plaster crew here to plaster the pool.
It is done!
The pool was drained. Holes were drilled in it to keep it from 'floating' out of the ground. Plaster was chipped around the tile and fixtures. And acid was used to wash it down and etch the old plaster, which would make the new plaster adhere to the surface.
There's about three weeks of daily maintenance--brushing, mainly--to bring the chemicals into balance and harden the nice white plaster. I don't think you would want to swim in it quite yet since the pH isn't close to bleach level, but it wouldn't be pleasant.
Last week we finally had the plaster crew here to plaster the pool.
It is done!
Before
After
And because we don't have enough water in the backyard with the pool . . .
And the pond.
(notice the fresh mulch everywhere?? We bought about 100 bags of cedar mulch for all the garden beds)
The hubby wanted to add a rock bubbler.
In fact, the hubs has been pestering me for a bubbler for years now. A few weeks ago we picked out the rock. It's a really fun rock with lots of holes in it. I think it's called Cathedral rock. Anyway, he purchased a plastic tub and pump, and proceeded to dig up my roses to place the rock in the garden bed to the side of the pool.
On an aside, I'd like to plant a Venus Flytrap in the big hole on the left. If one can't survive the heat of the rock, even though it will be getting plenty of water, I'll find something else fun to grow in the hole. Plus I need to find a couple other plants to put in the mulch on either side of the black rocks. I know I want a rosemary plant (I lost mine this last winter. It was a harsh winter!) and something else that won't be too tall.
This picture is from a couple of years ago. The sundial and six roses around the dial have been moved and the bubbler rock has been installed. I had about five roses along the fence die this last winter, so it was no problem moving the minis to a new location.
And this was how we spent our Easter weekend!
Later, Peeps!
4/14/14
Catching Up
Sorry for the quiet blog last week. I know it's hard to believe, but I really couldn't think of anything to say!
I wanted to write a blog titled, DON'T BE STUPID, but I thought it had too much negativity going on with the connotation of the word stupid, plus the negative of don't. This blog popped into my head when I received a generic thank-you note for judging a contest by the contest coordinator. The note was in Arial 10, while my name was in TNR 12. The whole point of that blog would have been to keep the font the same. I would have felt a little better about my judging efforts if the coordinator had taken the time to use the same font. As it is, I didn't feel appreciated or special because it was too obvious that it was generic.
This goes for sending queries to editors/agents. Keep the font the same.
Look, editors/agents are well aware that you are sending out mass queries. You'd be crazy not to, but have a little bit of professional in the manner you query them.
On Saturday, my daughter had her first Long Course swim meet since last year. It was a mixed meet with under 12's swimming along with the seniors, which meant my daughter swam a couple of events that don't even count for her age group (50 breast and 50 back), but it's a good practice. Long course is a relatively short season, but it's intense. If you've watched the Olympics, you've seen the distance that the kids swim in Long Course. Just stand at one end of the pool and look. It's a long way to swim 50 meters, without the turn.
She did well, qualifying for Age Groups with 100 Free and 200 Medley. Both of which were BB times. She had a good swim with the 100 Fly (a B time), but was still a few seconds from qualifying with OAG's.
The one thing I noticed with the long course swim, is that the stroke technique is pinnacle. If you swim a 50, there are no turns, just a dive and a sprint. With a 100, there is one flip turn. So if you lose time, it's due to small issues with your stroke.
I told her to swim hard, but I don't think she swam 100% all out in all the events, maybe 80%. The indicator is how hard she's breathing when she gets out of the pool. Breathing hard = gave it her all. Not breathing hard = 80% effort.
Just saying.
And, I hate to say it, but I'm not surprised that the pool guys still haven't plastered our pool. I've lost track of all the times I've heard, "You're next on the list." for the last THREE weeks. With the Oklahoma wind blowing dust, pollen, and tree crap around, this is what our pool looks like now. They had to chip the plaster away from around the fixtures and the tile, along with putting holes everywhere. Believe it or not, they had acid washed this three days ago in preparation of plaster.
Once they plaster the pool, we can't swim in it for a month. I'm starting to wonder if we will be able to swim in it at all this season!
I'm almost finished with this next afghan. It was made from a bunch of my leftover colors, with the exception of the border, which is dark green. I'll see how it looks when I finish piecing it together and crocheting the border, but I'll probably donate this one to Brenda Novak's Auction. Since it had so many different colors, I have to put it on the floor to see if I've managed to mix it up enough.
I try to post more this week, but I'm finally writing on the Mystic Elements stories and want to crank out as many words as possible. Another goal I have for this week is to update this blog, fixing my links, and updating the blurbs on the stories now that I know what the stories are all about!
That's it for today. Later, Peeps!
I wanted to write a blog titled, DON'T BE STUPID, but I thought it had too much negativity going on with the connotation of the word stupid, plus the negative of don't. This blog popped into my head when I received a generic thank-you note for judging a contest by the contest coordinator. The note was in Arial 10, while my name was in TNR 12. The whole point of that blog would have been to keep the font the same. I would have felt a little better about my judging efforts if the coordinator had taken the time to use the same font. As it is, I didn't feel appreciated or special because it was too obvious that it was generic.
This goes for sending queries to editors/agents. Keep the font the same.
Look, editors/agents are well aware that you are sending out mass queries. You'd be crazy not to, but have a little bit of professional in the manner you query them.
- remember to change the addressee's name
- find out if you are querying a male or a female (Mr vs. Ms)--and yes, I have screwed this one up
- make sure you are using their LAST name instead of their first name in your query--ditto on screwage.
On Saturday, my daughter had her first Long Course swim meet since last year. It was a mixed meet with under 12's swimming along with the seniors, which meant my daughter swam a couple of events that don't even count for her age group (50 breast and 50 back), but it's a good practice. Long course is a relatively short season, but it's intense. If you've watched the Olympics, you've seen the distance that the kids swim in Long Course. Just stand at one end of the pool and look. It's a long way to swim 50 meters, without the turn.
She did well, qualifying for Age Groups with 100 Free and 200 Medley. Both of which were BB times. She had a good swim with the 100 Fly (a B time), but was still a few seconds from qualifying with OAG's.
The one thing I noticed with the long course swim, is that the stroke technique is pinnacle. If you swim a 50, there are no turns, just a dive and a sprint. With a 100, there is one flip turn. So if you lose time, it's due to small issues with your stroke.
I told her to swim hard, but I don't think she swam 100% all out in all the events, maybe 80%. The indicator is how hard she's breathing when she gets out of the pool. Breathing hard = gave it her all. Not breathing hard = 80% effort.
Just saying.
And, I hate to say it, but I'm not surprised that the pool guys still haven't plastered our pool. I've lost track of all the times I've heard, "You're next on the list." for the last THREE weeks. With the Oklahoma wind blowing dust, pollen, and tree crap around, this is what our pool looks like now. They had to chip the plaster away from around the fixtures and the tile, along with putting holes everywhere. Believe it or not, they had acid washed this three days ago in preparation of plaster.
Once they plaster the pool, we can't swim in it for a month. I'm starting to wonder if we will be able to swim in it at all this season!
I'm almost finished with this next afghan. It was made from a bunch of my leftover colors, with the exception of the border, which is dark green. I'll see how it looks when I finish piecing it together and crocheting the border, but I'll probably donate this one to Brenda Novak's Auction. Since it had so many different colors, I have to put it on the floor to see if I've managed to mix it up enough.
I try to post more this week, but I'm finally writing on the Mystic Elements stories and want to crank out as many words as possible. Another goal I have for this week is to update this blog, fixing my links, and updating the blurbs on the stories now that I know what the stories are all about!
That's it for today. Later, Peeps!
4/8/14
Writing 101 -- Telling a Story vs. Storytelling
Yesterday I met my friend Margaret and we went on a long walk followed by a quick trip to Starbucks before we had to go our separate ways. We talked about numerous things, but eventually when we settled down with our coffees we talked books.
Margaret was telling me about an autobiography she was reading about a cowboy's life in the late 1880's to the 1920's. I don't think she told me the name of the book, but this cowboy was more than just your average cowboy. She loved the way he told the story: his descriptions and the dialect. She said she could just picture everything he talked about and could visualize him as he told his tale.
This is where I pipped in with one of my rare gems of wisdom. I said,
Yes, my friends, there is a difference, a big difference.
In my opinion, every writer should strive to become a storyteller because the base of every good story is all in how it is told. Our job is to use the right words to tell our tales, but it goes much deeper than that. We need to be like the spider that snares a reader, hopelessly snagging them in our sticky thread until they are unable to escape our storytelling web.
Ever read one of those books that you couldn't stop reading, and stayed up until two AM to finish reading it?
How about a book that you can remember the story and the characters for years after you return it to the library or pack it away?
Those writers are storytellers.
But a writer has to remember that not every book will garner the same response with every reader. The key is to get an emotional response no matter what.
Learning the craft of writing isn't just about grammar and punctuation, it's learning how to inject storytelling into your characters, plot, and dialogue.
If you've followed my blog long enough, you'll know that I like judging writing contests. I'm not looking to break someone down or steal their ideas, I want to be enchanted by a story. Sometimes it happens, but most times it doesn't. I was lucky with this last packet to get one that took my breath away, but I also had one entry from a new writer, and one entry that was technically 'perfect', but was perfectly forgettable. Seriously, one day after I read the submission, I couldn't for the life of me remember the title, the plot or the characters.
Some writers seem to hit it out of the ballpark their first time up to bat. They somehow manage to become 'overnight' superstars. What most of us don't realize is that they've been honing their craft for YEARS.
And then you have the writers who gritch and groan that their first book is "the book of their heart" and there will be no others.
Well, my friends, I have to say that EVERY book you write should be the book of your heart. If you don't enjoy writing a particular book, why do you think a reader would enjoy reading it? That isn't to say writers love their stories ALL the time, because sometimes we hate the characters, hate the plot, and hate editing the same darn thing for about the 25th time, but deep down we LOVE the story though it is taking us on an angst-driven ride.
So how do we become storytellers instead of simply telling a story?
That, my friends, is the answer you will have to figure out for yourselves.
There is no magic elixir, or one perfect answer, just like no two authors will write the same story in the same way. Finding the answer to this question is part of your writing story, not mine.
Gotta go, because I'm finding my urge to write again.
Later, Peeps!
Margaret was telling me about an autobiography she was reading about a cowboy's life in the late 1880's to the 1920's. I don't think she told me the name of the book, but this cowboy was more than just your average cowboy. She loved the way he told the story: his descriptions and the dialect. She said she could just picture everything he talked about and could visualize him as he told his tale.
This is where I pipped in with one of my rare gems of wisdom. I said,
"Because he storytelling and not just telling a story."
Yes, my friends, there is a difference, a big difference.
In my opinion, every writer should strive to become a storyteller because the base of every good story is all in how it is told. Our job is to use the right words to tell our tales, but it goes much deeper than that. We need to be like the spider that snares a reader, hopelessly snagging them in our sticky thread until they are unable to escape our storytelling web.
Ever read one of those books that you couldn't stop reading, and stayed up until two AM to finish reading it?
How about a book that you can remember the story and the characters for years after you return it to the library or pack it away?
Those writers are storytellers.
But a writer has to remember that not every book will garner the same response with every reader. The key is to get an emotional response no matter what.
Learning the craft of writing isn't just about grammar and punctuation, it's learning how to inject storytelling into your characters, plot, and dialogue.
If you've followed my blog long enough, you'll know that I like judging writing contests. I'm not looking to break someone down or steal their ideas, I want to be enchanted by a story. Sometimes it happens, but most times it doesn't. I was lucky with this last packet to get one that took my breath away, but I also had one entry from a new writer, and one entry that was technically 'perfect', but was perfectly forgettable. Seriously, one day after I read the submission, I couldn't for the life of me remember the title, the plot or the characters.
Some writers seem to hit it out of the ballpark their first time up to bat. They somehow manage to become 'overnight' superstars. What most of us don't realize is that they've been honing their craft for YEARS.
And then you have the writers who gritch and groan that their first book is "the book of their heart" and there will be no others.
Well, my friends, I have to say that EVERY book you write should be the book of your heart. If you don't enjoy writing a particular book, why do you think a reader would enjoy reading it? That isn't to say writers love their stories ALL the time, because sometimes we hate the characters, hate the plot, and hate editing the same darn thing for about the 25th time, but deep down we LOVE the story though it is taking us on an angst-driven ride.
So how do we become storytellers instead of simply telling a story?
That, my friends, is the answer you will have to figure out for yourselves.
There is no magic elixir, or one perfect answer, just like no two authors will write the same story in the same way. Finding the answer to this question is part of your writing story, not mine.
Gotta go, because I'm finding my urge to write again.
Later, Peeps!
4/4/14
Oklahoma Spring
Other parts of the country have fared worse than we have with the never-ending winter, but there are a few signs of spring popping up in my backyard.
The yardwork never stops. This weekend, I need to transplant my roses so the hubs can dig a hole for the bubbler. Then we need to fertilize and mulch, but we were hoping the pool would be plastered by this weekend. Surprise! That's not going to happen. I almost fell into the deep end yesterday when I was taking picture. Scared the bejezzers out of me! A broken neck is low on my bucket list of things to do before I die.
Time to get outside and enjoy the beauty of nature!
Later, peeps!
Happy Daffys
 |
| back corner under Loblolly pines, Phlox, daffodils, and Pampas grass (don't know if this survived the winter) |
Sprouting Plants
 |
| Crepe Myrtle tree, Batik Iris on the left, Moonlight Scentsation Rose in the center, Daylilies on the right. In the back, Peonies |
Hungry Fish
The floating stuff is food.
The yardwork never stops. This weekend, I need to transplant my roses so the hubs can dig a hole for the bubbler. Then we need to fertilize and mulch, but we were hoping the pool would be plastered by this weekend. Surprise! That's not going to happen. I almost fell into the deep end yesterday when I was taking picture. Scared the bejezzers out of me! A broken neck is low on my bucket list of things to do before I die.
Time to get outside and enjoy the beauty of nature!
Later, peeps!
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