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.