I’ve got an essay up online (and in today’s print issue) at the Christian Science Monitor about paring down. The last three grafs are a surprise addition and were not part of the original essay. They must have needed to fill a gap!
Dreaming of finishing that novel and getting a six-figure advance and accolades? Sure, it happens, but author Laurie Halse Anderson has a reality check for you in her blog post, Cold Hard Facts About the Writing Life. If you’ve ever considered penning your own manuscript this is worth a read, as is the collection of comments.
If you’re snorkeling for the first time this summer my Family Getaway piece, Snorkeling for Beginners, in the June issue of FamilyFun magazine may be of interest.
I allowed myself to take the month of December off from writing - which, in the freelance world is often more about selling yourself than actually stringing words together - to recharge and enjoy the holidays. Oddly, when the beginning of January came I was out of sorts with myself and having a hard time getting back to business. Of course it doesn’t help that it seems like every editor in the business has been out of the office since the holidays.
During this time I’ve been thinking and pondering and ruminating over an idea for a book. I reread this book. And on Monday I was inspired to go for it. I did some research and verified that there isn’t anything quite like this out there. It’s non-fiction and completely out of the realm of anything I’ve done before (read: scary), but I’ve spent the past several days working on a proposal for this book idea. And after having not written much for the past 6 weeks, it’s so good to feel like the words are coming in the appropriate order again. Coming at all, for that matter. So far, I’ve got seven pages complete and I find myself hurrying to be done with other stuff so I can write some more. Inspiration. It’s a good thing.
I still need to do some market research and fine-tune the thing, but hopefully by this time next month - or sooner - I’ll be shopping for an agent!
I have two articles in the current issue of FamilyFun magazine, one of which is available online. Great Games for a Group is print only, but A Game of Stories in the Preserving Family Memories column is up on the FamilyFun website with complete instructions. I didn’t come up with the idea, but I love it. If you’re looking for a great gift for your family members and you’re at all crafty, this might be perfect!
One of the sites I’m writing about for the aforementioned assignment is the Polynesian Cultural Center. If you want to take a peek at some really cool stuff, check out their website. Across the top, there is a band of photos; hover over any of these and you can watch related videos. The videos of the fire knife dancer and the tree climbing are both worth a look!
I left Wednesday night for Oahu with my family. We got back home late Saturday night. We went there for a writing assignment (mine, not theirs), which means that now I have to turn around and write a very long article covering all of the aspects of the trip. We (seriously) packed an entire week’s worth of a trip into three days. I (seriously) came home and melted on Sunday. Now, I have two more days to complete said writing assignment. Not that I’m complaining. It is very nice to go on a trip that doesn’t put a huge dent in our bank account. Of course, this doesn’t mean that the trip was uneventful.
Here are a few things we all learned:
When you tell your family that you need to get on the Dollar rent a car bus, and they wave frantically to flag down the Dollar rent a car bus, and load their luggage on the Dollar renta car bus, and ride the Dollar rent a car bus for several blocks, they are not going to be very happy when their leader (that would be me) looks at her paperwork and announces, “Um, we’re on the wrong bus. We are supposed to be on the Budget bus.” We now use the phrase “getting on the Dollar bus” to indicate someone did something less than brilliant.
Stop signs on Oahu look just like the ones on the Big Island. That’s what the police officer told my husband after he (my husband) ran a stop sign while we tried to find a place to park in a city that has NO parking (”Brah, stop signs hea? Dey look jus’ the same as on da Big Island. Same color an’ evryting”). Thankfully, the nice police officer had pity on us and didn’t write us an actual ticket.
The ladies’ bathroom has a woman on the door. Then men’s bathroom has, well, a man. Ladies are very surprised to find a man in their bathroom. Husbands are very embarrassed when they find themselves in the ladies’ bathroom.
Pictures, under the fold:
You all know about the air-brushed beauty brought to you by the magazines that grace your supermarket checkout. Fewer of you may know how picky many magazines are about the real people who make their pages. While I’ve not run directly into it, I have writer friends who speak of sources that they couldn’t use because they didn’t look good enough to photograph for the magazine. Fully qualified, excellent sources for a story, rejected because they are not considered attractive. Blech. Now Real Simple magazine is under the spotlight for a casting call seeking only attractive families, and only those that have a mom, a dad, and 1-3 kids. Love the picture Gawker used to illustrate the story.
I’ve contacted a few of you directly, but I’m still collecting ideas. If you have a unique and special birthday tradition (beyond the usual cake and ice cream) and would be willing to be interviewed for an article for a national magazine, please email me a brief description of your tradition. Thanks!
I’ve decided that my new motto is Start Where You Are. It’s also the title of a book that I have not read. Maybe someday I’ll read the book, but for now I’m simply using the title as my mantra.
The one project that I’ve been wanting to work on keeps getting back burnered. Sometimes due to other work, but mostly because I’m afraid to start. I’m afraid to start because I’m afraid to finish and find out that it’s no good. I’m afraid to start because I’m afraid to get to the point where the project is done, and then I must start with the whole submission process that will undoubtedly entail numerous rejections before I land a “yes”. I’m afraid to start because I’m afraid to find out that fiction is not my bag.
But, today, I started. And it feels good. And my kids are totally into the whole idea and are surprising me with their thought process and knowledge of storytelling. Brad has offered to create and map the locations in my story for me so that I don’t make errors and change the scene halfway through. Both boys are tossing out character and place names for me. They are sharing their ideas about what would make it a good story. And they are even pointing out flaws in my story (darned kids!).
So, what is this project? It’s an early/transitional reader for boys. Not that I’m sexist - my kids read pretty much anything, and lots of books that many would consider too girly - but I think visually, something more boyish would be very appealing to young boys learning to read. Next time you’re at your local bookstore, check out this category. It’s a very girly category.
Wish me luck. My goal is to crank out a chapter a day.
