Out of the Mouths of Babes....

There is something to a cliche.  They're in existence because there's truth to them.   I was on the phone with my 8-year old niece the other day.  My sister-in-law obviously told her that her aunt is writing a book, so she asked me... "You're writing a book?  What's it about?"  

Me... UMMMM nothing like being backed into a corner by a kid's question I was ill-equipped to answer!  I told her it's about scary people doing bad things

My niece.... "What kinds of things?"

Me .... DOUBLE ummmmm .... death, murder, serial killers?  eeeek!!  I told her... "Oh just scary stuff."  

How lame am I?  After the call, I promptly emailed my sis-in-law to thank her for that!  Thank goodness she and I are close, so she found it funny...so did I...although not in the moment.  In the moment, I was like a deer in headlights!  (ahhh there, another cliche!) 

Writers are supposed to avoid cliches like the plague...oops I keep doing it...so hopefully, you'll never witness me writing another one :)

Book Review....I Think

I suppose this is a book review, though I'm not sure.  Perhaps it's just an observation.  I'm 2/3 of the way through "Thunder Dog: The True Story of a Blind Man, His Guide Dog, and the Triumph of Trust at Ground Zero" by Michael Hingson, and I'm disappointed.  I checked out Amazon's reviews, and I'm not alone in my thinking.  

As interesting as the story is, it's not as advertised.  It follows a blind man and his guide dog, who walked from the 78th floor of the World Trade Center on 9/11, after the tower was hit by an airplane.  Only that isn't really what it's about.  That's how it was portrayed, but the essence of the story is more focused on his blindness and how it never deterred him in life.  While that's a great story, I hoped for more about 9/11 and his dog.  Mostly the dog :)

I'm a dog lover, as some of you may know.  Therefore, I'm a sucker for any kind of dog story!  That's why  I'm feeling a tad so-so about this one, only because they should have described the book better.  If they had, I wouldn't have been picked it.

Have I Arrived?

Hmmm....just a thought....does it mean I've arrived since I've come across several trolls already commenting on my blog?  LOL

Try This! Something New.....

Let's try something new, interesting, and fun...I'll post a picture, and you can post me  3-4 sentences based on what you see.   Pretend you're a character in a novel and see where it goes...I can guarantee each one of you will have a different POV (point of view), which makes it even better...before you know it, you'll be writing a story! I'll start you off with mine.

John cast his fishing pole for the fifth time and blew out a breath.  Would he ever get the hang of this?  He was glad no one else was here to see his failings.

YOUR turn......  :)

A Writer's Crazy Life.......

A WRITER’S LIFE – 

Whoever thought (or thinks) it’s a simple, idyllic life was not a writer!  LOL   Since throwing myself into this head first, I've discovered it's the hardest work I’ve ever done.  First, I thought writing my first manuscript might be difficult.  Blessedly, it came easy most days.  

Then, I thought the editing was tough...it IS!  It will kill me! lol  I've complained about that enough on this blog to be perfectly clear on that subject. 

It's so much more than just sitting my duff in a chair and typing.  It's re-reading my work (no joke) 100 times to make sure I'm not writing in 'passive voice,' and that I'm SHOWING more and TELLING less, among a gazillion other do's and don'ts.  Reading all of my stacks full of writing books, each one filled with nuggets of wisdom.  

  

NETWORK with other writers via reading their blogs and commenting, reading their blogs and digesting their wisdom, having their blogs lead me to other writers' blogs that are interesting and helpful, and ... you get the picture on that one :)

EMAIL with my new writer friends to keep in touch and provide encouragement to one another.  

BLOG on my OWN blog...trying to post something interesting every day.  While doing so also makes me a better writer, it still involves time and thought.

ATTEND workshops & conventions.  So far, my only workshops have been online, though I plan to attend some in person one day, which requires more....you got it....time and effort on my part, to be 'present' and mindful, and definitely eager to learn.

JOIN several writing sites that require me to read others' work and critique it in exchange for the same on my own work.  These sites also provide the opportunity to participate in various contests, which means more writing!  It could also mean accolades if you win, and something you can add to your 'resume,' so to speak.

READ!  I've said it before, and I'll say it again...writers MUST be avid readers!  I noticed on another writer's blog (yup another blog-see above! lol), that we should try to read at least one fiction book and one 'craft' book per week.  For those of you that are new to this, 'craft' basically means something ELSE I mentioned above - all of those stacks of books I have about writing better.  We always have to perfect our craft.  Reading about it helps - at least it does for me.

WATCH MOVIES in a new light.  Any work of cinematic origin is worth looking at from a different and new perspective.  I also learned this on another blog (see how helpful they can be?), and it has me viewing TV and movies from a writer's aspect.  Someone had to WRITE them.  They can assist us in learning plot, characterization, etc.

BE a Yahoo Network Contributor.  Okay this isn't a MUST, but it's something else I've taken on for some 'street cred.'  It can only help me when the time comes to submit a manuscript.  It keeps my name out there, lets me write articles & editorials and possibly take 'desk assignments' they provide.  Makes me feel like I work for a newspaper :)

WRITE!  Continue to write my manuscript, if it needs more writing (which it always does).  Also make sure I'm busy with another book in the works.  A writer should always have at least two projects going.  We must always be in constant 'motion,' so to speak.  More than one ball in the air...have I provided enough cliches there?  Oops...yet another thing we shouldn't do - write in cliches.  We have to be more creative!

All of this adds up to one thing...well SOME of it adds up to one thing...Marketing....yes, before I've even submitted a single thing to an agent, I must market myself and establish a 'platform'  - that thing we writers need that will show an agent and/or publisher we already have people who might be interested in reading our book, if they choose to accept it.

Do I feel stretched a tad thin?  Yup.  Do I think that writers get a bad rap from those who think all they do is lounge by a pool and maybe write once in a while?  Yup.  Do I still love ALL of it?  YUP!!

Are you exhausted yet?  Good!  Then I've painted the right picture...but again...I'm loving every crazy minute of it!