Happy Mid-Week!

I have a friend who randomly puts $20 bills into books when she's finished with them. Her reasoning is that, the next time she cracks that book open, "Hey! $20!" It's just like when I find my favorite lip gloss in the pocket of my winter coat or a handful of change between the couch cushions. I love random surprises! :)

Well, as I was scavenging through some of my old folders and files yesterday, I stumbled onto a packet of letters from an old friend. I felt like I'd just found a buried treasure. It was so fun. On the back of one of the letters was printed the following quote. I liked it and I hope you do too. I don't know who wrote it, but it's good! Happy Wednesday!

p.s. Angie is scheduled for surgery on Friday. Send love, prayers, Angels, good vibes, etc. etc. etc! We'll hopefully have her back in action next week. :) I'll post again on Friday with any updates that I have. Until then ... have a great couple of days!

Promise Yourself

Promise yourself to be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind. To talk health, happiness and prosperity to every person you meet. To make all your friends feel that there is something in them. To look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true. To think only of the best, to work only for the best and expect only the best. To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own. To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future. To wear a cheerful countenance at all times and give every living creature you meet a smile. To give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticize others. To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.

--Sara

Tight-Wad Tuesdays

I've always been fond of Tuesdays. Where I grew up there was a cheap theater where movies cost $2.00. But on Tight-Wad Tuesday, as they called it, movies only cost one. :)

Well, today being Tuesday, I thought I'd visit the idea of economy of words, rather than money. During my high school years, my primary literary focus was on poetry. I loved it. It taught me to whittle down my thoughts and words to the bare bones. And I can still remember my teacher saying, "Show, don't tell!" and cluttering my papers with red penned circles and the words, "omit" written off to the side.

Here's a sampling of two of my poems, which I wrote at the tender age of fifteen, both assigned to 'show' silence.

Glitter

I sit in the cool

dark of our old barn,

and watch the dust

move like glitter

through the sun--

shining between

torn shingles Dad

always meant to fix.

Red Rooster

I rushed in late --

my hands aching from

the sudden warmth.

"I put all the hay in that

far corner, Sir -- just the

way you wanted."

My breath echoed.

I sat next to my

mother at the

other end of our table

and stared at the

red rooster on the

kitchen wallpaper.

I remember draft after draft of these poems, all with the same critique to the side. "Show don't tell!" "Omit!" "Bad Word Choice!" These poems are fragments compared to the first drafts--but even now, after all these years, I see where I can trim even more. Or perhaps insert a more powerful word choice.

Although I haven't written much poetry lately, the same rules apply to our WIP's as we embark on edits, and re-edits and more edits. Word economy, and making sure each word counts is a valuable and vital skill. Writer Janice Hardy, showcased this principle by trimming down a page of her published book (which had already undergone several edits) and omitting needless words. It's awesome, check it out!

I'll leave you now with a word from Shakespeare:

"Therefore, if brevity is the soul of wit, and tediousness the limbs and outward flourishes, I will be brief"

--Hamlet

Happy Tight-Wad Tuesday Everyone and if you're in the throws of editing - Good Luck!!

-Sara

Kidney Stones, a Witch and Hauntings

When Angie told me about her Kidney Stones, I immediately thought of my sister, the Good Witch of the North. She has helped dozens of my family members with kidney stones and other health issues, so I thought, why not? Her real name is Colleen, but about 15 years ago, she decided to become a homeopathic doctor and ever since, we’ve lovingly called her the Good Witch of the North. I offered my sister’s prescription to Angie: A six-pack of Coca-Cola, Prickley Ash, Pineapple Juice and a pound of asparagus. Angie has opted for traditional medicine. Go figure! So while my sister’s knowledge is not of much help, I have agreed to take on Angie’s posts this week while she goes through this ordeal. My wishes to Angie for a speedy recovery!

For those of you who don’t know me, I am Angie’s critique partner, Sara Bulla. I usually post on Tuesdays, though I’ve never formally introduced myself to the blog. I thought I’d do so now.

You already know my sister, the Good Witch of the North, and there are ten other siblings besides me. I am the youngest of this groovy crew pictured above. My mom is still living, but my sweet Dad passed away just over a year ago. My Dad always believed I could be a writer. From reading my stories and plays in high school, to sliding clippings about a poetry or short story contest under my nose every once in a while, he was always my number one supporter.

My brother joked at his funeral that he fully expected my dad to ‘haunt us’ from the other side if we weren’t recycling, weeding our gardens, voting responsibly or building up our food storage (all important issues for him!). Well, I believe my dad has haunted me in a way. Last spring, I felt for the first time in a long time, that I needed to pick up my pen and start writing again. Being a mom has been my ‘career’ and still is, but in the months after my Dad’s passing, I just felt this added urgency and excitement to jump back in and try out my talents and love of Writing.

I promise that I won’t dedicate this entire week to my personal drivel, but I did want to salute my Dad and thank him for being the angel on my shoulder while I give this endeavor a go. J

I am the mother of four amazing kids, three girls and one boy. I’m so blessed. As for my writing background, other than a few scattered honors and awards in high school, most of my writing has been off the radar and done for the sheer pleasure of it. I now hope to expand any literary talent that I naturally possess and try to transition from writer to published author. I appreciate the help I’ve received from Angie and other supporters of the blog. I love reading through many of your posts and learning about what rock-star writers you all are. It’s a pleasure to rub shoulders with you in the blog-o-sphere!

--Sara

Sign of the times

I spent Tuesday at the hospital--my doctor thought I had appendicitis, but lucky me I just have a 6mm kidney stone. That is crazy huge. I'm so drugged up on pain killers I can't stay awake to read, write, or focus, so if I have left you a garbled comment in last few days--sorry. 


Because I can't write a lick today. I'm doing a lazy post and letting someone else write for me. That is it. Now I need to lie down :)

-Angie

I’m Hearing Voices—Character Blogfest

I’ve been blogging for seven months. I haven’t decided yet whether that feels long or short :) I’ve met so many great people and made unexpected friendships (Wow, this sounds like a eulogy—it’s not).

I thought it was about time I hosted a blogfest. Now, technically this was Cassie’s (Reading, Writing, and Lovin' It!) idea, so we are going to co-host.

Every great story has great characters! So this blogfest is designed to help us flex our character writing muscles through three separate blog posts.

The Posts:

February 6th - Monday: Characters on the couch: Have one of your characters answer the following questions (to make this work to your benefit, choose a character who is the hardest for you to write :) Max 250 words (Not including the questions—only the answers). 

1. What is your biggest vulnerability? Do others know this or is it a secret?
2. What do people believe about you that is false?
3. What would your best friend say is your fatal flaw? Why?
4. What would the same friend say is your one redeeming quality? Why?
5. What do you want most? What will you do to get it? 

February 8th - Wednesday - Dialogue Introduction: Have two characters introduce each other using only dialogue—no backstory, no internalization, just dialogue between the two. Max 250 words.

February 10th - Friday - Emotion Flash Fiction: Emotion is the engine of a story. Pick an emotion and in a flash fiction piece of 250 words MAKE us feel it! We want to connect with your character. This will be a challenge in 250 words.

The Prizes: 

Cassie and I decided to pick two winners for each day:

Monday’s Prize’s—

• From me: The Color Code by Taylor Hartman—this book is a fantastic study of personality. It’s simple, easy to follow, and will give you tons of insight into how different personalities interact. I use it all the time. I don't normally like non-fiction, but this is one of my favorites. See description here.

• From Cassie:  Nightshade by Andrea Cremer.  You can check out the description from Goodreads here.  This book so far has been the only book to make me fall for both male leads.  The characters' flaws and their strengths kept pulling me in two different directions the entire way through.  

Wednesday’s Prize—

• From me: A query critique and first 20 page critique.
• From Cassie: A query critique and first 20 page critique. 

Friday’s Prize—

• From me: A full manuscript critique.
• From Cassie: A full manuscript critique.

How to enter:

1. Add your name to the link below
2. Follow Cassie
3. Follow Me—If we don’t already, we will follow you back J
4. Post about the blogfest sometime by January 30^th
5. You don’t have to, but we would love you to grab our button and add it to your side bar. 

There you go. Easy peasy lemon squeezy. Come join the fun. It will be awesome!

-Angie

The Gift That Keeps on Giving

I love January. I love fresh starts. I love clean slates. It's the resolutions that I tend to flake out on. The idea behind new year's resolutions is inspiring and every year, I set goals for myself. I admit that sometimes I fall short, but I'm always glad I tried.

This year, I gave myself a present knowing full well that it would push me to achieve many of my new year's resolutions. I signed up for a writer's conference. Not only will this help me in many of my current projects and pursuits, but there's nothing like a money investment to increase your commitment level. :)

I'm beyond excited. Last year I attended this same conference, the LDStorymakers and loved it. I met Angie there, which was, in and of itself -- awesome! We became critique partners, started this blog, and formed a friendship. I'm so grateful for that blessing. She's amazing, but of course you all know that!

However, I was unprepared for the conference. I signed up on a whim. I had always written and only dreamed of being published. Then I found myself asking, 'What if ...?" What if I could write and actually publish? What if I could become an author? What if I could become better at something I really love?

So, I jumped in with both feet, and signed up for the conference at the last minute. I loved it. I enjoyed every class and filled my mind until it was ready to burst. This year, I signed up earlier in the hopes that I might prepare myself more and get the most I can out of it.

For those of you who have been to this, or other writing conferences, what proved to be the most beneficial? Boot Camp? First Chapter contest? Classes? Pitch session? Or d-all of the above? I am just curious to hear what worked for you and what you would recommend.

Thanks everyone and Happy New Year! By the way, another gift I gave to myself this year was The Hunger Games. I haven't read it yet, (I know - Crazy) but will be cracking that book open the moment I publish this post!! Yes, I'm freaking out a little bit!

--Sara

A Desperate Plea

Hey I'm back! I missed you all too!!! Now on to the post...

Trict…shipwa…seesswre…jezoof.  I know they aren't real words but type them as fast as you can. NOW. FASTER. YOU’RE TOO SLOW! BOO!!!

Am I alone in this or does everyone hate those horrid blog verification words? Yes, you do—I know you do.

Well good news. YOU CAN TURN THEM OFF.

So this is my plea today. Everyone go into the settings on your blog and turn it OFF. I know they are there to help people from getting comment spam, but has anyone ever REALLY gotten comment spam? I never have. And even after I turned mine off, I haven’t gotten comment spam.

Need help? Have no fear. This is easy peasy. Well kind of...

If you are using the new blogger interface you will have to switch back to the old one. There was a problem and they forgot to add this link to the new interface.

Switching to old interface.

• Click Design on the top of your blog page
• See that little gear close to your picture? Click it.
• Click Old Blogger interface. Now we are cruising :)

 Turning off Verifier

• Click Settings
• Click Comments
• Scroll to the almost bottom and Click NO for Show word verification for comments
• That is it! Now you can switch back to the new interface if you were using it. The link is at the top of the page. 

Please take 2 minutes and switch it off…I’m begging you. Angela Ackerman (TheBookshelf Muse) did a post of this very thing back in March—Is Your Blog Easy To Love? She totally backs me up.

You have no idea how happy it makes me to see—Your comment has been published—and I didn’t even have to type in that nonsense word!

Please will you do it? I’m BEGGING you. It can be your New Years present to me :)

-Angie