Getting to Know Me

Movie Madness Monday

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No, this will not be a regular weekly post, and, no, it will most likely not be what you expect.

I just wanted to take some time to express my frustration with the movie industry.  You see I still have a child under the teen years at home, not to mention that I think the teen years need to be carefully guided because they are so important and teens are so impressionable.

Anyway, I am disgusted with the fact that the movie industry seems to think that it is important for animated movies to “appeal” to adults as well as children in today’s society.  I just have to ask, did the old animated movies not “appeal” to the adults who took their children to seem them, or even the old Disney movies that weren’t animated?

I remember my parents taking my sister and I to see animated movies like the Peanuts and Winnie-the-Pooh when I was a kid and they seemed to enjoy them.  I never heard them complain about them.

But, suddenly if an animated film doesn’t include innuendo, potty humor or swearing (or something close to it) or something scary, the film isn’t adult friendly.  Seriously, do all adults feel this way?  I can answer that with a resounding “no”.

I, and many of my friends, want “family friendly” films by which I mean films that are appropriate for children; films that parents can take their children to without worrying that their children will be exposed to something they don’t want their children exposed to at a young age, or that their children might ask about that they don’t want to explain to their children at a young age.

It’s downright aggravating to have such limited, almost nonexistent, films that I find appropriate for our youngest son to see.  Therefore, we purchase and watch DVDs at home of things we find appropriate; things like The Peanuts, Winnie-the-Pooh, old family friendly t.v. shows like The Waltons and Little House on the Prairie.

The last really family friendly movies we have seen were the Monsters, Inc. and Monsters University movies and Inside Out.  I am thankful that Pixar still does a fairly good job of making family friendly films.

How about you?  Do you think today’s new adult friendly animated movies are fit for children of all ages?

My Crazy Life

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I began a post for Wordless Wednesday yesterday but before I could get it up the major thunderstorm we were having knocked out our electricity which knocked out my wifi.  What a bummer!

Today I have no specific theme, so you get to read my ramblings.  Ha ha!  I’ll try to be brief and make sense.

For those who don’t know, I homeschool my children.  My oldest graduated our homeschool almost four years ago, took some time off and is now attending college.  This is his freshman year.  He is an hour-and-a-half away and doesn’t drive or have a car.  Tomorrow my other two sons and I will be picking him up.  He’ll be here for about a week!

My second son will graduate our homeschool this year and he wants to go to a two (possibly three) year Bible school that is ten hours away!

My youngest will begin middle school next year.

All of that to say that as homeschoolers we’ve been extremely busy.  We’ve been involved in co-ops, sports, music lessons, a writers’ club, and, this year, a Literature discussion group.

Almost two weeks ago, my van died, and so now we are down to one vehicle, and it looks as though we will be for at least a year.  Ordinarily I would have freaked out about this, but I have really been feeling a need to scale things back and not be so busy.  I’m looking forward to a much simpler life for a while.  Therefore, today was our last time at the Literature discussion group.  Monday will be our last day at our small co-op.  Tomorrow night is the final basketball game.

This will give me some more time to enjoy schooling our youngest son before he gets to the busy teen years.  Hopefully, it will also allow me more time to do a lot more writing, and hopefully finally get into a set schedule for my writing that I will be able to stick to.

* * * *

Now, for some writing talk.  This Saturday, I will be attending a small Winter Writers’ Retreat.  It will include Creative exercises, which I will be leading.  I am excited about it, but was at first found the idea quite daunting.  I found some great resources online that I think will be a lot of fun and help us with some of the more common items that writers sometimes struggle with.

There will also be a Brainstorming session, Critique time and free writing time.  I am hoping it will give me a boost as I have been struggling with my current story, which I was originally so excited about.

 

The Evolution of a Writer

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It’s been a little over three years since I re-entered the writing world.  The first year, I simply studied — reading books and magazine articles and blogs about the writing craft and what’s been happening in the writing world, as well as attending as many affordable, one-day writers’ conferences I could, and I joined a local writers’ group that meets once a month and I have been attending faithfully, for the most part, for these three plus years.

The second year, I began to write again, but I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to be writing.  I couldn’t decide on a genre.  I prayed for God to reveal his will for my writing.  Then, I got an idea and I started writing, but I wasn’t excited about it.  However, I wrote a bit, received some critiques, and then spoke with a writer and marketer at a conference, who offered me some great ideas/advice.  That gave me some excitement.  Unfortunately, the excitement was fleeting, and then I thought I’d finish the story and enter it into a contest.  Long story short, due to technical difficulties, I missed the contest deadline.  Being frustrated about missing the deadline and really just feeling “done” with the story, I let it sit for a month before picking it up and doing a read-through.  Ugh!  So glad I missed that deadline!  The ending is rushed.  The ending isn’t at all what I wanted it to be, and my timeline is a mess!  Some friends have/are read/reading it and offering me feedback, which I will read through carefully and make notes of the things they suggest that I think should be changed.  I will eventually edit, rework, and revise this story to create a, hopefully, better-than-good story.  I may even publish it someday.

However, I have evolved!  What do I mean by that? you may ask.  Well, I have finally found my genre — historical romantic fiction!  I’ve had a story brewing in my brain, even while working on the above-mentioned story, and I recently sat down to begin working on it.  What I first knew I must do, was to research the time period and the place.  I researched to choose appropriate names for my main characters, and as my plot line began to form in my brain, I researched a few other important details.  What do you think I found, in addition to what I was looking for, in all of this researching?  More great circumstances to add to my plot line!  I have completely fallen in love with this genre!

I know what you’re thinking, “So does this mean you’re not a pantser anymore?”  Well, let me just say, “I’m not a plotter, but I’m not a pantser either.”  I now fall somewhere in between, but I have found that while researching and building my plot line, then by creating my characters and their backstories, I have found a place that will allow me to plan enough for historical romantic fiction that gives me the historical facts I need but doesn’t require so much time and drudgery that it kills my creativity and my desire to write the story.  As a matter of fact, it has simply fueled my excitement and eagerness to write the story, and I am sure with the bit of research and planning I put in before beginning the actual story, I will write a much better first draft than the last one.

How about you?  How long have you been writing and how has what you have learned helped you to evolve into a better writer?  I’d love for you to leave a comment and share your story.

Introverted Me

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Many writers and artists, as well as other people, are introverts.  Are you an introvert?  I am, though some people do not believe me.

Webster’s Dictionary defines introvert as:  to turn inward or in upon itself;  to concentrate or direct upon oneself; a reserved or shy person; a quiet person who does not find it easy to talk to other people.

I find these definitions a bit simplistic and, to a degree, they miss the mark.  I agree that an introvert is a person who does not find it easy to talk to other people.  However, what this definition neglects to explain is that it takes effort and great energy for an introvert to be around people and to have to interact with them, and after spending time putting forth the effort and energy to interact with others, an introvert needs quiet time alone to regain energy.

Why do some people not believe me when I tell them that I am an introvert?  Because when I am comfortable with a person or small group of people, I enjoy talking to them and sharing thoughts and ideas that we have in common.  Most people seem to assume that introverts are always quiet and don’t like to talk, and so the fact that I, as well as other introverts, actually enjoy conversations with people we are comfortable with seems to puzzle them.

As a homeschool mom, I have stepped out of my introverted comfort zone many times to do things for my children’s benefit and/or education.  I have spoken in front of groups of people — for me, this doesn’t bother me too much if the group consists of children and teenagers, but if the group includes adults, it ranges from being scary to terrifying, and sometimes I don’t even know what the level of fear will be; like the time I had collected monetary gifts from the parents of the homeschool high school soccer team and had to stand before a group of both teens and adults to express our gratitude and present the gift to the coach.  I still do not know why I became so terrified doing this that my hands shook, my voice and lip trembled and I was nearly in tears before I was finished.  I was never so glad to sit down and hide in the crowd as I was after presenting that gift.

However, people see me standing before these groups and talking or loudly cheering for my boys at their sports events or introducing myself to new homeschool moms or new couples and/or families visiting our church and think I have to be an extrovert, when, in fact, I have simply learned how to force myself out of my introverted comfort zone when it seems necessary to do so.  All of the things listed in this paragraph and those above require a lot of effort and energy for me, but I also find that all of these things can be blessings as I reach out to welcome or encourage others, and as they are blessed by my actions, it becomes a blessing to me, but it still requires a lot of effort and energy for me to do so.

Even as much as I love my husband and three children, I sometimes need some quiet time by myself to recharge my battery to prevent myself from becoming impatient and easily frustrated with them because of being so tired of having to deal with people and the energy it requires to be with them and to do things for them.

As I find myself getting older and my children growing up, I am finding that I am craving more quiet time to recharge my energy and regain my peace of mind than I used to.  I feel a stronger need, maybe because I am writing again and writing requires a lot of mental time and energy, for more solitude — yes, solitude is what I really need.  You see, as an introvert, I am not bored when I am alone and I do not become lonely within a day or two.  On the contrary, being alone allows me to revel in the quiet, spend time reflecting and thinking, and, even more importantly, speaking to and seeking my Lord, and this refreshes me and renews my spirit and energizes me so that I can enjoy my loved ones and they will find my company more enjoyable than after an entire week of having to be with people.

Also, I remember as a teen, not really minding doing things with friends that required being in a large crowd.  However, as I get older, I prefer to avoid large crowds, except on rare occasions, like when I have the opportunity to go to a Toby Mac concert.  But, being in a large crowd doesn’t necessarily take a lot of effort and energy from me because a person can be alone in a crowd.  As an introvert, I can easily blend into the background and not be noticed and, therefore, not have to interact with other people in the crowd.

So, what are my favorite activities?  Yes, they are all introvert, things people do alone, activities:  reading, listening to music without interruptions with earbuds in place, writing, or coloring in those new artist coloring books, although I enjoy having others color in coloring books around the same table with me as well.

How about you?  Are you an introvert?  What are your introvert tendencies? I know even we introverts are not all the same.

Time to Put My Nose Back to the Grindstone

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Well, after a month break from novel writing, I feel refreshed and ready to get back to some serious writing.  I finished my first novel at the end of November, and when I did, I had no desire to start editing it or really digging into another novel.

So what did I do for the past month?  I let my novel rest, although I did send it to my writing buddies that I meet with weekly, and the editor completed technical edits (you know, grammar, spelling, and such), which I have only recently begun to look at.

Did I feel guilty for taking a month off?  No, I felt like I needed the break.  It is a busy time of year.  Also, I have heard other authors repeatedly suggest taking a break after completing a novel.  Suggested time off ranges from two weeks to a month.  It allows you to approach the novel with fresh eyes and mind to edit and revise.

During my month break I did not stay away from writing completely.  I couldn’t do that.  If you follow this blog, you know that I wrote a short Christmas story that I read at our church Christmas service, because I posted the original on this blog.  I also did a couple of blog posts, did some planning and research for my next novel, and I read and studied the book Revision and Self-Editing for Publication by James Scott Bell.

I found Mr. Bell’s book extremely helpful, and it has given me great tips and advice and motivated me to begin the editing and revision process of my novel.

For the past two weeks, I’ve had no time to write as I prepared for our family Christmas celebration, and then came the celebration, but during this period, I was still studying Mr. Bell’s book.  I was also blessed the Sunday before Christmas, to be able to spend some time talking to our church’s associate pastor, who is also a writer.  He has never published anything traditionally, but has printed and assembled some of his poems and stories to share with friends and loved ones.  He is now 92 years old and still writing.  We have been talking a lot about writing over the past couple of weeks, and I have had the privilege of reading one of his short stories and offering him some writing tips, because, though he has been writing for years, he hasn’t really studied the craft and is not up-to-date on today’s publishing options and what editors are looking for.  I love talking writing with other writers.  I also love to encourage and help other writers in any way I can.

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and I pray that God will bless you in the coming new year!  I hope that those of you who write, will enter the new year feeling refreshed and excited to write.

Look for glimpses into my novel in the new year.

So Much is Happening!

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Wow!  There are just so many things happening in my writing life right now!

First, and update of what’s been transpiring between the publisher I met at the conference and myself:  the Wednesday after the conference I received an email from her asking for my first three chapters.  I submitted them to her and Thursday I received an email saying she wants to publish my book if I haven’t already committed to publish with someone else!

However, I wasn’t sure that’s what I wanted to do.  I needed more time, plus there is a contest I want to enter the story in, and the deadline is November 30th.  So, I asked the publisher if I could get back to her after the new year, and I was honest and up front about wanting to enter the contest.  She was very kind and agreed.  I am quite impressed with this publisher and am still praying for God’s guidance.

So, right now I am working hard to finish the story to submit before the contest deadline!

Meanwhile, I have another story niggling at the back of my brain that is itching to come out, so I am anxious to finish my current story and move on to the next one, which I have at least two, possibly three additional story ideas to make this a series.  I’ve written the ideas and a few other notes down to be sure I don’t forget anything.

Finally, the writing group I told you that I meet with on Thursdays, just added a new member to the group who is a professional editor!  I love sitting back, watching God move in my writing life, and just enjoying the ride!  I fully trust Him to guide me and my writing to wherever He wants us to go.

So, what exciting things are happening in your writing life?

Guest Posts

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Having people do guest posts on your blog is a great way to help them build their blog.  Maybe they are new to blogging or have been blogging for a while but haven’t really been noticed in the blogging world yet, so if you have a successful blog, you can help someone boost theirs by writing a guest blog for them.

This can also help you make your blog a bit more successful as well if you have your friend you write a post for include a link to your blog when they post your guest post.

It’s a great word for writers and/or bloggers to help one another.

Yesterday a friend of mine posted a guest post by me.  You can read it, and maybe learn something about me that you don’t know by going to Anecdotes from Along Life’s Road.  While you’re there, be sure to check out some of Jill’s original posts.

Sharing with Other Writers is so Rewarding

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So much going on!

We’ve added another writer to our weekly writing group.  Meet Laura at Caffeinated Fiction Caffeinated Fiction.  We are so happy to have her.

Our weekly writing group has created an email chain that we are using to help keep each other accountable and to encourage one another.  We use this email chain to post our monthly writing word count goals, which we post daily or weekly.  We encourage each other to press on toward those goals.  We lift each other up if we don’t quite hit the mark.  We also share prayer requests so that we can pray for each other’s needs.  I really love having this group of ladies to meet with and to rely on.

I also enjoyed speaking with a fellow writer at church on Sunday.  She’s been writing for a long time and has reached a higher level of success than I have yet managed.  She has written much more nonfiction than fiction, but she has done some fiction as well.  We shared a bit about our writing experiences and our upcoming writing plans. She asked me about my current work in progress (WIP), and it was quite fun for me to talk to her about it because she asked for some specific details no one else has asked yet.  (i.e.  She asked how many characters are in my book.)

How are things going in your writing world?  I’d really love to hear about it.  I would really enjoy getting some comments in the comment box, telling me about your writing journey, whether it be successes or struggles.  I’d be happy to encourage you in your journey as I continue to travel mine.

Some News!

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Just an update on what is going on in my writing life:

1.  The editor of our local homeschool magazine contacted me about a month ago and asked me to write a couple of articles for the magazine.  So far, I have written one, which the editor was so pleased with, she told me to write something for her anytime.  My first article in this homeschool magazine has been published in the latest issue exactly as I wrote it!

2.  I just submitted a short true story, in first person, to Chicken Soup for the Soul.  I won’t hear anything for a couple of months, or, if they aren’t interested, not at all.  Of course, I hope to hear from them in a couple of months.

It is quite difficult to fit writing into my current schedule, but in three weeks, that should change, as we are dropping one of our homeschool activities because it has just become to much for us.  I am looking forward to having some more time to not only write, but accomplish some of my household duties that I fall behind in.

Have you published or submitted anything lately?  If you have, I’d love to hear about it.  Leave a comment.

Encouraging Young Writers

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As I have mentioned before, I love teaching writing to young people, especially those who are so interested in writing and eager to learn.

We had our homeschool co-op today and I am free during the 5th period.  One of my students came to sit with me and I was reading something that another student had written, but the young lady sitting with me asked if it was my story.  I told her it wasn’t and pulled out my story and handed it to her.

She’s been struggling with writing but she has a desire to learn how to write stories, and she wants me to assign specific homework!  So far this year, I’ve just told them to write a story and to keep it going as long as they can.  Most of the students are happy with that, but this young lady and a couple of other students want me to give them homework.  I promised I would come up with something for them for next week, but their stories are really good.  I hope they continue to work on them and finish them one day.

Back to this young lady, she read about four pages of my story and said, “Okay, I have an idea for my story now.  Don’t worry, I’m not stealing anything from you, but now that I read some of your story, I have an idea of how to write some of what I wasn’t sure about before.”  She took out her story and she wrote several paragraphs in the course of about a half hour, while I was working on a short piece that I plan to submit.  When I put my work away, she asked me a couple of questions about her story and I offered her some advice.  It was really nice to share this one-on-one time with her.

Here is a piece of advice I shared with my class:  If you begin writing a story and get stuck or decide you don’t like it, Don’t throw it away!  File it somewhere because you could get an idea that would help you finish the story, or you might want to use parts of that story (a character, setting, etc.) in another story.  You never know when something you wrote that you thought was worthless will become valuable.