It’s still the first week of NANO (national November Writer’s Month) and I’m still smiling. It’s going well, but then it hasn’t been an entire week yet. Today I went over the 8000 word mark. Feels good, very good. But tomorrow as Scarlet would say is another day.
So why am I smiling?I get to go here every Thursday in November and write. I’m not in my home of a coffee shop. I’m in a secret location, another writer’s home and let me just say it’s paradise. The colors are word tingling, yes word tingling. You walk in and the creative part starts speaking words then sentences. Did I mention this wonderful writer supplies me with gluten free cookies?
Still here’s another reason to smile.
If it weren’t for that bottle of diet Dr. Pepper on the table it would be easy for me to think I dreamed this nirvana. The entire wall of her dining/living room is filled with those spectacular bookcases. Need a name? She has a baby name book. Want to know what a castle in Germany looks like? She has a book for that. Need an example or two of excellent novel beginnings? She has that too. It’s a jewel box colorful jackets that speak to you across the room. “Keep writing you’ll be on this shelf someday!”
And the flowers? Her hubs sent them to her and her daughter a show of support during NANO. And I got to enjoy them too!
Hubs and I were taking a drive down a road close to town. It has been gray and rainy for several days. On this day it seemed we hadn’t seen the sun in months.
We we’re discussing how much like winter it already felt, unlimited gray skys, dreary cold, no color. Then we round a curb and saw this marvelous handiwork of God. The sun wasn’t shining anywhere that we could see but the tree tops were lit this glorious orange red.
It reminded me that God is present even in the darkest moments of our lives.
NANOWRIMO started today at 12:00 a.m I have yet to write a word but I will. I have big plans I always do the first few days. Then it gets really hard. This year though I’ve been armed with some good tools. 1. Liquid Story Binder–now on sale half price, normally $45. It has some much organizational helps I can’t tell you how much it will help keep track of all the little details that float into your mind. I used to think it was a hard program to learn then I foundĀ Not Enough Words She has broken this program into ‘make sense’ tutorials. So I’m pretty well on my way to a well thought out novel or at least it looks like it. 2. A book called From the Inside out by Sunan May Warren and Rachel Hauck. It helped me flesh out my characters and the setting and the plot. I recommend this one as well worth the money.
3. My netbook. I can take it anywhere and write. I have a laptop but it’s hooked with lots of cables to a monitor and printer on my desktop. It’s harder to dismantle it. So the netbook being light is easy to toss in my bag and go. Go to the park, the back yard, a friends house, borders or the couch next to the wood stove when it gets cold this month. 4. Prayer…lots of it from those at ACFW and my critgroups as we challenge ourselves to write our books this month.Ā ACFW isĀ the American Christian Fiction Writers and if you are thinking you might like to be a writer I recommend this group. Everyone is kind, helpful and the site has a ton of information to help you with your career.
I’m out of here I’ll post when I can this month but I’m hoping for understanding if my posts seem odd due to the vast amount of caffeine needed to keep the words filling my screen.
Our town hosts the Strange Folk Festival in late September. This year the library thought to include the local authors. We were invited to sign our books under the pavilion. The festival is unique hosting musicians and artists and now authors!
My time slot was perfect–right between two huge rainstorms!
After a chat on my book therapy with Jim from barefootmarketing and several other authors the idea of using a map and a few hot wheels to attract people to my place came as a suggestion. I downsized the original idea which would have been great but not feasible outside into the kids map from Target and a Disney truck and van. It worked. Kids came and looked at the map and drove around while mom looked at the books. I did sell several that day. So a big thank you to Jim and my MBT friends for the idea!
As far as being strange…only my family and friends know for sure.
I’ll be traveling to Denver to the conference, meeting old friends (who aren’t really old!) and making tons of new ones. If you’ve ever thought about writing ACFW-American Christian Fiction Writers is the group to join. I’ve been a member since, I think 2000. The knowledge I’ve gained from their online courses, the help from my critique group and the website have been invaluable.Ā
Ā Ā
The Premier Christian Fiction Conference”
STANDING FIRM…MOVING FORWARD
“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord,āØforasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.“āØ1 Corinthians 15:58 (KJV)
DENVER, COLORADOāØSEPTEMBER 17 – 20, 2009
Bestselling authors, publishing industry representatives, and newcomers to Christian fiction writing will gather in Denver at the American Christian Fiction Writerās annual conference September 17-20 to compare notes, learn from each other, and encourage one another in the pursuit of publishing goals.
This yearās conference theme , Standing Firmā¦Moving Forward, will especially inspire the full range of talent and dreams in the ever-changing publishing world today.
This amazing conference will feature representatives from major publishing houses like B & H, Guideposts, Zondervan, Harvest House, Barbour, Steeple Hill, Summerside Press, Bethany House, Waterbrook Multnomah, Marcher Lord Press, Tyndale House, and Thomas Nelson, and top literary agents who will meet with writers and identify promising proposals from both new and veteran novelists. Conferees will have access to publishing panels, professional critiques, and customized workshops based on skills and interests.
The keynote speaker isĀ New York TimesĀ bestselling author, Debbie Macomber, who has more than 100 million copies of her books in print worldwide.
Learn more about the American Christian Fiction Writerās Conference by visiting www.acfw.com. Click on the left sidebar on Annual Conference.
Liquid Story takes some time to figure out, it costs $45.00 but it has a lifetime of free updates. This week Iāve been inputting my files on a finished manuscript to make it easier for me when I take the Donald Maass class at the ACFW conference. I like the way there are so many ways to write in this program and keep track of characters, places and even items that are important to the story. It has an outline, timeline, dossier and even mindmapping and storyboard sections.
Webshots (thank you delightfuldwelling) is a free program that makes uploading photos to blog fast! And it was simple to learn.
Windows live writer is a blog writer making it easy to write blogs and post with pictures.
So having accomplished all that brain work I thought I try some new things in the kitchen.
SALSA! Iāve never made it. My friend Barb, grows wonderful tomatoes and shared some of her bounty with me.
I made a huge mess! But I had fun. Lots of chopping and mincing then I remembered I do own a food processor. So I drug it out and put it to use.
I even had enough tomatoes to make spaghetti sauce.
Now my freezer holds a small piece of summer for this winter. Ā
Learning never stops as long as you are breathing. This week Iām trying to learn how to use feedburner. I want to be able to post the same blog on several sites so please bear with me as I experiment. So far I think Iāve managed to hook up with facebook, author central. If I could figure out how to do the same with shoutlife.com and sparkpeople.com Iād be a happy writer. Anyone know how do to this?Ā I love social networking, enjoy commenting back on notes left. Copy and Paste are not my favorite commands especially if there are photos involved. I did find a useful and free tool called Windows live writer that make writing my blog much easier. It also lets me change photo sizes!Ā Ā And crop them another time saver!
Why does the to do list in my life seems like it never gets finished?
Todayās list is yesterdayās list with a few more items added. I cross them off. Close my calendar and go to sleep.
The next day I open it and it seems as if the same things are rewritten! Workout Plan dinner Write Errands Those are always there, extras like banking, laundry and clean house show up often as well.
I noticed today one thing item that doesnāt show itās face on that to do list. Read my bible. How can I have let that slip? I do read it, occasionally, when I feel like I donāt get life and Iām searching for answers. I read it during Sunday School. I read sometimes before I go to sleep.
I never plan to read it though. Iām changing that. Today. Iām writing it on my planner. And this is one Iāll be happy to rewrite tomorrow.
It’s that time of year when all the kids go back to the classroom. Not mine–they are out of school. Still I’ve come to find that this time of year has become my time to rethink my goals and straighten out a few things around the house. Wendell (above) disagrees as he has come to think of the box as his place. This is my little reading area in the office…or rather it’s usually where Wendell lounges and looks at me with a questioning glance when I talk to myself, not too messy but lots of cat hair, oh wait, there’s the corner of my desk, yep–messy. And here’s the the desk, let’s see what’s here. Break into Fiction on top of a completed but needing revision manuscript, packing tape, nail clippers, a plug for my iphone, a gluten free grocery guide, my iphone, daytimer, coupons, nail clipper, index cards, notebooks, pens, camera, and that’s just one corner. I need help. Too bad the cat in the box is now taking a nap. Ha. I did it without him. Look all clean! I feel so good about working again. I know it won’t last, it should but I know me. Too much surface allows me to toss and drop what I’m holding. At least this time there aren’t any diet Dr. Pepper bottles. I’m so loving the lack of cat hair! That won’t last either! That’s okay, I have an entire year until I have to do this again. It’s so clean maybe I’ll take the rest of the week off or maybe I should tackle Hubs side of the office!
In a blast! I think this is our 7th day of a major heatwave. We don’t usually get these until August so everyone is complaining about how hot it is. Upper 90’s if you’re wondering with a nice dose of 90% humidity!
So what is the perfect summer temperature for you?
I like it just warm enough to hang out by the pool, if we still had one. Around 80 is good, and zero humidity would be nice. So this week is a good week to stay inside and read.
So what are you reading now?
I’m reading another Charles Martin book. I like his work. As a writer I like to read books that teach me how to write better fiction. His work is filled with excellent examples.
This week Margaret Daley has an interview with me on her blog and there is a chance to win a book if you leave a comment oh her blog so check it out!
I’m joining the garden party, except it’s a party for one! Me. All it took was some scooting of furniture to a better arrangement, some soap and water a few things found inside and a vase of flowers from target. Now I can say– Summer is here! A friend of mine mentioned she saw a firefly making it officially summer for her.
For me it’s getting the porch clean and ready to relax with a glass of tea that’s so cold it drips with sweat. A good book to read and I’m ready to enjoy my summer.
Last night was my official start of summer. We went to the Cardinals baseball game. If we are lucky we get to go in June. The day had been rain-filled and I thought for sure we wouldn’t get to go. By game time it cleared and the game was on. It was a little humid and hot, still the cotton candy tasted amazing. Is there anything that says summer like cotton candy and the crack of a bat against a ball?
A little boy of about 3 sat behind us. He asked his mom if they could go home. He said, “I don’t get this.”