Ahem

It has come to my attention that I have not written a post on this blog in a very long time...

Alright, I knew that but I've just been busy. Obviously. My family's garlic business has pretty much become a year round thing now instead of seasonal. I work at the library and have been working more and more since the head librarian is looking towards retirement. I've been writing when I can. Not always as much as I would like but I do try my best to look at it as a job now instead of simply something I get to do in my spare time, because frankly, I do not seem to have any spare time! But I do need to write if I want to sell more books, right?!

I do spend a lot of time at Sub It Club. I'm in the submission support group everyday. I've have done some blog posts over at SubItClub.com including a basic query letter breakdown, looking into publishers before submitting, and the always popular Contest Roundups. I'm really excited that we've finally begun to start adding some new amazing people to help over at the Club with blogging and other things. Not only will it be fantastic to have a broad variety of knowledge shared on the blog, maybe I'll even have a chance to post over here from time to time. I can always hope!

If you are wondering, yes, I am still doing query letter and picture book critiques. So if you need one just email me. I promise that I actually do answer my emails in a timely manner.

I've been having family time too, of course!

The Dummy's Dummy

I'm revising a picture book that I've probably revised 692 times already. It has lots of moving parts, so to speak. Characters doing things. Things doing things. I can't really elaborate (although I would love to blab on and on about it!)

Anyway, I have the scenes and most of the dialogue. It's the order that I keep messing around with. I need to get the build up right. I want the tension in the story to keep going up like a mountainside until the climax and boom! wrap it up with that satisfying ending. I have never written a story before where the scenes feel so interchangeable as they do in this one, and I was getting a little sick of writing the same things down and cutting and pasting and all of that moving around until I came up with a good way to play with my pages.

It's stupidly simple but I'm procrastinating on revisions so humor me.

I took some sheets of paper, folded them, and tore them into fourths. (You could get all fancy and measure and cut them if you like. You could even use those snazzy scissors with the shaped edges. Oooh la la.--I can enable procrastination like a boss!)

Picture books are generally 32 pages so I am using 15 pieces of paper, looking at each as a two page spread, leaving a couple of pages for title, pub info, and such.

I hand wrote each page's words on a separate piece of paper. (Picture books are short, so you can make all your words fit. You could also actually just use bigger pieces of paper but I like ripping paper and I'm lazy so that's the way I'm doing it.) This can take some time but it also helps you go through your words again and see if they are working. Plus it helps with procrastination you find your way to your vision if you write things really fancy and draw little pictures to go with it.

Done? *makes cookies
How about now? *watches an episode of Regular Show
Now? *checks watch
Ahem. *eats cookies...lots of cookies.

Okay... finally. You did it! Now you can move your pages around easily. 

Woohoo!

You can also crumple them up and rewrite something but it's not a big deal because it's just on a little piece of paper! Amazing, I tell ya! And environmentally friendly--sort of. I'm calling it the dummy's dummy.

Okay kids, have fun with my *cough cough* brilliant idea. I've gotta go back to figuring this story out. I think I may try the throw it up in the air and see how it pans out when it lands method.

Enjoying the Earth

My cabin in the woods in Shasta.

So, I took a break. A vacation even! I drove from Washington State to California and back armed with only my iphone. No laptop, just a tiny little screen to check in on things with. Dana and Lisha took care of all the Sub It Club business while I was gone. (Love those girls!) I preset all the social media posts for the business pages I manage. With the exception of a few things I pretty much got a break from the online world. And I didn't suffer from withdrawal!

Monterey Bay, at the end of the street where I used to live.

Of course there was stuff I *should* have been doing. Blogging this. Checking in on that. Facebooking. Tweeting. And revising. Yes, I really should have been revising.

But I didn't do anything besides a few quick checkins and picture postings. And It was good. Sometimes you just need a break. I hung out. Saw stuff. Did stuff. But most of all I didn't worry about what I might be missing online.

As writers, especially writers trying to break in, it can be easy to can get caught up in the mission of needing to stay on top of things. Knowing what the market wants. What agent is looking for what. What new contests are open. The list can go on and on. Honestly, it is great to be informed but you can't know everything. Sometimes a break can help you see things with a fresh perspective. And a break from the screen can be a rare commodity these days, but you can do it! Get out of your usual life, enjoy the beauty(and even the ugliness) that surrounds you, and be reminded of the other things there are out there in the world. Whether you do this by just taking a walk in a new part of your neighborhood or by going on a little vacation, it's good to get out of your usual zone. It can also make you really long to get back to those revisions!

A Change in Perspective

It occurred to me the other night when I was awakened by a loud banging and found five officers of the law on my front doorstep. My life has changed. It's not just that a bunch of cops will show up in the middle of the night doing an investigation on a call. (It's likely that that would never happen at my other house, usually no one can even find it.) My teenage daughter pointed out that she never imagined that she'd ever see me talking on the phone while making dinner. (There's no phone service at our other house so it's impossible! She has seen me tweet while cooking though. Yay for satellite internet!) We have people stopping by all the time too. Old friends, new friends. It's fun to have people actually come over, although I do tend to feel like I have to get dressed every morning when I get up now.

I have really been enjoying being able to call my family and friends whenever I feel like it. And they can actually call me! I have learned that being nice to telemarketers just gets you more telemarketing. You know what I really love? Having a washer and dryer. This is a big deal for someone who has been going to the laundromat for 16 years. (We also had to snowmobile our in and out in winter. Or hand wash. I don't miss that.) And there's the sauna, and the private office. They aren't too bad either.

So it may sound strange that I sort of miss it. The quiet. The solitude. I mean, it's probably as close as you can get to the best of both worlds here. There's space, and peace, and beauty and modern conveniences, and civilization. I do still live in rural America, in a ghost town even! A guy from the big city stopped by the other day. He definitely thought that this was the boonies, until I told him about where I used to live. He looked shocked. Hee hee.

How is this affecting my writing? I think it's good. I certainly have gotten a fresh perspective on a lot of things. People. Interactions. Sharing. Privacy. Patience. Forgiveness. Letting things go. Being cautious. Setting boundaries. These may sound like negative things but they're not. Taking over an inn comes with a lot of responsibility. It's basically a big house that many people are attached to. And for good reason, it's a fabulous place to be. I'm definitely feeling a little more attached to it than I had wanted to be. And soon we'll be opening our house to the public. The dream of the cafe and gallery is quickly becoming a reality. I am going to be meeting all sorts of people and doing all sorts of new things so I'm certain I'll have lots to write about. Hopefully I'll figure out how to be better at time management so I can get it all done.

Sometimes a change in perspective is good for writing. I know, I am doing an extreme change here, but finding little ways to find the new in life can be good for the notebook. Here's to looking at things with a fresh eye.

My New Invention

It's finally quiet around the house and I thought I'd get to work. But what to do? Should I link some stuff up on my website? Probably, I do have a book that just came out. But maybe I should revise a picture book. They're waiting! I know, I really should work on the MG that I've been thinking about all day. No, the YA! Write a query! Do some publisher research? I really need to get some manuscripts out into the world. I know! Write something new. I have some great new ideas I'm dying to flesh out. But do I really need to write something new when I have so many other manuscripts piled up and waiting for my attention? How in the world to decide? I have the solution! Writer's dice. I'm going to put each option on one side of a die and then roll and see what I win. It will be perfect for those indecisive times like, um, now.

Letting Go

My little guy started school today and I'm sitting here worrying about him. I'm not exactly sure why. He ran right out to the playground this morning, excited to get out there and play. When the whistle blew I told him that meant he needed to go line up, so he grabbed his backpack and ran over to get in line. There was no tears. No hug. He didn't even say good bye. I think it's safe to say that he's going to be fine.

Me on the other hand, I feel a little like the poor little boy in his class that was crying and didn't want to let go of his mom. Letting go is hard, but I'm glad that my guy can be confident enough to go out and try something new without me.

I'm sitting here at the library right down the street... just in case he needs me. Hopefully I can manage to ignore my worries and get some writing done.

What My Husband Thinks a Query Letter Should Say

I was looking through the documents on my computer today and found this. It's the opening paragraph to a query letter that my husband wrote for me after I went to a conference. It amuses me, so I thought I'd share it. Here it is in all it's glory:

Two blondes walk into a bar. The bartender says, “what can I get you two ladies?” The first blonde looks at her companion and says “I’ll have what she’s having.” A look of desperation creeps across the second blonde's face. She says, “my name is Heather Ayris Burnell, the aforementioned blondes were just to get your attention, I actually write children’s books and would like you to represent me, as my agent. Unfortunately, I was too shy to talk to you at the SCBWI WWA conference."

Then I'm supposed to tell the agent about my book. No, I didn't use this fabulous opening paragraph so kindly written just for me. I went with my nice, normal-type query letter. I still managed to get an invitation to send more work. Go figure.

It's On!

The wind on the mountain has finally died down enough to set up the badminton net. If you've been reading my blog for a while you know what that means--THE BADMINTON CHALLENGE!

Yes, it's all very fascinating that I, a total non-sports type person who randomly trips over her own feet, played badminton in high school. Not only that, but I managed to smash my way to being the top player on the team often enough. (Yes, smash, that is a badminton term. Get with it people!)

This badminton challenge is between me and my husband. We play however many games we can fit into the summer. And last year *gasp* he won. Horrifying, I know. It's funny, when I play, my super secret competitive nature busts out and I play to win. But apparently that wasn't enough this year. Oh no. You know what he said? You aren't going to beat me ever again now that you're middle-aged.

Middle-aged? MIDDLE-AGED! Can you believe it? The nerve of that guy. Just because he's ever so slightly younger. I am so not even close to middle-aged. It wasn't too long ago that I actually got carded. So there.

Yeah, he knows how to get me going, and you know what? I kicked his patootie. That's right. Power to the old people baby!

Launch Party Prep

So I'm trying to figure out what I'm going to do for my book launch party. I know it's happening at the library. I know I'm going to read my book and have food and drinks. I want to have monster masks for the kids to make or maybe have a monster art show where kids make their own monsters from random art supplies and they hang them up and get a ribbon that says "monstrously good".

I, of course, have to find a place to get such ribbons. And that's where my trouble begins. I have all these ideas but I scarcely know where to start. I want some really cool monster print pajamas and a big green tail to wear to my launch party, but where do I find such things? I see some monster attire for kids, but I think I'm going to need some specialty stuff. After all, I could be touring some more libraries in these jammies! I wish I was more crafty and could sew myself some pajamas and a tail. The closest shopping mecca is hours from here and I doubt there are the kind of monstery things I need. I know--there's online, obviously. But I don't seem to be finding what I need. Guess I'd better get to work.

At least I know that I'm going to be making a monster cake. I'm certainly looking forward to that! Maybe I should go practice making one now.

Revision

So, I just thoroughly went through my first and second chapter critiques from my fabulous critique partners and...wow. The things they point out just really blow my mind. They get me thinking so much more deeply about my novel it's incredible.

Think about the way your character sees the world. Would she really use this word?
Add a small hint here so we get an inkling that the main character's troubles might be even bigger than this.
Why isn't she more emotional about this?
Why does she wonder that? We need to see more introspection.

And so much more advice like that.

Yes, it would be great if I could see all the little problems with my writing myself. I know these pages aren't ready by any means but, sweet mother of highlighters. I see a lot more things I need to revise now that I've gotten my critique partner's opinions than when I was just marking up the manuscript myself. I've written so many notes on my pages, they're full of lines and circles and different colored scribbles. It's a lovely, gigantic mess.

It should be quite daunting, and it is, except for the fact that they said some really good things that make me know I have to keep going. I mean, I've practically begged them to tell me the thing sucks so I can just go back to my nice, happy picture book writing. But I will go on. Revise the heck out of these chapters, then go back for more. Watch out chapter three and four. I'm coming for you.