Mom, I'm Going to the Pros

How many times have we heard that come out of the mouth of young boys? Far too many times to mention. Every boy who is involved in any type of organized sport dreams of the day he will make it to the big time. Every girl dreams of being the next big hip-hop diva or star of the silver screen. How many of them actually get there? The sad truth is, not many. But who are we to squelch their dreams? As writers, are we any different? Well, yes, most of us are adults who have long since given up the notion of making millions with our dream. But aren't we still holding onto that dream? Aren't we still writing every day in the hopes that our big break will come along? Of course we are. Why shouldn't we? No matter the odds of success, the journey in itself is priceless. What a person gains from striving toward a goal can't be matched by any form of compensation. So, I say let us dream. Let us think bigger than life. And let us have that chance at success. After all, if no one chased the dream, there would be no pro athletes, no movie stars, no Olympic gold medalists, no Emmy winners, no Oscar winners, and nobody with heart. So, here's to all of you! Don't ever stop chasing the dream. (Yeah, I know it's random, but get used to it. This is what it's going to be like around her for a while.)

I've Been A Bad Blogger

And I apologize. Our second computer is not working, and my kids invaded mine. They were out of school a good part of last week for conferences and are out today for the holiday. What little time I've had on the computer has been spent on my manuscript. I'll be around to visit you all in the next few days, and will be back with a real post on Wednesday. Hope you all are well!

My Characters' Shoes, Part 2

In my last post, I shared with you the shoes my female protagonist would wear. Today, it's my male protagonist's turn. Since Jack spends a lot of time working on his family's farm, he can often be seen in work boots similar to these. But when he isn't working, he most likely will be wearing something like this. After all, he is just your average seventeen-year-old boy. Or is he? Let's just say that he has a lot of secrets and might have to up and run at any minute. (Thus the functional, yet fashionable, tennis shoes.) On occasion, he has to dress up. You know, for something like a funeral every now and again. In these instances, you might find him wearing these shoes. Speaking of sad occasions, I'd love your opinion on something. What do you think about male characters who cry? Is it okay? If so, under what circumstances? On a happier note, have a great weekend!

My Characters' Shoes

I've seen blogs recently that the author posts pictures of what they think the characters in their manuscript look like. Well, I thought I'd do something similar over the next few days. Only I'm going to show you what shoes my characters would most likely be seen wearing. I thought I should start with my female protagonist. Thus the dance shoes shown here. Laney is sixteen years old and a junior in high school. She's a member of the Hillsboro High dance team, so a good chunk of her time is spent in dance shoes similar to these. She couldn't care less about what others think of her, except Jack, of course. But we'll get to him later. Her appearance has never been a concern for her. After all, I created her, and she is naturally beautiful. Until life began to unravel for her, she could have just as easily been seen wearing flip-flops in the winter as in the summer. But now that things have gotten a little hairy for her, she seeks comfort and security in the small things, so she would be more likely to wear these furry boots when the weather is bad. She'll take any amount of protection she can get. Don't get me wrong; her flip-flops still sit by the back door, waiting for the day she is safe again. So, there you have it. That's what shoes my female protagonist would wear. What about yours?

The Doctors Did Their Jobs

First, I'd like to thank you all for your well wishes. I'm feeling much better and am happy to be back in the blogging world. In addition to me being sick last week, my daughter had some major oral surgery done on Friday. This had been postponed and rescheduled numerous times, and I'm glad that it is over now. She's doing well, and things appear to be returning to normal for both of us. There's just one problem: I'm way behind on every aspect of my life, and I'm not sure I'll ever catch up. But, I'm going to do my best. That being said, I'm going back to my M-W-F blogging schedule for a while. After all, one of my goals for the new year is to better balance family life with writing life. This will be a start. So, how do you handle blogging when life gets crazy? Is it the first thing to go, or the last?