In the Zone. Love the Zone. Feed the Zone.

I've hit the writing Zone :)

My daughter interrupted my writing the other day and I was grumpy for at least half an hour. During which, I was subject to much teasing of being caught in the Zone. 

Well, so. Geez! Why is everybody so needy! 

It's my belief that you should only be allowed to tease if you also have been to the Zone.

It's a happy place, full adventures and imagination! Of course, there is also the typical and not so typical tragedy. It's definitely my happy place! 

I saw Josi Kilpacks story for the second time and it made me smile and waltz my way back to the computer and into the Zone once again. This time she gives it along with a recipe for her secret sauce! It involves one particular secret ingredient... stick-to-itiveness

Yes! I knew that ingredient would come in handy one day!

She talks about her confidence and getting shot down and picking herself up every time! It's a fantastic story that makes me happy to pick up my project write some more words. Adding a little of my long stored stick-to-itiveness. Thank goodness that stuff doesn't have an expiration date! 

Don't you love the Zone. The keep writing, keep dreaming, happy place. I love it here. It's a whole lot of fun floating in the Zone.

The Founding Fathers Agree!

Let's go celebrate!

John Adams said so!

"The Second Day of July 1776, will be the most memorable Epocha, in the History of America," Adams wrote on July 3, 1776. "It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more."

Of course we're a couple days late every year :) the second was the day they voted to declare independence. The fourth is when John Hancock signed the declaration. 

This makes me smile. I love a party and apparently the founding fathers did to!
Happy 4th of July!

A Lake Of Inspiration

I get to spend the 4th of July here. 

Swimming.

Sleeping. 

Boating.
Loving my kiddos.

Hangin' with the cousins. 

Writing...

What could be better?

P.S. Yes that pic was taken tonight as I stared at the amazing sky and water, and sure you can come by anytime!

Don't take no shortcuts

Wow, I knew this already but I've had a reminder lately that it takes a long time to write a novel. 

It's sometimes really weird to me that I'll get all excited and start making really good progress writing everyday and then look at what still needs to be done and I think, 

"Wow. This is gonna take forever."

I mentioned that to my fabulous friend Tamara once and her answer... "Yeah. it does." 

Well okay then.

 Buckle up cause were in this for the long haul :)

ROFL

Okay, truthfully I've never used that acronym but it totally fits my thoughts today!

Last night was critique group night. That coveted night of all nights, I smile a lot on critique group nights! And last night we were dying! There was so much more than smiling going on! 

Keli over at Keli Wright's Open-Faced Sandwich wrote about it and it got me thinking about how good it is to laugh! 

I haven't done a lot of reading at critique group lately because I'm working on a rough draft of a new book. But for some reason everyone had been kinda dead on the writing front. (It happens!) 

Well, I was not going to let my coveted evening run short! So, I pulled out a couple pages that at least resembled the intended storyline. I apologized, emailed, apologized again, and then read. 

After the first couple mistakes, we giggled, but as we went on some of the mistakes were so ill placed or took on such a different context than they were intended to be, that we were full out belly laughing in the back of the yogurt shop we were meeting in. It was amazing!

I think part of my willingness to laugh had to do with the fact that it was such a raw story. When you've worked tirelessly for months pouring your heart and soul into a story, it's painful even to show it to a close friend. Much less send it out to be critiqued and torn apart! (Even if they are still close friends :) ) But at this stage we simply laughed. 

We knew there would be changes, we knew the story would change, maybe even dramatically, so for now, we let it clean through our perfectionist souls and we simply relaxed and enjoyed the beginnings of writing that so many stories take! 

In fact I woke up today feeling better than I have in ages! I'm not saying I'll make a regular habit of this but it was sure a great night!

The Feeling of Getting it Right

Aaahhh, Joy.

Words come together like a giant puzzle, and when the last piece fits, it's joy. 

One word. Joy. 

Never mind that we'll usually try and see if the puzzle can be improved by adding another piece or two to the final project.

 Sometimes we think another 200 pieces is all it needs and then it will be perfect :)

 but, eventually we scrape off all the excess and see our words for what they are. 

Then a scene becomes happy and complete.

Yup, I get a little giddy at that point. Then I re-read and smile... a lot! 

Only then am I allowed to sweat and worry about whether everyone else will agree, but for the moment... joy!

If only :) meant, "Gosh, I'm happy today!"

I'm feeling happy today :) and wishing emoticons had an appropriate place in literature. 

I'm not the least :-} when I say I think they're a fabulous way to express emotion!

Instead of saying

 "Joy radiated from her face as she flung her body at him. Six months was way to long." 

Just tell us her thoughts about missing him and plug in a giant smilie! :D 

Then "He held her around the waist twirling them both as other airport travelers scattered. She squealed squeezing him tighter till she landed and stood giggling and swatting at him for his reckless behavior, but he refused to let go."

Do we really need all that, I ask you? It's so much tighter to tell that he twirled her she squealed at him and then show off a nice little :P Then you know exactly how she's feeling! Am I right?

Yes I think I'm ready to bring about this new age and technique in literature. The time has come. 

You might be feeling :-| or :-O but no worries ;) 

Dont be X( or :s There will still be a place for everyone! So no :'( among writers. Write on and we'll see who wins >:) 

If you'd like to join me, here's a link with an immense list of emoticons for your future writing purposes in this brave, new world we can create together!

:^o

Am I a little late for April Fool's?

Going Healthy! Outside-out!

I've been loving writing! I write all day and I walk away saying, 

"Wow! I did something amazing today!" 

However, it only happens a couple times a week. 

See, when I step away from the computer it's usually onto a pair of soggy pants left in my room by my son, and around the corner lies half the contents of my daughters bedroom, and my dinner dishes are mingling in the kitchen, with the forgotten breakfast and lunch leftovers. Oops! 

Anyhow I've been thinking it's time to turn things inside out and make a plan to get it all done! Everyone I know has a plan, my books even need a plan, if I ever intend to get to the end. 

So, why not me.

Then my friend started posting about a Summer Ready Health Challenge. 

Not weight loss, just health. It even had a spiritual component.

 I loved the idea of getting ready for summer inside and out! 

I was totally in! And it started today. 

Whew! It's been a little crazy trying to remember how to be healthy!

On top of the body and spirit portion of the challenge, I've added mind. I've given myself a personal challenge of daily writing to go along with the rest of it!  Not all day daily writing but some, even if it's just a little. I'm so looking forward to the next 8 weeks! I'm planning to come out of this with some new healthy habits for my body and mind!

Really it's not such an inside out approach, but I'm taking what I've already got out there and I'm gonna use it if I have to turn myself inside-out, or right side-in, or "outside-out" as my little guy would say :) 

As a writer, how do you turn yourself inside out?

 You write! You write so many words they are spilling out your fingers, and over the bound edges of your books! Then you gather a few up, and keep writing till they're exactly where they're supposed to be! 

I'm super excited! 

Here's to summer of outside-out books and lives!

10 Days of Truth

It's been ten days since I posted last and I've thought about that post everyday since.
So, today I'm posting some of my thoughts back to you.

 First off we have Day one - Sluffing the Real Stuff was posted. 

Hmm.... Instant guilt.

 My main thoughts these past ten days have been about how writing is the real stuff and even though I mentioned that a tiny bit at the bottom of my post it's not how I was feeling that day. 

 To really be an author I have to remember what the real stuff really is.

 Day two - Support network.

 Get one where ever you can so you don't end up a puddle on the bathroom floor.  

I'm still remembering and feeling pretty bad. Unfortunately my husand doesn't love my going off to write. Fortunately I have fabulous friends who encourage, and eventually even my husband comes around... for awhile. 

 Day three - Be proud of the writer that you are. 

 We're all at different levels of learning. 

After wallowing in my self destructive thoughts for a while I started telling myself that I'm an author and it's ok to be proud of that. Even when there is no book with my name on it backing me up. 

Being an author with nothing to show for it is no easy task. True no one can judge you but at the same time no one can really make up their mind about you at all. So it's like your status of author is really just a figment of the imagination, theirs, yours, it doesn't matter because it's not really there.

 However, I'm learning to be proud of the fact that even though I'm still learning, I love being an author. I think I'm good, hopefully getting better, and I can be proud.

Day four - Be proud but not stubborn 

Not being able to learn how to be a better writer is just stupid. 

We join critique groups and ask peoples opinions. Then we say no that's the way I intended it, or but I really liked that part, or I like it the way it is. Nobody's perfect, so, listen and assume that these wonderful people we've surrounded ourselves with might actually know something!

 Day five - Do It!

The difference between people who succeed and people who don't is the success stories actually did it.

I realize writing is a job for an author. I've come to terms with this in several other aspects of my life, but it was interesting to me that I had to realize this for my writing as well. You think you know something but a few days after my post I was thinking about "the real stuff" and realized I hadn't opened my laptop since I typed up all my guilt on day one. So, I remembered my thoughts that having talent doesn't make you a success. Acting on it and finishing does. Of course with a few other details involved :) 

 Day six - Be positive. 

There is no wagon so you can't fall off. Just keep going.

 Somewhere around this point I was starting to feel pretty good about writing and my books. It was kinda nice. Truthfully negativity has it's place in anticipating and solving many problems but being positive about our writing helps us keep at it, and that is something we all need.

 Day seven - Life happens whether you write or not so write 

Life started getting busy about this point and despite my husbands upturn in support, and my positivity, I was was losing out on writing time.

 So, write when you can and steal some moments to write even if you don't think you can. 

The world keeps turning no matter what.

 Day eight - Work on what you've got. 

Write down your new ideas but for goodness sake go finish something!

I've had several new ideas lately and they're all very exciting, but I was watching my daughter start on her third, fourth, or fifth new story and I couldn't help myself. "Ally! Finish something!" I whined to her. Yeah it was kinda whining, because frankly I want to read the end of some of those stories, but I couldn't help thinking of my own half finished stories as I said it. 

So, yeah. Go finish something!

 Day nine - Goals are achievable!

 All you have to do is make them and fight for them! And I do mean fight :)

Goals are a little scary too, because they make us accountable, but if we don't have a goal we don't know where we're going do we. That's even worse than Dorthy's misleading yellow brick road. 

So, fight for it! The Emerald City is waiting!

 Day ten - It's Dew Time

Hehe, I love DEW time. It's so easy! Thirty minutes and no guilt! More than thirty minutes is pure joy! Check out this post if you don't know what DEW time is, I'll write my own later :) Now, go DEW it!