Ally Condie and Cupcakes to celebrate

Ally was the keynote speaker at WIFYR. If you ever get a chance to hear her speak, don't miss it. She has some interesting stories (house mom for a sorority?) and my daughter can hardly wait for the sequel to Matched to come out. I didn't take the book, so she signed a bookmark for my daughter. Really nice!

My notes are short, but significant: Put in the work to write!Figure out what works for you in writing and cling to it. Your writing will feel important as you put forth the little part of you that is true.

Mark the little successes—decide what they are for you (beyond just getting published) and celebrate them. Do what makes you happy.

Aren't we doing this because we want to write? Really? There are plenty of easier ways to make ourselves miserable. So go buy a cupcake, put a candle in it, and after you write for your one hour today, celebrate the fact that while other people are thinking about it, you actually sat down at the computer and wrote (or edited) something concrete. Save me some frosting.

My Guest Blog Spot

http://throwingupwords.wordpress.com/page/4/

I've been working on submitting some things (yes, actually, finally) along with getting kids back in school, attacking the overgrown bushes that I've decided are actually tress (at least they think they are) and the like. So my blog has gone woefully unnoticed. I did, at least, write for Carol Williams and Ann Dee Ellis' blog, which, BTW, is always current and wonderful, with contests and some excellent writing tips.

So go read their blog, and meanwhile, I'll finish updating mine. I promise to finally include my WIFYR notes.

Book Reviews: Wake and The Indigo Notebook

I just finished reading Wake by Lisa McMann. It wasn’t quite what I expected. I read some reviews of it, and found some pretty divergent views. What I agreed with: the book is well-written. It isn’t suitable for younger readers. After being alerted to sexual content in the dreams (one reviewer objected to the idea that every teen either has sexual dreams or falling ones) and a fair amount of the F-word, I felt that given that premise, there was less than there could have been. I found the swearing felt odd, like it had been put in for effect rather than dialogue necessity.

Still, I loved the concept, and I liked the main character. I liked her best friend even better--the friend that's sometimes a lot nicer than the mc deserves. And the skater-boy turned hottie? Well, I can see why it was a NY Times bestseller.

I also read The Indigo Notebook by Laura Raceau. I found the writing beautiful, some absolutely beautiful and fresh descriptions. That said, I found the ending pretty predictable. The theme really was about letting people be who they are. Zia changes, as a mc should, but wished the mother could have given Zia a little more stability. That probably says a lot about why I'm living in suburbia instead of traveling the world teaching English and learning new languages. I do understand getting so involved in a project that you forget about, say, cooking dinner. As I'm at the computer, my kids often have to say, "Hello? Mom? Are you in there?"

Gratitude for Being Able to Do

I read a post by a friend of mine. I knew she'd been ill, but not that ill. I'm glad she's doing better, and hope that will continue. It got me thinking, okay, yeah, it's all about me, of the times when my MS was a lot worse. Last week I had a flare, and haven't had one in about a year. I spent a lot of the week 1. eating too much because my body knew something was wrong and so of course my brain said, "here, food will fix it." 2. having 2 or 3 irrational crying times that made my husband wonder about my ability to carry on logical conversations. 3. Had to go to the doctor because some old, worrysome symptoms popped up. 3. Felt so tired that it made me really grateful that I don't feel those old feelings so much anymore. Here's the essence of what I wrote on my friend's blog, with some extra details.

"I'm not glad for what you've been through. I have MS and although never bedridden, I wanted to cry when my daughter would come to my bed and say, "Mommy, that was a really long nap," realizing she'd been alone and watching TV all afternoon. Messy house, always tired, not there for field trips, couldn't volunteer at school, missed appointments and lessons, had to hire help. There were times I joked that my husband really ought to 'trade me in for a working model.' I, too, had a medication change (several years ago) and now I'm usually so close to normal I almost forget what that was like. Last week I felt a bit like I used to. That wake-up reminded me to appreciate the good days instead of squeezing all the life out with worry and doing too much.
[Friend's name] you have a great purpose. I know you, although not as well as I'd like, but enough to know you're amazing. Your beautiful writing has tons to say, and so do you."

When I get down on myself for all I can't do, the writing that trickles out instead of the steady flow of hours-worth of words I want, walk past the little things that always seem to clutter my countertops and floor, I sometimes want to stop trying. I told my friend she's worth it. I need to take my own advice.

And I'm very grateful that I'm starting to feel better this week. Still eating too much chocolate, and black licorice, and more chocolate. I've been trying to cut down on those. Time to spend less time eating, more on feeling grateful, more on writing.

Time to get Caught up on Blogging

Okay, I've been away a lot this summer. I've still got writing to do on what happened at WIFYR and LDS Storymakers. I have, however, been able to say I'm still writing. Writing on the beach (okay, for 45 minutes, but still.) Arranging it so one of my boys rode in the front seat for part of our 5 hour drives to and from the Sun Valley family reunion so I could sit in the back and write. Writing on vacation. It's been bits here and there, not the huge blocks of times I wish for and never seem to manage (maybe I'm just too ADD) but I'm working. I gave myself a huge list of things to do:
1. I'm brushing the cobwebs off my Sonya Silent book because MG contemporary is supposed to come back. But after WIFYR and wonderful help from Claudia Mills, I have to re-do the second half. I've come up with the new plot, and written some of it, but still scary amounts to do.
2. In the middle of revision to Night Visions, not giving up on that one either, even if it has dreams in it.
3. Giving up on Pearled for now. Maybe someday Mermaids will make a comeback? I still love the setting and characters of the book, especially the part where she meets the Ama (no not American Medical Association--but they really did exist) I will finish it just for my girls.
4. Finally getting some ideas on how to change my overstuffed with two many plots book, whatever I finally call it, Mayflower Cafe for now. After I finish re-writes on the other two, it's my next project.
5. I think. Because I've also started a new book. It's coming out unexpectedly for me, mostly in small, one-sentence definitions (sort-of how some books lately have lists.) And I really like it, although somedays it's painful to write. It's easy to write about how I feel about Asperger's and I'm trying to do that, too. This is not a problem novel, but I know the main character will have that problem (maybe not labeled because that the hot thing now and by the time I get it done I will be, like the mermaid one, past the trend). It's also going to have fun parts. I've been asking my son about what a character would have to do if he wanted to take a lawnmower on a road trip. We'll see what advice he gives me.
I will post about WIFYR. Soon.

Productive Writing or Unproductive Worrying?

Last weekend I went with one of the members of my critique group to meet with another critique group. I really enjoyed it, and even though the comments showed me that I've got to revise my first chapter, AGAIN, I now have some good ideas of what I need to do. I've been going back and forth between too much detail, not enough detail, too vague and sketchy, or too boring. I spent the whole hour plus drive home thinking about what I needed to change, and realized, I don't have to put in that stuff that's boring. I can make it chapter two and start over. I'm excited to implement my changes.
However, although I managed to type a few notes into my phone, and got about ten words written when I got home, that's all I've done. I'm hoping to find a way to meet with this critique group, but with the long drive, my husband isn't too excited about the time chunk bitten out of a Saturday. So we had our usual conversation about my how much time I spend writing as opposed to how much I should spend.I told him I didn't spend nearly as much time writing as I thought I should.
His reply surprised me: "You're right. It's just the time you spend thinking and stressing about writing that's too much."
Hmm. Since then, I've been thinking about how to spend less mental energy wanting to write and more energy actually putting words on paper.

First Line Contest Winners

I've had a lot going on offline, and I'm way behind at updating my blog. First of all, here are the contest results:

First Place: Kalen O'Donnell

For my sixteenth birthday, my oldest brother tried to kill me again.

Second Place: Nikki Katz

Jocelyn stared at the guy sitting across the table from her, wondering how he’d react later – when he was drowning.
Runners Up:
Kimberly Kay - I thought I knew the definition of fear, but this time Webster was wrong.
Peggy Eddleman - You’d think I had never jumped off a 35 foot cliff before, based on how long I stood there, not jumping.
Erica Olson - I slammed the car door and rushed past the men putting pieces of my life into a big white truck.
Marcy Pusey - The first time MaryAnn died she was only nine years old.
Janet B Taylor - They say eyes are the window to the soul–or some crap like that–but for me, eyebrows are way more interesting.
Amy White - Oliver used to be ordinary–yesterday.
Susan Kaye Quinn - A zero like me shouldn’t take public transportation.

We had lots on entries, and I was amazed at the quality of the first lines.