My Favorite Shoes?

Flip flops. Definitely flip flops. I wish I lived somewhere that was warm year-round because I'd never wear anything else. Unfortunately, flip flops and 20 degree temps and snow don't go well together. So, I enjoy my flip flops when I can. I also try to enjoy my favorite moments when I can. You know, the fun times shared with loved ones, moments like this one, when everyone is smiling and getting along: Unfortunately, these moments pass too quickly and turn into moments like this one. Yeah, he's pouting because his sister was being mean to him. But then another joyful moment arrives and everyone is happy again. It's magical. It's heartwarming. And, it never lasts. So I try to savor it while it's happening. Okay, this post is just an excuse to put some pictures of my kids from our vacation up here. I admit it. But I do have a point to make. Bear with me. Yesterday, I talked about loving writing despite the trials and tribulations that come along with it. Today, I want to talk about the joyous times, the times that warm my heart and remind me of why I love to write. Here are some of my favorite moments in my writing journey: 1. Making the decision to start writing. 2. Writing the first sentence, the first paragraph, the first page, the first chapter. 3. Finishing the first novel and having others read it. 4. Writing a successful query letter and getting two requests for partials from it. 5. Starting my blog and meeting all of you wonderful people. 6. Starting a second novel, and a third. That's where I'm at now, and I know there are many more joyous moments ahead of me. That's what keeps me going! What about you? Do you care to share any of your favorite moments? Oh yeah, this is the last day for the Slumpbuster Challenge. Click on the penguin in my sidebar to add a sentence.

It's A Love Affair

When we first arrived at the lake last week, it was raining. Bummer, right? Not for me because it gave us the perfect excuse to visit the Titanic exhibit. I am infatuated with the Titanic and always have been, even before James Cameron's movie came out. But the movie really sent me over the edge. I love the romance between Jack and Rose. Anyway, they gave you a boarding pass with a person's name on it as you entered the exhibit. At the end, you found out if you survived or not. I did. Yay! Now, most of the exhibit had nothing to do with the movie, but there was an entire section dedicated to it, which made me really happy! My husband, however, was bored to tears and, eager to get to the more exciting artifacts, raced ahead of the rest of us. My favorite part of the exhibit was when I rounded a corner to find my husband standing at the top of The Grand Staircase. Yes, THE Grand Staircase. Okay, it was only a replica, but still! There he was--my own personal Jack Dawson, waiting for me, his Rose! How romantic! Well, it was, until instead of turning around and smiling at me, he turned with a sigh and said, "Will you hurry it up already." Hmm...it kind of ruined the moment! Today is our anniversary. My years with him have been great but not without their trials and tribulations. I still love him, though, and I always will. Writing is a lot like marriage in that way. There are good times (which I will share with you tomorrow), but there are also bad times, like writer's block, waiting for weeks for responses on query letters, receiving two rejections before noon on the same day, making countless mistakes, etc. But in the end, we still love writing, and we always will. That's why we keep doing it!

Say What?

I know. There's no picture of shoes. I had the perfect one picked out for this post, but I couldn't bear the thought of looking at it or of forcing you to look at it. It was a picture of rat shoes. Yes, they were shoes that looked like rats! How sick is that? Now, why was it a perfect picture for today's post? Well, it reminded me of of a hotel sign we saw in Branson last week. We can all clearly see that the sign is supposed to read: Welcome Friendly Rates. But what it says is: Welcome Friendly Rats. Do the hotel owners not care enough about what kind of message they are sending to fix the sign? Apparently not! Now did I really think the hotel had rats? No. But was I jumping up and down with glee because we weren't staying there? Yep, I sure was. So what message is my writing sending? Have I taken the time to fix all the glitches that might say something I don't want to say? Or have I been looking at it for so long that I'm failing to even see the glitches? What about you? Do you have any pesky little rodents to get rid of? Is your writing saying what you want it to?

Yikes!

I'm a fearful person. I don't want to be, but I am. As most of you know, I went to the lake with my family last week. Considering we hadn't been on a family vacation in five years, it was a big deal. We all had a great time, but I realized fear takes some of the joy away from me. As our car wound around curve after curve on the tiny, two-lane highway, I gripped tightly to the armrest and held my breath, sure we were going to spin out of control and end up at the bottom of the embankment. I refused to ride any of the roller coasters at the amusement park because I just knew the car would lose momentum and come to a halt, leaving us hanging upside down for hours. (This really happened at Worlds of Fun. I've seen interviews with the girls it happened to. They were traumatized for life.) Instead, I sat and prayed for the rest of my family to disembark safely. Every time they returned, grinning from ear to ear, I regretted not having rode it with them. As my kids swam off the dock, I nervously waited for something bad to happen. After all, the sign did say: SWIM AT YOUR OWN RISK. What's that supposed to mean? Snakes? Yeah, definitely, snakes. This one I was right about. My husband swears it was a fish bite, but it sure looks like fang marks to me, and I seriously doubt there were any vampires swimming around down there. Okay, okay, I'm getting to the point. Fear holds me back in life. It also holds me back in my writing. I did this post about me trying to decide which WIP to work on--the sequel to my first novel or a stand-alone project. I really want to be working on the sequel, but my fear that the first one will never be published is holding me back. Well, I faced that fear yesterday, and I dove into the sequel head first. It felt good, and I realized it doesn't matter if the first one gets published. I'm just writing for the pure joy of writing. What fears hold you back?

It's A Balancing Act

If you lean too far in any direction, you are going to fall. You can only hope there is a net below to catch you. This is what I learned from Unplug Week. For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, last week was supposed to be a week for writers to unplug from all social networking and just write. Well, I hated it. But it did teach me that life is all about balance. When we spend too much time on one thing, other areas of our lives suffer. Likewise, if we neglect something we love doing, we suffer. So the key is to find a proper balance on a daily basis, not to abandon something for a week just because it's taking up too much of our time. Now, how do we find that balance? I'm not sure, but I'd love to hear how you all do it. On another note, this is the last week for the Slumpbuster Challenge. Mooch has been itching for his next move. We've got five days to finish his story. What do you say we give it a go? To add the next sentence, click on the penguin in my sidebar.

These Shoes Make Me Smile!

And so does this award!

Before we left town on Monday, I read a few blogs and was surprised to find that Heather Sunseri, author of Balance With Purpose, passed The Superior Scribbler award on to me. Then, upon our return on Thursday evening, I found that Amy Tate, author of The Virginia Scribe, had also passed the award on to me. Both ladies are well deserving of their own award, and I am honored that they chose to pass it on to me. Go check out their blogs!

The rules for this award are as follows:

1. Each Superior Scribbler must in turn pass The Award on to 5 most-deserving Bloggy Friends. 2. Each Superior Scribbler must link to the author & the name of the blog from whom he/she has received The Award. 3. Each Superior Scribbler must display The Award on his/her blog, and link to This Post, which explains The Award. 4. Each Blogger who wins The Superior Scribbler Award must visit This Post and add his/her name to the Mr. Linky List. That way, we’ll be able to keep up-to-date on everyone who receives This Prestigious Honor! 5. Each Superior Scribbler must post these rules on his/her blog.

Now, since I got two awards, I guess that means I get to pick ten people to pass it on to. In no particular order, the ten I chose are:

1. Quixotic, author of Step 1: Write, Edit, and Revise

2. Strange Fiction, author of Ranch Girl Ramblings

3. Karen, author of A Peek At Karen's World

4. Rae, author of My Weather Vane

5. Whispering Writer, author of Airing My Dirty Laundry

6. MzzLily, author of Becoming An Author

7. Janna Qualman, author of Something She Wrote

8. Jenna Alexander, author of Turn The Page

9. Corey Schwartz, author of Thing 1 and Thing 2

10. Amber Lynae, author of Seriously Amber Lynae

I could have chosen many, many more. I truly love every blog I follow, or I wouldn't be following them. I chose these particular ones each for their own specific reason, but in general, they either make me laugh, pull on my heartstrings, inspire me, or make me think. If you haven't visited these blogs, you should. Perhaps you will find them as deserving of this award as I do.

Okay, I know, I didn't quite make it through the whole Unplug Week. But I couldn't just leave these awards lying around all weekend. Maybe next month, I'll last the whole week! :)

On The Road Again!

This time it really is for a vacation--no baseball involved. We are going to Table Rock Lake. It's perfect timing since Unplug Week starts Monday. You know, the week when writers are supposed to stay away from all social networking. No blogging, no twittering, no Facebook. It's meant to be a time to just write. I doubt I'll get much of that done, but I am going to enjoy the time with my family.

If I get reception, I'll most likely read your blogs on my cell phone. I won't be able to comment, but I'll be reading them. I know. That's cheating. But I can't help myself. Do you think that means I have a problem? Does anyone know of a Blogoholics Anonymous group I can join?

By the way, if you happen to be blogging this week, stop by the Slumpbuster Challenge. Click on the penguin in my sidebar to add a sentence. If you're unplugging, Happy Writing!

Have a great week!

The Climb

Back in May, I posted this:

Today was nothing but baseball. Both boys were playing in tournaments on opposite ends of town, which meant way too much time in the car. My daughter had her I-Pod hooked up to the car stereo, and the kids randomly fought over which songs to skip over and which ones to turn up louder.

When Mylie Cyrus's song, "The Climb," came on, my thirteen-year-old son speaks up and says, "Don't change this." This wouldn't have been a big deal except for the fact that he hates Mylie Cyrus. The rest of us turned and looked at him in shock, and he says, "What? It's the song that was going through my head when I got that last hit."

I heard Mylie's song yesterday, and it made me think about my own climb. When I first started querying, I thought I could make the mountain move, or at least find a faster way around it, rather than having to climb it.

I told you about all of my query mistakes yesterday, and a couple of you commented that the mistake you made was querying too soon. This was probably the biggest mistake I made, too. My work was not ready. I thought I could skip over many things. And I thought I'd be the exception.

What we all need to remember is that this truly is a climb. It's hard work, and it takes time to get over a mountain. But if we keep putting one foot after the other, someday, we'll get to the other side!

Speaking of mistakes, I had a typo in my post yesterday. Does anyone remember what it was? Don't cheat. No looking back!

Have a great weekend!

OOOOOPS!

Okay, so I've never actually made the mistake of wearing two different shoes, but I've made plenty of other ones!

One of my favorite posts I did a while back was about all of my late-night query mistakes. I love laughing about these mistakes now. It read something like this:

I'm a night person and always have been. I hate mornings, and it usually takes at least three cups of coffee before I can function. My wake-up-at-the-crack-of-dawn husband just doesn't quite understand this, but we manage to get along anyway. At any rate, I often find myself querying after midnight. Apparently, my head isn't as clear as I think it is at night.

Here are some of my late-night query mistakes:

I sent three chapters in the body of an e-query to an agent whose guidelines specifically state: QUERY ONLY. I knew this, but I meant to send the query to a different agent. (A rejection soon followed.)

I indicated that I was enclosing a SASE for the agents response in an e-query. It's kind of hard to send an envelope with an email, wouldn't you say? In my defense, when I checked the agency guidelines, they specifically asked for snail mail queries, but upon further investigation, I learned that this particular agent preferred queries by email. So I copied and pasted my original letter from Word into an email. Unfortunately, I forgot to take the part about the SASE out. (I haven't received a reply on this one yet, but it's only been a couple of weeks.)

I sent five e-queries with the same typo. Keep in mind that I read, re-read, and re-read again without catching the mistake. That is, until I hit send on the last one. (Three of the five were rejections, and I'm still waiting on responses from the other two.)

I addressed and e-query to someone named "Mitchelle." Yeah--it was supposed to be "Michelle!" Again, my midnight mind didn't catch it until the next morning. By the way, did I mention this query also contained the same typo mentioned in the previous example? (No response from this one yet!)

Now, here's one about a snail mail query. I enclosed a SASE or, actually, an SAE. Yes--I forgot to put a stamp on it! How do I know? Well, because I was out of stamps before I even wrote the query. Now, why I didn't realize it until after I went to the post office, bought stamps, put them on the query to mail, and stuck it in the drop box is anyone's guess! Apparently, my head isn't so clear in the morning either. (Hm...I wonder if I'll ever get a reply.)

So what mistakes have you made?

Don't forget about Mooch. There's only two weeks left in the Slumpbuster Challenge. Click on the penguin in my sidebar to check it out.

Never Give Up!

I adore these Converse shoes. Unfortunately, I'm too old to wear them. But my daughter isn't.

A while back, I posted a little story about my daughter. Here it is:

As a parent I try to be a good example for my kids. Sometimes I forget, though, that they also can teach me a thing or two and have on more than one occasion. Today was one of those occasions.

As my daughter walked toward my car tonight lugging an enormous athletic bag, I was reminded of her perseverance and determination. Bright-eyed and grinning from ear to ear, she climbed into the car and immediately began pulling item after item out of the bag."We wear this for practice. We wear this for competition. We wear this over our uniforms," she rattled off without taking a breath. I smiled. Her dream had come true--she was a Golden Girl.

Now to fully appreciate why this was the answer I was looking for, you need to know where this story began. When my daughter was in fifth grade, she saw the Golden Girls (this is the high school drill team) perform and knew she wanted to be one of them. Two years later, she tried out for the the junior high drill team but didn't make it. We had a long weekend of her crying, me consoling, and friends offering sympathy. We all knew that if you didn't make it the first year, you'd never make it the second. And if you weren't a member of the junior high team, there was no way you'd ever be a Golden Girl.

After her tears quit coming, she bucked up and worked harder than she ever had. She sought out advice from other dancers, practiced non-stop, and prayed for the next year. She was the only one in the history of her junior high to not make it the first year and still try out the second. And guess what--she made it! And then a year later, she tried out for the Golden Girls and made that, too. She never gave up. She never doubted. And she never said: I can't.

So, why should I?

I Love Clogs!

If you are wondering why I chose clogs for today's picture, I really don't have a reason, other than the fact that "clogs" rhymes with "blogs," which is what I'm posting about.

Back when I first started my blog (and no one was reading it), I did a post about why I blog. Here's what I had to say back then:

So, why am I doing this? Because I like to hear myself talk. No, seriously, there are two reasons why I'm doing it.

#1: It's a diary of sorts. It is a tale of my journey through the publishing jungle. In other words, it's a place where I can vent my frustrations, and hopefully, some day, celebrate my successes.

#2: It's a chance to share with other writers (if they should visit my blog) my experiences on the road to publication. If I ever reach my final destination, it's a testimonial of what I did right. If I never make it there, it's an example of what not to do. Either way, it could be useful to someone.

Today, I have to add a couple more reasons.

#3: I love connecting with people who have similar interests. I learn so much from my fellow bloggers, and this on-line community has become a support system for me.

#4: It's free entertainment! I laugh at your blogs. I cry at your blogs. I am inspired by your blogs. Your blogs make me think. Bottom line is: I LOVE YOUR BLOGS!

So why do you blog?

P.S. Don't forget about Mooch. To add a sentence to his story, click on the penguin in my sidebar.

Lazy Writer Revealed

I decided to repost bits and pieces of some of my older stuff this week for a couple of reasons. First of all, I don't have as much time as normal because my son is playing in the Little League World Series, and I will be away from home a good part of the week. Second, those old posts have been lonely for quite some time. You see, I posted them before I had any of you lovely followers.

Speaking of being lonely, our friend Mooch could use some attention. Click on the penguin in the sidebar to give him some.

Several weeks ago, I discussed why I chose the name Lazy Writer for blogging. Here's what I had to say:

So I've been asked (not really, but I thought someone might be wondering) why I chose "Lazy Writer" as my handle. Well, the writer part is obvious, and the lazy part is perhaps misleading. I do not mean to imply that I'm lazy when it comes to my writing. In fact, the exact opposite is true. I spend so much time writing that I tend to be lazy when it comes to other areas of my life--cooking, cleaning, running errands, etc. Thus, Lazy Writer was born.

Speaking of calling myself a writer, I recently read a post on Literary Agent, Nathan Bransford's blog. He posed a question about whether or not a person should call themselves a writer if they have never been published. His take on it was that a person who enjoys writing shouldn't define themselves as a writer any more than a person who enjoys collecting stamps should define themselves as a stamp collector.

Here's my opinion: I have never been paid for being a wife and mother, and I never will be (this might account for my laziness in these areas), but I still call myself a wife and mother. Just because I have never been paid for my writing, doesn't mean it isn't a defining part of who I am. And as far as being paid goes, it's not my main objective. Sure, it would be nice if my writing came with a paycheck, but that's not why I do it. I love my husband; I love my kids; and I love writing. Being paid for what I love would just be an added bonus. If I can call myself a wife, and I can call myself a mother, why can't I call myself a writer?

FYI--if you haven't read Nathan's blog, you should. He has great tips for those of us who are still brave enough to call ourselves writers despite the fact that we have never been published.

Click here to check out his blog. It's well worth your time.

Are These For Real?

Have you ever been reading a book and come across a part that is so unbelievable that it jolts you out of the story? Well, my mom did, and unfortunately, it was when she was reading my ms!

There is a scene where my mc's mother reacts in a way that is entirely unexpected. She does something that most mothers would never even consider doing. There is a reason for her actions, but that reason isn't revealed until later in the book.

I had to do something about this. I couldn't have my readers jolted out of the story, now could I? So I reordered the chapters, which also meant a great deal of revision, and revealed the reason for her actions sooner.

In this case, timing really was everything!

Speaking of timing, it's time for something to happen in Mooch's story. Click on the penguin in the sidebar to add the next sentence.

Have a great weekend!

A Blast From The Past

Remember these scrunch boots from the '80's? I do. We all had them, and, boy, did we think we were cool!

As you know, I had a fun girls' night out last night. I got together with three of my friends from high school. It's hard to believe we've been friends for over twenty years, and I'd have to say, we haven't changed a bit! Our shoes may have, but not our personalities.

As we were reminiscing about things that happened during our teenage years, I realized where my characters came from. Since I write YA, most of my characters are teenagers, and obvious reflections of not only me as a teenager, but also my friends. It was almost as if my characters came to life last night. It was amazing. I also came home with some great ideas for improving my characters.

Where do your characters come from?

Don't forget to join in on the Slumpbuster Challenge. Click on the penguin in the sidebar to add a sentence.

Three Laps to Go!

Well, we've made it once around the track in our Slumpbuster Challenge! Only three more to go. Thanks to all who have participated thus far.

For those of you who are new to my blog or visiting for the first time, here's what I'm talking about:

A week ago, we started writing a story together, one sentence at a time, about Mooch McGee, the cute little penguin in my sidebar. We are now up to 537 words.

Here's what we've come up with so far:

Mooch McGee was waddling along minding his own business when he heard someone shout, "Look out below!" Mooch looked up just in time to see the most beautiful penguin he had ever laid eyes on falling from the sky. He swayed forward, raised his little flippers skyward, and grumble mumbled as he tripped over his own two blue shod feet. Lying flat on his back, round belly exposed to the elements, his flippers flapped like a duck's feet wading against a current to reach her ducklings, when his eyes fixed on the beauty plummeting directly overhead. All his movements seemed to be constricted by a flow of sticky squid ink as he tried to right himself while watching this unearthly beauty barreling down to the icy tundra. "Finally, I've found my footing, Mooch said to the air as he shook himself off, quite proud of his ability to use alliteration even in precarious moments. He looked up then, just in time to see a cloud of shiny words drifting down. "Words?" he thought as he stared upwards. "Wasn't that a penguin just a minute ago?" he continued, looking at the blob of verbage floating iceward and trying to figure out whether his brain was playing tricks on him or he'd ended up in an alternate reality. He watched as the words continued their descent, sparkling around the edges with a hidden fire. He began to tingle from his beak down to his little bluestockinged toes. Slowly the words began to come into focus through the glimmering conflagration above him and he knew it would only be a few seconds before he could read them clearly. A beautifully scribed sentence appeared before him. He knew at once that the message was sent from her--Angelina, his love, his life. Wow, that penguin sure is falling slowly, thought Mooch, just as the beauty crashed into him, sending him to his back once more. "Get off me, you lout!" the just-landed penguin shouted at him as she tried to right herself amid a flurry of flying ice chunks. Amused by the beautiful creature's frustration, Mooch rolled himself to an upright position and looked back to the sky in search of the message from Angelina. "Were did it go," Mooch bellowed, then turned to the scorning beauty who took on an ugliness that sent his flippers flapping, "What'da do with my message from Angelina?" he squawked. Mooch's body shuddered in an involuntary reaction, sending little flecks of ice every which way, including toward the object of his despise, the supreme highness of penguins.The penguin toward which Mooch was sending silent mind-rays of hate simply looked at him down her elegantly curved beak before beginning to waddle toward the edge of the icy tundra, heading for the arctic waters and her next meal. "Aren't you coming?" she called back to Mooch, and he obeyed, unable to stop himself. "But where is my message from Angelina?" he asked as he tried to catch up to the not only beautiful but spry High Penguin."Ah...silly, silly Mooch," she said, slowing for him to catch up to her. "The message was only a trick. The Order of High Penguins has a mission for you."

What will happen next? What is this mission the lovely penguin speaks of? It's all up to you! If you want to join in, click on the penguin in the sidebar. You can jump in any time and as often as you'd like.

On another note:

I'm so looking forward to girls' night out tonight! All summer has been baseball, baseball, baseball. Don't get me wrong; I love watching my boys play, but it will be nice to hang out with the girls for a change!

Oh yeah, and one of those no responses I mentioned a couple of days ago is now a rejection. Boo-hoo! Oh well. It's better than the silence.

Is It Gardening Time?

I finally broke down and pulled weeds yesterday. I hate pulling weeds, but I had no choice. One of the weeds was about to become a tree. (It was on the side of the house that no one can see, but still, it really needed to go!)

As I look outside now, I am quite satisfied with my flower beds, except for the one right in front of the house. It's weed-free, but it's too full. Despite having trimmed them, the shrubs have gotten way too big for the space they are in. I'm wondering if maybe it's time to get rid of one or two of them. They are beautiful spireas, and I'd hate to see them go, but I guess I could transplant them to another location.

It got me thinking about my completed MS. I have spent months getting rid of the weeds and sculpting the bushes, but it's still too long. One of my rejection letters even stated that as the reason for the rejection. Is it time for me to remove some of the shrubs and get rid of entire scenes? I'm just not sure I can do that. I have nurtured and brought to life each and every scene. I'd really hate to see any of them go.

What about you? Have you ever had to cut more than you wanted to?

As you ponder that question, check out the Slumpbuster Challenge story. Click on the penguin in the sidebar to add a sentence.

It's Party Time!

I know the 4th of July isn't until tomorrow, but we always start celebrating on the 3rd. For the past four years we have had a huge party out at our farm to raise money for various charities. There's food, fireworks, hayrides, games, music, etc.

This year's charity is the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. I told you about my friend Deb who is battling cancer for the second time around in this post here. We are hoping to raise a lot of moolah for her cause, and of course have a great time in the process.

As you can imagine, I have a zillion things to do to get ready for tonight, but I wanted to do my daily reminder about the Slumpbuster Challenge. Click on the penguin in the sidebar for more info or to add sentence.

Happy Fourth Everyone!

Toe to Toe

There seems to be a battle of wills going on between two different schools of thought.

If you visit some agency websites, you'll learn that you don't put the comma before the word "too" at the end of a sentence. But if you visit other websites and blogs, you will see that the agents use the comma. I've searched the web over and over again for advice on which way to go, but everyone has a different opinion. Jodi Picoult (or perhaps, her editor) even seems to argue with herself over this issue because sometimes she uses a comma, and sometimes she doesn't.

Now, I don't know about you, but I learned in school that there should be a comma. I also hate it! I find it annoying, especially when there obviously should be no pause there. My feeling is this: proper mechanics indicate the comma is necessary, but literary trends seem to allow for its absence.

What's your opinion? Is the comma necessary?

Also, don't forget about the Slumpbuster Challenge. We already have a great story going. Click on the cute penguin guy in the sidebar to add a sentence!

On Your Marks, Get Set...

And so the Slumpbuster Challenge begins.

For those of you who don't know, we are going to write a story together, one sentence at a time, about none other than Mooch McGee, the cute little penguin guy in my side bar.

Now, here's how it works:

I'll start the story with a sentence in a comment to this post. (Someone has to do it, and I figure that since this was my bright idea, I should be the brave one and go first.)

Anyone can add the next sentence (also in a comment to this post), and so on, and so on.

You can jump in any time and as many times as you'd like. I'll keep it going until the end of the month, and surely, by then, we will have a great story for our friend Mooch!

So, are you ready? Okay, then...GO!