Best Laid Plans

To try and stop some of my misery, I actually made a very simple to do list for today. (see previous post)

Vacumm
Edit three chapters
Exercise

Totally doable – right?

Well I didn't do any of those things. Instead I visited with three ladies in my church, then went to my mom's and canned 18 jars of salsa. My mom called in the morning and told me she had everything ready for me to come over and can. My mom is kind of like that, so how could I say no.

Now I've decided to make my to do lists at the end of the day.

Made 18 jars of salsa - done
Made dinner - done
Soccer meeting - done
blog - done
shower - done
groceries for the salsa - done

Wow, I did a lot today.

How to feel Miserable

I found this on facebook and had to share. I think I'm underlining way too many of those.Today I will take try not to constantly compare myself to others.

How about you? Are there any you want to work on?

Osmosis

The informal definition: "Osmosis" is the process by which information or concepts come a person without conscious effort.

I can't tell you how many times I sat down at the computer last week and hoped this would happen. That all the words and stories that were inside of me would just flow out of my head and onto the computer screen, but unfortunately life doesn't work that way – at least not for me. I've come to accept that now.

I've had my crit partner's notes back for a week now and although I've looked at them, I haven't applied them to my book. I just keep looking at my documents sitting on my desk top, hoping that inspiration will spring, but I've come to the conclusion that inspiration doesn't spring unless your writing. It usually doesn't happen with the first sentence and maybe not even the second, but if I keep writing eventually I will get there.

Remember nothing happens by osmosis.

How about you? Do you find you have to be writing in order for inspiration to hit?

Different Hair

Today while perusing through msn.ca, I came across this little headline: 10 Hairstyles Men Love

And since I have been having bad hair days for the past few weeks, I clicked on the link hoping it would give me some ideas of what might be appealing.

Here's what it said: Long bangs, pony tails, long and straight, messy bob, short and pinky, long and wild, pixie.

One of the commenters on the article said this: Might have been easier to write what men don't like.  I think this article just about covered every hairstyle there currently is.  Maybe just say; clean it, no split ends and no weird colours? 


I think this article is another reminder that everyone's tastes are different whether it be hair, clothes, music, tv shows, or books.


What we have to remember is to wear, listen to, watch, and write things that you like, because that's all that really matters.


Just for fun though? What kind of haircut do you like on a man?

Seeing the whites of their eyes

Have you ever said you'd do something months in advance and then when the day arrives you wonder what the heck you were thinking.

I can imagine some people who sign up for a marathon would feel this way, or if you decided to go back to school after you're married with three children.

For me it was a in person critique group.

In May my local SCBWI chapter put out a notice that they were going to start an in person critique group. I thought it was a great idea and promptly sent an email expressing my interest.

Fast forward three months.

Last Monday I got an email from Angela Ackerman (aka Bookshelf Muse) that we would be starting this week. I can't tell you how many excuses went through my head.

Then two days before we met I decided if I really want to be a writer, I needed to try this.

I have to admit I wasn't nervous about getting my own writing critiqued, I just didn't know if I had anything to offer other people. And really it's one thing to offer feedback in an email, quite another to look at them while you're doing it.

But I went... and you know what? It wasn't nearly as scary as I thought it would be. Angela was a great host and I learned a ton by reading other people's work. So I'm excited about this critique group. It may be just the thing that motivates me to write more than I have been lately.

What about you? Do you do most of your critiquing face to face or with your computer? Which do you prefer?

Maybe, just maybe

Maybe the girl who always dresses like she's come straight out of fashion magazine, is jealous of me because I can go out in public in sweat pants and a t-shirt.

Maybe the girl who can't leave the house without make up, is jealous of the fact that I can go the whole day and forget to wear any.

Maybe people are jealous of the fact that I can leave my dishes in the sink for the day while they wish they didn't feel the need to have a perfectly clean house.

Maybe there are some people who drive a big fancy vehicle are jealous of me because I don't have to worry about my mini van getting a little scratched up.

Maybe some published authors are jealous of the fact that I don't have any deadlines to meet or editors to impress.

Just remember, you never know who might be jealous of you.

Have a great weekend. Hope the weather is good where ever you are.

So many prizes

YA Confidential is having a great contest. Page critiques, query critiques by agents, and a ton of ARC's up for grabs.

Go check it out.

Not giving up

Tonight I went to a youth fireside with my boys and I think I got more out of it then they did. It was about deciding what you want to be and how you're going to get there. Funny how I'm almost 41 and I'm still trying to figure this out.

Speakers asked the youth to set goals both long term and short term. They also suggested that they identify and get rid of the time wasters in our life – we all know what they are.

 One lady suggested that there are two reasons we don't reach our goals. We are too lazy or we are too cool. Well I'm definitely not cool, so for me it's all about not being lazy.

The last speaker suggested that quitting would feel far worse than all the hard work it would take to reach your goal. Yes, it may take some blood, sweat, tears, and more chocolate than we care to admit, but in the end when we feel that sense of accomplishment, it will all be worth it.

So my message this week: Never Give Up.

It's okay to disagree

The other day my boys showed me a video of a cop being rough with a skateboarder. Here's a link if you want to go see it. My boys thought the cop was a complete jerk and hoped he lost his job. I agreed that he went too far but I had a little more empathy for him. I thought about all the disrespectful kids he probably has to deal with everyday. I imagined that maybe his wife had told him she was leaving him, or that he had just been demoted and instead of patrolling the streets, he had to ride around in a little car telling punk kids to stop skateboarding on the steps.

We got into a rather spirited conversation. In the end I told them it was okay to disagree and that we didn't always have to think the same things just as long as we don't end up mad at each other.

The same goes for writing. You don't always have to change everything your crit partners says you should (although my CP is awesome and I always agree with her suggestion). You don't have to blog like others blog. You don't have to write like others write.

In the end its okay not to do things the same, (in fact we shouldn't), but we do need to respect each other's differences.

If you went to watch the video, how did you feel?

So, how have y'all been?

I took the month of August to spend some time with my kids, family, and manuscript.

My son won bronze at the Western Canada Summer Games in basketball.

We spent two weeks as a family enjoying Whistler, Vancouver, Whidbey Island, and Seattle.

And we just spent this labor day weekend with my extended family rafting down the river.

But...

My manuscript didn't get touched very much. I didn't read, I didn't write and I only did a little editing.

So, I guess two out of three isn't too bad.

Now that it's September and my kids are back in school, I'm hoping silence will once again reign in my house, and I will be able to get some things accomplished, like finish my book and get some queries out there.

That's my number one priority then I will either edit my other book or start something new.

Did anything exciting happen while I was gone? And what is your first priority for this new school year.?

PS: I'm really happy to be back and catching up with all of you.