Writing Tales ~ Riding Tails

Everyday is a Blessing

2011-08-08T10:49:00.000-07:00

Thing can happen in ones life that make you go, "Hey.....I am blessed and recognizing that this life is so very precious. I am committing myself to less negativity. This means:
less complaining,
less gossip,
less trying to fix anything except myself,
less gloom,
less news,
less shallow breathing,
less tight pants,
less worrying,
less fussing about dust or whatever,
less pushing myself for anything....really!
and the biggie..........know that less is really more. HA!!!

Hey...I'm still here! Really!

2011-03-11T16:32:00.000-08:00

Believe it or not, I'm still here writing. I have taken a much more graceful approach to the task and listen to my inner guidance. Well, sure sometimes I can't hear anything and I'm lost. This is when I journal or create art instead of trying and forcing myself to create something fabulous in my latest novel or picture book. I read from one of my oracle cards LET IT GO. Stop struggling, pushing or forcing things to happen. Such actions push against the universal flow and lead to frustration and blocks.
Ahhhh...this is what must have been happening to me! So, here I am letting it go and trusting my inner voice or the Universe to guide me. Stay tuned for more good stuff since I'll be clearing my ever so busy mind and accepting a more creative flow.

I think I'm Rolling Again?

2009-07-07T11:25:00.000-07:00

I say I think I'm rolling again, because I opened my novel. I had to put it out of my mind to see where it was going. Sure many writers keep plugging away at the same book till it's finished, but somewhere along the way I sometimes get bogged up in it and can't see it clearly. I'm not sure what this is called or what caused it, but it happens. So this is the part where I "trust in the process" and let it be. I was thinking that I needed to change my entire setting from 1971 to present day and I began again and rewrote the first chapter. It was working and it felt good, then life got busy with whatever and I put it away again. Now.....I just re-read both books and they are both good. I'm feeling much better about the 1971 setting and the same story with today's setting. Hummm???? Not sure what to do at the moment? The novel set in 1971 is finished. Should I keep going with the re-write or stick with the finished novel?

I guess I need to let it sit a bit more?? or not?

SCBWI LA 09 Conference

2009-05-12T15:01:00.000-07:00

I just signed up for the next SCBWI LA 09 Writer's Conference. Sigh of relief....one more off my check list for writing To-Do's (it's a long list). Four days long with lots of workshops and lots of editors/agents to work out listening to and trying to get a feel for. I have been trying to work the schedule so that I can see almost everyone that will offer me a chance to submit my manuscripts. It's a tricky thing discovering who will accept and what they will accept and if it is someone who would be a good match. It's kind of like dating (that's what I'm told). After studying the schedule many times and working out a rough spread sheet, and swinging my pendulum at some names (really, I'm feeling unsure of some so why not?), I think I have a good strategy going.
So, back to writing on my YA novel and some more editing for my picture books.

REWRITE AND REWRITE AGAIN & AGAIN

2009-05-06T15:21:00.000-07:00

I'm working on a major rewrite for one of my Emma Jean picture books. My first or I should say my at least fifth draft was at 2500 words. After working it and re-reading and re-thinking, and sleeping on it some more, I have it down to 1000 words. Whew! It's a task to keep the essence of the characters and the heart of the story in so few words. Writing a novel has its advantages. I love descriptive detail that I can create paragraph after paragraph. But, it's a great exercise in saying only what you mean and want.

Attending Writer's Conferences

2009-05-03T11:24:00.000-07:00

Magic happens when I go to Writer's Conferences. I'm sure of it. Yesterday I went to the SCBWI (Society of Children's Writer's and Illustrators) Conference in NorCal at Davis. It was a bitty one, but still had all the essence with it. Linda Joy Singleton gave a great talk on networking on the Internet. She wrote the Dead Girl Series. I saw the book at the last Writer's Conference at the Asilomar in Feb. 09 and it reminded me to buy it this time. After a long drive home, I began reading the great beginning. And as they say, "Read, read, read, and write, write, write." It was perfect for me, cause I needed to work on my beginning for my middle grade novel I'm working on. I received some great advice from agent Nathan Bransford with Curtis Brown Ltd. about reworking my beginning. Ah, new beginnings are always interesting. After being surrounded by so many inspiring people and beginning again, I woke jazzed and inspired to write.

Law of Attraction and My Direction

2009-04-23T18:17:00.000-07:00

OK...Here it is, The Law of Attraction states: If I am in the Ozarks or wherever, and it is my desire to be in let's say Puerto Rico, how would I go about getting to Puerto Rico? The answer to the question is easy to hear: No matter what your mode of transportation-by air, car, boat, or even on foot-if you will face in the direction of Puerto Rico, and continue to move in the direction of Puerto Rico, then you must reach Puerto Rico.

How does this relate to me??? I want to be going in a particular direction and to accomplish certain goals and in order to accomplish these goals and directions, I need to face myself in THAT direction. Direction being- WRITING and what I want for myself always!

Getting With It!

2009-01-26T15:18:00.000-08:00

You'd think that I would have it figured out by now in my 47 years of life, but it's still new every time if figure out something about myself or what's going on. Maybe it's just me seeing it from a different angle or different light. Yeah, that's what it must be. Good thing the light changes everyday and so does my angle. So, getting clear is my goal these days. Sure it sounds like an easy task, but I'm trying to figure out what I should be or want to write. I am still working on more than one book at a time and go back and forth between unfinished books or keep changing and adding to completed books. I guess this is the mode of writing for most, but it makes me feel a bit detached or like having more than one lover. I'm sometimes torn between lovers and not sure which one would be best to work on. I guess the real goal is to JUST KEEP WRITING. Maybe I should just be chasing more sea turtles at the moment (This is a sea turtle that swam past me in warm waters....such good stuff!).

Between Two Books

2008-05-07T15:39:00.000-07:00

I'm jumping back and forth at the moment between two books I am writing. One is Nellie & Norman which started to be a picture book and is becoming a novel. The other is another picture book for my Emma Jean collection. It seems like it would be easier to focus on just one book, but when it comes to sitting down and writing, sometimes I'm just more inspired to work on another project. I still have my other middle grade novel Believing is Seeing that I'm at least 1/3 the way and keep it going in my head with ideas and plot directions. I can't forget Pig Boy either. This is going to be a great story. I'm not sure what time period I want to focus on. I have lots of information on the Gold Rush and live in California, so that could work. But, I think I see Peter set in the Great Depression too.

I have so many ideas and great starts. I am just plugging along each day and adding more to whatever inspires me. I trust where I am lead.

Children's Writer's & Illustrator's Market

2008-04-22T11:58:00.000-07:00

I sit before me a lovely purple copy of the 2008 Children's Writer's & Illustrator's Market. On the cover is a fish that already tells a story if you listen carefully, but I need to dive into the pages find a publishing company/agent to represent my lovely body of work. As is flip through the pages I stop on art work and successful published books, they are all inspiring and hopeful and I feel their magic. The possibilities are unlimited. I am ever hopeful.

More Books Beginning to Bloom

2008-04-09T10:24:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I go through phases where book idea just keep coming to me. I seem to be in a vacuum of ideas streaming into me and I can't jot them down fast enough. Yesterday I began two more ideas: Fairy Quilt and Negative Nelly & Negative Norman. I'm excited about both ideas and have created scenes for both. The Fairy Quilt is magical and fills the mind with wonder. Negative Nelly & Negative Norman is funny and will keep them laughing. Maybe it's spring and everything is blooming new! With so many great ideas, I will be writing for years to come.

Book Ideas

2008-04-08T13:49:00.000-07:00

So many times book ideas come to me and I want to dive right in and begin a new book. This would mean that I would begin another new book every few days. I know this all sounds a bit crazy, but it's true and it happens often. I'm inspired by the strangest things. Today I remembered the feeling I've had since a little girl. I've always believed that if there was a disaster of any kind, I would be the one to survive. It may be a very natural feeling, but I don't ever hear anyone mention it. I think there may be something there for a young reader. Not just surviving, but the belief that the character will survive no matter what.

With so many choices and unfinished books to write, I will have to survive for a long time!

Submissions to Agents and Publishing Companies

2008-04-03T15:49:00.000-07:00

When submitting to literary agents and publishing companies, the song comes to mind...."ON the road again. Just can't wait to be on the road again.,,,"
So as I hum the tune I think about the journey I set off with reading, re-reading my queries, checking lists of Editors and Predators, every list that my have a good connection or suggestion to send a query to, and just filling my good vibes and energy into each submission in hopes of an offer.
This time, I think I'm gonna have a different attitude. Instead of waiting for an offer, I'm just gonna keep going and "truckin'" along down the road. I'm gonna just wait to see what comes across my path on this next journey. Sure I'll get lost, but it's all part of the adventure. Who know what will come about with each adventure???
"On the road again...........

April Fool's Day

2008-04-01T14:44:00.000-07:00

The first day of April is a day of trickery, kind of like the October holiday of Halloween. I wonder how it all started? I love history! I not really big on tricking others, because I don't really liked to be tricked. For me this day marks the first of a month and another beginning. My beginning this month is to organize all the notes I have on publishers, agents, and editors. Hopefully after that I will have this grand list that I can easily find who and when I have sent submissions. Off to find a great database for this task.

Another Wish

2008-03-31T11:28:00.001-07:00

This is another lovely wish I am sending out to the universe....A John Newberry Medal. If wishes come true, then why not wish big?! I can already see my book published with this lovely symbol attached to the front cover. Yes, it's only a sticker, but it means my book is accepted and honored for making a difference, and this is my goal.

All My Wishes Come True!

2008-03-30T12:03:00.000-07:00

Just recently I tested the Law Of Attraction with a little wish. I asked for a 1961 penny to come to me. Now if you think about this, a penny in the 70's is quite rare, and even rarer to find a penny from the 60's, so asking for this specific date was a sure sign for me.
After a couple of days, I started to wonder if my wish was too impossible since I rarely use cash (I'm always trying to get air miles on a credit card), but I let it alone and left my wish out in the universe and hoped. Days passed and even a week and still no sign of my 1961 penny until one day when I was cleaning up the family room where my son and his college buds hang out, when I noticed a penny sitting on the couch cushions next to the remnants of lottery scratchers. I asked one of the kids (Ryan)sitting in the room, what the date was on the penny, not expecting it to be one even close to the date of my wish since it didn't have that extra worn look of a 47 year old penny.
You guessed, it was a 1961 penny! In all my excitement I explained my wish and was validated that all my wishes come true.
Ryan of course, suggested next time I ask for a nickle and by the way, he was sure Grace left the penny with her scratcher mess.
It was a sign to me to know that what I ask for may not come in the expected way, but to know it will come.

Writing and Exercise

2008-03-28T10:26:00.000-07:00

Writing is like exercise. It feels sooooo good when you do it, but it takes the "get up and go" attitude to do it. I only bring this up because I have found myself doing everything but writing the past few days. Yes, I know it's spring and it triggers spring cleaning, but a writer must write, just as a human must exercise to keep the body moving. Oh, this photo is my goal. I want to feel like my daughter did for this shot. So thankfully, I have this blog to write a bit, so I can leap into the air and feel the high.
By the way, today I declared it a day I was ready for positive change....wait, SO ready for positive change.
Off to change, yet again!

5 Random Things About Myself

2008-03-10T11:11:00.000-07:00

The idea of writing 5 random things about myself was proposed to me by a dear friend in her blog. She shares it all and exposes all the aspects of herself freely. It got me to thinking about how so many of us, especially myself, only expose the safe parts of our beings. Why is this and why not? Being a great writer is to expose oneself and reveal the ever amazing heart connection. So here goes off the top of my head.:
I adore the smell of spring.
I long for more touch.
I am filled with joy when the sun touches my skin.
Water is a glorious element that makes me feel new.
I believe in fairies.

Writing a query

2008-01-10T15:05:00.000-08:00

I have written the same query many times now. Condensing and twisting the few sentences and adding, rewriting, rewriting, and rewriting, I still am searching for the best words to explain my finished middle grade novel on sexual abuse. Stating facts and a bit of detail from the book, just doesn't do it justice. Movie trailers do it so well......off to read the back of video and DVD boxes. Wish me luck and good vibes.

What Fear??

2008-01-07T09:40:00.000-08:00

Fear is the interesting thought of the day. It's not that I am experiencing fear or I am filled with fear, it it the very fact that we create fear. I am pondering why, how, when, you get the idea. Without the answers, the only solution is to release any and all fears that may creep, sink, or appear in our lives, bodies, environment. What lucky fools we are to be able to simply release and we can dissolve a feeling into a new one. If this is the case, then why do so many of of walk this earth in a state of some kind of fear?
I don't have the answers, only some solutions......affirmations:
I am free.
I stand in my own power.
I am secure on all levels.
I TRUST in the process of life.
I deserve my good, and so it is!
All I need is always taken care of.
I am safe.
I am loved.
I love who I am.

Chilly Weather....Need motivation

2007-11-07T09:52:00.000-08:00

Since it's looking rather gray or is it grey? Anyway back to my thought.....I thought (a lot of thought here) that I would write in the color grey. I'm stickin' with the "e" spelling since it looks more like a wolf word. I don't know why it does for me, but it does and wolves are grey with an "e" in my world. That leads me to my purpose for writing here today...NEED MOTIVATION in chilly grey weather. It's not just motivation for writing, but for so many things in my life. I want to feel more motivated to clean something, create something (this blog counts today), and make some changes. So, to pin point some changes on my mind, they are the usual: lose some weight (I'm getting sick of that one!), write more, be happier, clean, exercise more, take the dog for a walk, be way happier, breathe deeper more often, create something BIG.
Hummm......there is all sorts of big things I could create. I gotta get to creating something.

2007-10-10T13:23:00.000-07:00

Everyone is blogging and I'm just figuring out this network. The best method of attack is to run as fast as I can and try and jump on. You know like a merry go round at the park. They used to have those dangerous contraptions at just about every park when I was a kid. Now we are all so politically correct and safe that kids had to go and create half pipes and do unbelievable stunts. It makes me chuckle when I think of our silly world and what we think is "right."
As for my rambling, I'm expecting this place to be home for sparks to ignite and burn brightly thus warming our souls.
Here's to soul warming!!!

I write, therefore I edit

2007-05-03T10:06:00.000-07:00

Ahhh......this is a sigh and also relief. It is time for me to edit my book and tie up any loose ends and make it all pretty like. I took a book that I originally wrote for a picture book and grew it into a Middle Grade Novel. This means I added another 80 pages (so far), because when I begin the edit, I always find where I need to transition and add more to bring the story to life.
This is my Don't Tell, It's A Secret book. It is time to launch it and send it out into the world to live a life of its own. Like a baby bird, it's time to let it fly.
Gotta go and get to editing, so I can let it fly!

Oh, This Journey

2007-05-02T16:13:00.000-07:00

Sailing along through life is full of challenges! Calm waters, dead calms, rough seas, wind, rain, sleet, sun, and violent storms all are part of the sea we travel. As much fun as hanging over the side to keep the boat afloat in high winds, I seek calm and peaceful waters. But then again, I guess I would never get anywhere and just float along ever so slowly.
I'm remembering this thought as I adjust my sails and tighten the ropes for a more efficient journey. Hey.....I get sea sick!

Compromise

2007-04-28T15:08:00.000-07:00

Putting together a blog site is a challenge. There are lots of colors and places to stick photos, but learning to maneuver around the program, I experience obstacles and places where I compromise. It's kind of like life. No matter what we do or what we have chosen to do, there will be obstacles and places of compromise. If I have two places I want to be at the same time, I must compromise for both. For in one I am missing the other. Ahhh....tis life.

Out there!

2007-04-26T09:59:00.000-07:00

Composing a blog about myself is a bit interesting. I am putting myself "out there" and sharing who I am. It is a bit exposing. I can't think of anything I need to hide, but somehow it causes some small feelings of fear. Fear is one of those emotions I am trying to dissolve in my life and move into a space of faith and trust. So, this avenue is probably a good place to trust that I will attract energy of goodness and of the "White Light," that will inspire me to create positive change in my books and actions.
I am creating children's literature that will create change in the lives of those who read my work. I have some other ideas on the back burner for adults too, and know that they will come at the perfect time. This journey is an interesting one and I try to step forward with ease accomplishing each of my goals one at a time.