Archive for the ‘Musings’ Category
Wow. I can’t believe it’s just two weeks until I’ll be in Anaheim for RWA Nationals.
The planning/packing frenzy has begun, but I have to say, I’m much more relaxed going into this year’s conference. I’m all signed up for editor/agent pitch appointments and I volunteered to usher at the Rita/GH awards ceremony — but so much of the pressure is off.
I can just go, socialize and soak up all the information I can. I can’t wait to refill my creative well, which, thanks to a combination of circumstances, has started to run dangerously low.
Why, I’ve only just begun to think about what I’m going to wear on awards night. Last year I’d gone on several shopping expeditions by this time, searching for the perfect dress. This year, since there’s no chance I’ll be up on that stage, it doesn’t matter nearly as much what I wear.
Me with Starcatcher sister Julie Brannagh
Speaking of what I wear, why didn’t anyone warn me that in my purple dress, I bore more than a passing resemblance to Grimace — and a headless Grimace, to boot?
Ahem. I should be nicer to myself, right?
I’ll start by attending plenty of workshops and learning all I can. I didn’t have a chance to attend even half of the sessions that caught my eye last year — but I ordered the conference CD so I could listen to them later. Well, I’m here to tell you, I have yet to crack open those 2011 conference recordings. I’m beginning to think the workshops are mythical creatures, only available in real time.
See you in Anaheim!
There is no secret. This infographic from Copyblogger tickled my fancy the other day, in part because it so eloquently speaks the truth.
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Had I not written so many bad stories, I wouldn’t have the good ones to show for it now. The mistakes I’ve made have taught me how to … well, write better.
Practice really does make perfect. Okay, maybe not perfect, because no matter how many times you edit a story, there’ll always be one more word to tweak here or a sentence to rewrite there.
But I firmly believe what I write today is better than what I wrote yesterday. I learn something new every day … and the words I commit to paper tomorrow just might be the ones that land me an agent or a publishing contract.
I was totally bummed to find out last Sunday’s Six Sentence Sunday link was broken. I’ll try not to let that happen again.
This week’s submission is again from “Diva in the Dugout.” Soon after Dave meets his daughter for the first time, the three of them head to Mel’s car. He’s under the mistaken impression that Mel drinks too much because someone else spilled beer on her at the first game, so he suggests that she let him drive.
My six:
Mel stared at Dave. First he wanted her baby girl and now her car? Who gave him the right to take over her life?
You did five years ago when you had unprotected sex with the guy.
She ignored her conscience’s dig. “Who says I trust you with my car?”
Thanks to everyone who stopped by yesterday to make Love & Laughter’s first guest blogger feel welcome. With 60-plus page views, I’d call Keri Ford’s visit a success. (Keri, please don’t tell me you were the visitor 50 of those 60 times.)
I’ve been adding to the list of articles I find intriguing, motivational or all-around hilarious. It’s time to spread the link love, so here are a few of my recent favorites. Enjoy!
— If you’re in need of a little motivation to get BICHOK (Butt in Chair, Hands on Keyboard), try these instant motivation tips from The Writer magazine. They’re drawn from recent research in neurology and psychology, so you know you’re getting some top-notch advice. My favorite part? I was already doing many of these things.
— Jody Hedlund’s posts are always chock-full of great information. Such is the case with her recent missive on why writers should be on Pinterest. I was one of those on the fence about having one more social media site to eat away at writing time … but I finally took the plunge a few months ago. (Find me here, under Arlene Hittle.) I don’t spend a whole lot of time there … yet. But I have a few boards up and running. It’s fun to look at all the pretty photos — and someday, hopefully soon, I’ll be able to add my own novel to my “books I want to read” board. Wait — I should probably file it under “books I’ve read and loved” instead.
— From Chuck Wendig of Terrible Minds: 25 reasons I hate your main character. Gulp. Sure hope my main characters don’t fit any of those molds. I mean, I like them all. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be telling their stories … but I fear some of them may whine a little, or react instead of act, or have muddy motivation. So many sins. Is it even possible to avoid every single one?
— Way back in March, Kristin Lamb wrote a fantastic post on failure. (Let’s not talk about how I failed to read it until now, shall we?) My favorite line: “If we aren’t failing, then we aren’t doing anything interesting.” She also argues that failure makes us stronger. Since I have a huge fear of failure, I’m not sure I like that … but I can still see her point. She’s not the only one who feels that way, either. One of the things Bob Mayer said at his Desert Dreams workshop was something along the lines of “we need to do the thing we fear most” to succeed.
— Ready for a good laugh? Christina Dodd shared a link to this blog post on a terrible used cookbook from the ’70s called “Be Bold with Bananas.” Yes, the pictures are as terrible as you might imagine. I just hope it didn’t come from my mother’s cookbook shelf!
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